Switching schools within the Philadelphia District
Voluntary transfers: A fair system?
Switching schools within the Philadelphia District
Miriam Hill
Many city parents do not consider their local public school an option. And every year, some of them try to transfer their children to one of the public elementaries that are considered better: Meredith, Greenfield or McCall.
It’s known as the Voluntary Transfer Process, and it’s supposed to be a lottery, with “winners” chosen randomly by computer.
But many parents, including me, don’t believe the process is random, or that the rules that the district lays out here work as they are supposed to.
No disrespect to school district officials. I think they believe the system works properly, but it’s a giant district with bigger problems than ensuring that a lottery for a tiny number of students is as unbiased as, say, the Powerball jackpot.
Ultimately, principals and their staffs at individual schools decide who gets in and who doesn’t. They must make many of these decisions at the last minute, as they figure out how many children will really attend once the school year starts. The district, some of them say, does not tell them where children placed in the voluntary transfer lottery. So officials at individual schools instead see which families applied first, or choose students from the lottery to achieve diversity.
In addition to applying early, at some schools visiting the principal and letting that person know you will be a committed, involved parent can help. At other schools, this could backfire, so your best bet might be getting to know parents who run the Home and School Association and asking them how to improve your odds.
(The web site Phillyschoolsearch.com also offers this guide to the voluntary transfer process, written by parents.)
None of this is fair, of course, to the parent who believes it’s a lottery. And it’s complicated this year because the district started taking voluntary transfer applications before the Sept. 19 start date they posted on their site.
There aren’t a lot of voluntary transfer spots anyway. Philadelphia Magazine reports that McCall took one kindergartener this year who did not live in that school’s catchment, the area that defines which kids go where.
Given the low odds, maybe jumping in to try to improve your local school is a better shot. So many parents around the city are trying this, it just might work.
And there’s always Powerball if you want to win money for private school.
I am a concerned parent and I think the system should be fair to everyone and not just the privileged ones.— waila1
Comment removed.- Formed in June 2010, the West Philly Coalition for Neighborhood Schools aims to bring our vibrant community and all of its resources into our local neighborhood public schools. Anyone, regardless of parental status or age of children, is welcome.
https://sites.google.com/site/westphillyschools/— Amara19143
But only one topic has become a passion: the pleasures and challenges of raising a young child in the city.
Not too long after her son was born four years ago, she started hunting around for day care, which triggered her ongoing search for a good primary school. Public, private or charter? Stay in the city or move to the suburbs?
And then there are the more mundane questions, such as how many games can you play while sitting on a stoop?
Please join her in the conversation about raising children in Philadelphia and about making this city better for kids. She is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, but her only personal obsession is not football, but Bruce Springsteen. As he might have said, it’s hard to be a parent in the city.
You can also follow Miriam on Twitter here.
