1. Majority – to – Minority Transfer Application Process
School Year
Sheri Wilkinson
Student Assignment Coordinator
October 15, 2015

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

3. 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.

4. In Keeping with Our Consent Order, in October We Will Begin Conduct M-to-M Information Meetings for Parents 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.
Sunday, October 18, 2015
2:00 p.m. – Huntsville High School Lecture Hall
4:00 p.m. – Grissom High School AV Room
Monday, October 19, 2015
5:00 p.m. – Johnson High School Auditorium
7:00 p.m. – Columbia High School Auditorium
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
5:00 p.m. – Lee/New Century Lecture Hall

5. The M-to-M Application Window for the 2016-17 School Year Opens in November 2015.
The regular M-to-M application window opens on November 15, and closes at midnight on January 15, 2016.
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, 2016) until midnight on July 15, 2016.
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.

6. 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 a M-to-M transfer online or in person using one of the following three methods: Apply online at 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.

7. In Accordance with the Consent Order, We Will Use a Random Lottery 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.

8. Following the Lottery, We Will Notify Parents if Their Eligible Student Was Selected for a 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 a M-to-M transfer as a result of the lottery. Notification will be by 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.**

9. Under Our Consent Order, Specific Rules Also Pertain to the “Grand Fathering” of Students Who had an M-to-M Transfer Prior to
Students who were granted M-to-M transfers prior to the 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.

10. Students Granted M-to-M Transfers for the 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.

11. 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

12. Most Schools in the Columbia High Feeder Pattern have High Transfer Availability
Limited/No Availability: Columbia High School High Availability: Westlawn Middle School Williams Middle School Morris Elementary School Providence Elementary School Ridgecrest Elementary School Williams Elementary School

13. Availability in the Huntsville High Feeder Pattern Ranged from No Availability to High Availability Depending Upon the School
Limited/No Availability: Huntsville High School Hampton Cove Middle School Blossomwood Elementary School Medium Availability: Monte Sano Elementary School High Availability: Jones Valley Elementary School Huntsville Junior High School Goldsmith Schiffman Elementary School Hampton Cove Elementary School University Place Elementary School

14. Recruitment to Hampton Cove and Goldsmith-Schiffman Elementary Schools
Parents/guardians of elementary students eligible for a majority-to-minority transfer are invited to attend an informational meeting about the educational opportunities offered at Hampton Cove Elementary School and Goldsmith-Schiffman Elementary School. The principals from the two schools will give a short presentation about their schools and will be available to answer your questions. An Informational meeting will be held at the following location: University Place Tuesday, October 20 5:30 p.m. This meeting is open to all parents/guardians of elementary students eligible for a Majority-to-Minority transfer from Dawson, Highlands, Lakewood, Martin Luther King, Jr., Montview, Providence, Rolling Hills, or University Place. Lakewood Elementary and University Place Elementary are hosting these informational meetings for all of the schools eligible for the Majority-to-Minority transfer.

15. Availability in the Grissom High Feeder Pattern Ranged from No Availability to High Availability Depending Upon the School
Limited/No Availability: Grissom High School Whitesburg School Low Availability: McDonnell Elementary School High Availability: Mountain Gap School Challenger Middle School Chaffee Elementary School Challenger Elementary School Farley Elementary School Weatherly Elementary School

16. Johnson High Feeder Pattern have High Transfer Availability
High Availability: Johnson High School McNair Junior High School Dawson Elementary School Highlands Elementary School Lakewood Elementary School Rolling Hills Elementary School

17. Availability in the Lee High Feeder Pattern Ranged from No Availability to High Availability Depending Upon the School
Limited/No Availability: Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School High Availability: Lee High School Chapman School Montview Elementary School

18. Schools with Black Majority Race
James Dawson Elementary
Hereford Elementary
Highlands Elementary
Lakewood Elementary
Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary
Montview Elementary
Providence Elementary
Rolling Hills Elementary
Williams Middle McNair Jr. High Columbia High Johnson High Lee High
Black students may transfer out of these schools.
White students may transfer in.

19. Schools with White Majority Race
Blossomwood Elementary
Chaffee Elementary
Challenger Elementary
Farley Elementary
Goldsmith-Schiffman Elementary
Hampton Cove Elementary
Jones Valley Elementary
Monte Sano Elementary
Weatherly Elementary
Mountain Gap P-8 Challenger Middle Hampton Cove Middle Huntsville Jr. High Grissom High Huntsville High
White students may transfer out of these schools.
Black students may transfer in.

20. Schools with No Majority Race
McDonnell Elementary
Morris Elementary
Ridgecrest Elementary
Williams Elementary
Chapman P-8 Whitesburg P-8 Westlawn Middle
No students may transfer out of these schools.
Black and white students may transfer in.

21. 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 Middle School Magnet

22. 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. At the beginning of the M-to-M application process, we will post the pick-up and drop-off points and estimated times associated with each on its website.

23. Parent/Guardian Checklist
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 for your child, be sure to promptly accept the offer so that the offer does not expire.

24. For Further Information Parents/Students Can Contact Our Student Assignment Coordinator at the Merts Center
Student Assignment Coordinator: Ms. Sheri Wilkinson Phone: Address: 200 White Street, Huntsville