Sunday, January 31, 1999
Parents rush to four sites to get students' magnet choices
BY LEW MOORES
The Cincinnati Enquirer
By 8:15 a.m. Saturday, Kim Hunter had waited in the dark, gone through the line, waited in a gymnasium, filled out the application and then signed up her son. She had waited in line since 7:04 a.m. with dozens of others bundled up against the early-morning cold.
By the time she left Crest Hills Middle School, the sun was up and the line leading into the school had shortened. She was finished.
“Now I have to go to work,” said Ms. Hunter. “I still have time to make it to work by 9.”
Ms. Hunter was among several hundred parents who waited at Crest Hills Middle school in Roselawn, one of four sites where parents could sign up children Saturday for the Cincinnati Public Schools' pop ular magnet programs.
This is the fourth year that Cincinnati schools have waited until the morning of enrollment to announce the sites where applications would be taken — before that, some parents would camp out, waiting for doors to open — but many still tried to get a jump-start on the process.
Parents spent Saturday morning driving around, within an easy commute of a school, waiting for the 7 a.m. announcement.
Others drove around and stayed in touch by cell phone with friends and relatives listening to radios.
Still others staked out schools, watching for buildings with an inordinate number of lights on, just “looking for signs of life,” as one parent said.
“I was out in the car cruis ing around with a cell phone,” said Ms. Hunter.
Ms. Hunter enrolled her son, Justin Tatum, 13, for one of just two spots open at Shroder Paideia in Kennedy Heights.
“That's where he wanted to go,” said Ms. Hunter. “That was his first choice. I'm not sure what it is, but he seemed to know what it is — that's a good sign.”
Last year on enrollment day, about 1,600 applications were taken and 70 percent of the students were placed. By the end of the morning this Saturday, more than 1,600 applications had been submitted.
Throughout the application cycle last year, which ran from January to February, 17,000 applications were processed and 8,400 were placed.
Elaine Brown, who lives in North Avondale, arrived at Crest Hills at 7:15 a.m., with about 200 people in line before her. She was prepared to enroll her daughter, Ashley, 3, in a preschool program at North Avondale School.
“I wasn't expecting the line,” said Ms. Brown as she waited. “I was a little surprised.”
Carol Sandman, Cincinnati Public Schools spokeswoman, said about 40 staff and volun teers assisted at each location. She said she was encouraged by the turnout.
“It's nice to see parental involvement like this,” she said.
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