The things parents do

By Cindy Landrum  

DECEMBER 1, 2011 6:04 p.m. (0)

Many camping excursions have ended short because of heavy rain and bad weather, but this was no ordinary camping trip for dozens of Greenville County families.

They were camping out in front of A.J. Whittenberg Elementary, some for three nights, to make sure one or more of their children could attend the school next year through the district’s special permission choice program.

A.J. Whittenberg is the state’s only elementary school with a school-wide engineering curriculum.

It opened in downtown Greenville in August 2010.

The school initially served 300 students in 4K through second grade. A grade will be added each year until it has 4K through fifth grade and serves up to 600 students.

Fourth grade will be added in 2012-13.

Students are either assigned to the school based on where they live or can attend through a change in school assignment. The spots for students who live outside the school’s attendance zones are filled on a first-come basis.

Thursday was the first day the school accepted applications for change in 2012-13 school assignments. The application period runs through Jan. 6.

This year was the second year in a row parents pitched tents in front of Whittenberg to try to ensure their child or children could get one of the coveted spots.

There are 98 new students attending Whittenberg on choice this year.

The number of spots available for next school year won’t be determined until the district determines how many students will be returning and how many students in the right age groups live in the attendance zone.

Once a child gets in on choice, they don’t have to reapply each year. But their siblings are not granted automatic admission and must apply, district spokesman Oby Lyles said. That’s to be fair to all parents and applies to every school with choice spots.

On Tuesday, a day of cold and rain, the district decided to hand out numbered applications to the parents already in line so they would not have to camp out any longer. Whittenberg handed out numbered applications on Wednesday during school hours as well.

Parents will be notified of their child’s school assignment for the 2012-13 year in March.