Charlotte-Mecklenburg Rising Kindergartners

If you have a child that will be going to Kindergarten in 2008 and you live in Charlotte, NC this is need to know information. For the 2008 school year the cut off date for a child entering Kindergarten is October, 16th - meaning your son or daughter must be 5 by that date. Starting in 2009 the cut off date changes to August 31st. But more important then that is the way Charlotte schools run their programs and what you need to know and do in the fall before they start school!

Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools have magnet programs that are free to all registered students in the system. The trick is getting into them. Beginning as early as November the magnet programs open their doors to parents and students at their respective schools so that you can decide if one of these programs will benefit your child. The first step in getting into these programs is signing a compact with the school, basically stating that you understand the curriculum and accept what is required of you should your child gain entrance into the school. Your child must then be registered as a student in the CMS system for the upcoming year by a December cut off date and then the real fun begins.

In the early weeks of January, provided you've followed the first steps and registered your child in the Family Application Office, you will receive what is essentially a lottery ticket. On it is a list of schools available to your child based on the zone they are in, including their default home school. You will be able to list up to three schools, in the order of your preference, and then the ticket must be returned to the Family Application Office by the January deadline specified on the card.

The lottery system is said to operate like a true lottery. The computer has a list of names and randomly selects which students of the lot will be granted access to whichever magnate school you pick. The more popular programs will always have an over-abundance of seat seekers so it is inevitable that a large group of hopeful students won't make it in and will be forced to go to their home school. Your home school can never reject you. In March letters go out to everyone, winners and losers of the lottery alike. All children are then put on a waiting list for the schools they tried to get into, and it's noted that acceptance to one of your top picks can happen as late as a month into the school year.

While Charlotte's magnate programs are truly great and have a great deal to offer students lucky enough to get into them, there is absolutely no guarantee that your child will get in. And the further they get into the system, the harder it becomes to get into a magnate program, as current students are always given a place first in the following school year before opening it up to the lottery. Get in from the beginning to protect your child's education.