Loop Hole to School Zoning in LSID?

If the school you are looking at is not a closed campus you can always apply for a transfer. I would call the school directly and the office staff should be able to tell you whether they accept transfers. Good luck!

I believe the cut off is Sept. 1, but you may speak withthe principal. My school district (HEB ISD) has somewhat of a freedom of choice where you can apply to go to another school in the district. You can also try talikng to the super of the district. If not, you will just have to weigh what is more important. Keep in mind some things can be misleading. We searched for a long time to find a house in the neighborhood we wanted our dd to go to school in, and turns out the school is fine education wise, the kids are horrible.

I'd move, you have a little time to prepare for moving. If you don't like the school then sometime in the future when you go to sell your house, potential buyers might be turned off if they have a child the same age.

However, it's a bad time for selling so maybe looking at alternatives is a good idea.

LISD is very strict about not letting kids change schools they are zoned too. You can try getting a job at the school you like, but I've known people that still were unable to get their kids in at the school they worked at and had to send them to the school they were zoned for... however it does work sometimes, so that's my first suggestion.

Get a job at the good school or plan to move. I don't recall the cut off date, but you can look on line at www.lisd.net

I would look at the school zone for middle and high school too and find the house I want to live in that way. Zoning can ALWAYS change, it did in our neighborhood, but the schools were all good, just some of us didn't want to change. It all worked out though. And we ended up with the high school we wanted. We had one person move in from the "other side of the zone line" to our street so her son could go to the high school she wanted. There were actually a few people that did move in for zoning reasons. It was the easiest way to get what they wanted.

I have a daughter that did not like her middle school, and the teachers were horrible there. I called one of the schools that she really wanted to go to. They told me that I could put her on a waiting list to transfer schools. I had to go to out local ISD administrative building and put her on the list, I also had to pay $15.00. I was worried because there was a long list. But she made it in, because when they called indiviuals on the waiting list alot of them did not call back or come by. Then a year later we bought a house, and she was out of the middle school. Luckily the school district we are in is wonderful.
I hope this helps.

I agree with the mom who said LISD is stict. Although, moving is usually the only way to get the school you want, check out the website for new schools. The upcoming Bond issue in May includes more Elementary schools, Middle and High school changes, each having a potential for rezoning.

Good Luck!

Yes the deadline is Sept. 1st no exceptions. My daughter's birthday is the 14th so we are in the same situtuation. The only real options you have is to get her tested if she passes the test then they will put her in school early. They hate to test them so you have to be very persistant and from what I hear the test is hard. I was a teacher before I had my children so I am hoping I can prepare her for the test. The way I look at it is if they pass YEAH if not then we start school the next year. Also you should try private schools they will test as well. As far as the transfer situation call the school district tell them the school you want your daughter to attend. They will let you know how many spaces if any are available each year. Sometimes they put a freeze on transfers if they school is over populated so you might not know until Feb. or March of 2010. I would have a back up plan just in case you cannot transfer her. Look into private school and preschools.

HI C.-

While I do not have information about a "loop hole" for schools, I would like to invite you to consider reviewing our school website www.cdsa.org. We are a Montessori program in Arlington and offer a Kindergarten program. Our cut off date is not a firm Sept 1st one. We consider each student individually on their cognitive and developmental maturity. We are hosting an Open House/Curriculum Night soon and would love to invite you to attend. It will be March 11th and March 3th. from 7:00 - 8:00 p.m.Our school address is 1300 Roosevelt St. Arlington, TX 76011 On our website has a map to our school.

I would be happy to schedule a tour of our school with you, if this is something that you would like to consider. If so,
feel free to email me back At ____@____.com a wonderful day!

J. Hunt- Head of School

Get a Job in the schol dostrict you want your child to attend.

You have some time, so start searching now and get an application into the system. They will keep your app on file even if there is nothong open right now. If you go to the distrcit web site, they should have job postings.

Also, by 2010, the zones may change a couple of times:)

Good luck,
D.

C., I want to start by saying that I completely understand where you are coming from. I live in arlington and the school I am zoned for is an underperforming school that I did not want to have to send my son to. In the AISD you are able to transfer schools as long as there is room at the school that you would like your child to attend. You simply have to call the school you would like them to go to and find out how to transfer to their school.
Please DO NOT use someone else's address. I know that it is something that a lot of people try to do, but it is against the law. Not only will you risk getting yourself into major legal trouble if you are caught, but your child will be immediatley removed from the school and will most likely no longer be eligible for any transfers at all. It just isn't worth the risk.
The other thing I would like to say is that I agree with the previous post about CDSA. They have a fantastic program. My son now attends the new charter school that shares their campus and both of these schools are the best in the area, by my opinion. I would highly suggest looking into the charter schools in the area. Uplift Education (www.uplifteducation.org) runs several in the metroplex that are national recognized, and they can even accept children from other districts.
Like I said, I understand where you are coming from and I have struggled for several years so I know a lot about the system and how it works. Please feel free to email me if you have any questions that you think I could answer. ____@____.com

C.,

You should be able to go to the district office or her home school and request paperwork for a transfer. My daughter has been in FWISD and never gone to her home school (She's in 6th grade now). When we applied for Kindergarten she had to write an essay as to why she thought the school we were requesting would be better for her. Crazy that a Kindergartener had to write an essay, but...Anyway, FWISD is on a draw so there are no guarantees, but anyone I know that applied received their transfer. We even had to reapply when she moved to 6th grade and also got the trasfer with no problems. Just be sure the paperwork is in timely! They probably only give a small window of 2-3 months when you can submit the paperwork, but be ready to submit the 1st day. I'm not sure how other ISDs work but would think it would be similar. I hope this helps!

I have taught public school for 8 years and I don't know of any way around where you are zoned to attend school. Some districts have special schools that are geared toward a specific area such as fine arts. Parents must apply for admittance to these schools and there are often fees or tuition, but not all districts have these options.
Yes, the cut off date is Sept.1 for all public schools in Texas.
The best way for you to ensure that your daughter has a wonderful, enriching experience at ANY school is to be a very involved parent. This includes being a room parent, serving on the PTA board, and volunteering your time to help the teachers or reading to the students.

Try a charter school - I didn't check but if LSID is Lancaster, my sister-in-law sends her children to Life Schools in Red Oak and absolutely adores it. I have seen an enormous improvement in their respect as well as maturity and responsibility. My children also go to a charter school in Irving. They're great.

Use someone else's address a friend or relative in a good school zone. In some states you can go out of your area if it is bad. Check with the school board

In every school district there will be that one or two exceptional schools whose spaces are very coveted. You should call the school district and find out information about them. They usually have open houses in January or February before the school year start, but you want to find out what the requirements are. There may be a placement test or a teacher transcript needed.
To be able to get a spot, your daughter might need to be in a pre-school and have learned the curriculum.
It is great that you are looking right now, because it is the perfect time. Good luck to you,

Is your daughters b-day 9-8-04? if so I have one of those too :o) and she is just so precious too- I know she is ready for pre k too, but everyone I talk to says 9/1 is the cut off - unless its private school :(