Majority – to – Minority Transfer Application Process School Year 2017-18 Sheri Wilkinson Student Assignment Coordinator November 3, 2016

Introduction Department of Assessment and Accountability Dr. Cathy McNeal – Director Sheri Wilkinson –Student Assignment Coordinator District legal counsel J.R. Brooks and Chris Pape

Majority-to-Minority (M-to-M) Transfers Are Conducted According to Guidelines Established in Our Consent Order Rising Kindergarten through 12th grade students are eligible for a M-to-M transfer from their home school if: The student’s race is in the majority (meaning over 50% of the students at the school are the same race) at the student’s zoned school; Rising Kindergarten through 12th grade students are eligible for a M-to-M transfer to another school if: The student’s race is not in the majority (meaning less than 50%) at the school to which he/she desires to transfer; There is space (capacity as defined in the Consent Order) available at the school to which the student desires to transfer.

In Keeping with Our Consent Order, M-to-M Information Meetings for Parents are Held at Each High School Campus Parents and students are invited to attend a Parent Information Session to hear about the M-to-M transfer process for Huntsville City Schools. Information about procedures, application, transportation, and the timeline will be provided. The same information will be provided at all meetings. Please attend the meeting of your choice. Monday, November 7 5:00 p.m. – Columbia High School Auditorium 6:30 p.m. – McNair Jr High School Cafetorium Thursday, November 10 5:00 p.m. – Huntsville High School Lecture Hall 6:30 p.m. – Grissom High School AV Room Monday, November 14 5:00 p.m. – Lee/New Century High Lecture Hall

The M-to-M Application Window for the 2017-18 School Year Opens November 15, 2016. The regular M-to-M application window opens on November 15, 2016 and closes at midnight on January 15, 2017. Applications received during this time will be placed in the lottery. All eligible students who apply during the application window will be entered into the lottery. On the basis of their selected transfer schools, they will have an equal likelihood of being selected for a transfer. There will not be any first-come, first-served for applications during this window. Late M-to-M applications will be taken from the end of the regular application window (January 16, 2017) until midnight on July 15, 2017. Applications received during this time will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis after all M-to-M transfer applications in the regular lottery have been processed.

Parents/Students May Apply for an M-to-M Transfer in One of Three Ways During the regular application window, parents/students can apply for an M-to-M transfer online or in person using one of the following three methods: Apply online at https://transfer.hsv-k12.org Create a digital application using a school system computer and assistance at the Merts Center. Submit a paper application by the application deadline. Paper applications are available at the Merts Center and in our school offices.

In Accordance with the Consent Order, a Random Lottery Is Used to Select M-to-M Applicants from the Pool of Eligible Applicants Within 5 days of the close of the application window, all students will be placed in a computerized, two-round randomized lottery. The lottery system will select names of students from the applicant pool based on the students’ lottery numbers. For each name selected, the lottery system will determine whether either of the student’s two preferred schools (in order of preference) have available space. The lottery system will repeat the process until either no available seats remain or no applications remain, whichever occurs first.

Following the Lottery, We Will Notify Parents if Their Eligible Student Was Selected for an M-to-M Transfer in the Lottery Within 10 calendar days of running the lottery, Huntsville City Schools will inform parents/guardians if their eligible student has been selected for an M-to-M transfer as a result of the lottery. Notification will be by email and U.S. mail. Parents/guardians will have 10 calendar days from the post-marked date of the offer letter to accept the offer for their child. Parents may accept or decline the M-to-M offer by phone. **Failure of a parent/guardian to inform Huntsville City Schools within 10 calendar days of the post-marked date of the offer will be treated as having declined the offer.**

Under Our Consent Order, Specific Rules Also Pertain to the “Grand Fathering” of Students Who had an M-to-M Transfer Prior to 2014-15 Students who were granted M-to-M transfers prior to the 2014-15 school year may remain in the feeder patterns to which their transfers were granted through the completion of the 12th grade. These students will not need to, and should not, reapply for their transfer each year or when advancing to a new school in the feeder pattern.

Students Granted M-to-M Transfers for the 2014-2015 School Year, and thereafter, May Remain at the School to Which they Transferred through the Highest Grade Offered at that School Upon completion of the highest grade offered by their schools, students may apply for a M-to-M transfer to attend the school serving the next grade level in the feeder pattern, as defined by the Consent Order. These students will get priority over new applicants for a M-to-M transfer at the next school. If the school does not have space available for all priority M-to-M transfers, the District will use a lottery to grant transfers. Upon completion of the highest grade offered by their schools, students may also apply for a M-to-M transfer to attend a school outside of the student’s feeder pattern. The student will not receive a priority for these transfers.

In Accordance with Our Consent Order, We Will Offer M-to-M Transfer Opportunities On a Space Available Basis M-to-M transfers are granted based on space availability in each school. To assist parents/students in applying for an M-to-M transfer, Huntsville City Schools will identify the availability of transfer opportunities at the beginning of the application process. We will categorize schools as follows: High Availability: space for 30 or more transfer students Medium Availability: space for 15 to 29 transfer students Low availability: space for less than 15 transfer students Limited/No Availability: no space for transfer students

In Accordance with Our Consent Order, We Do Not Accept M-to-M Transfers to Our Magnet Schools and Programs Magnet Schools that cannot accept M-to-M transfers: New Century Technology High School Academy for Academics and Arts Academy for Science and Foreign Language Magnet Programs that cannot accept M-to-M transfers: Jemison High School College Academy Lee High School Performing Arts Magnet Columbia High School IB Program Williams P8 Magnet Program

We Will Provide M-to-M Transfer Students with Transportation As Called for in Our Consent Order We will provide transportation to eligible students who apply for and are selected for an M-to-M transfer: In the morning we will pick-up M-to-M students at their zoned home school and transport them to their transfer school. At the end of the school day we will provide transportation for M-to-M students. We will return M-to-M students from their transfer school to their zoned home school. We will not provide late bus transportation for students who remain at their transfer school for after-school activities. Pick-up and drop-off points and estimated times associated with each are located on the schools’ websites.

Parents/Guardians Need to Be Aware if Key Required Actions Make sure to apply during the regular application window to give your child the best chance to receive an offer. If you receive an offer letter or email for your child, be sure to promptly accept the offer so that the offer does not expire.

For Further Information Parents/Students Can Contact Our Student Assignment Coordinator at the Merts Center Student Assignment Coordinator: Mrs. Sheri Wilkinson Phone: 256-428-6892 Email: sheri.wilkinson@hsv-k12.org Address: 200 White Street, Huntsville