Arts, science or languages, Rock Hill students can choose programs right for them
Parents are invited to learn more about school choice programs offered at 13 Rock Hill schools during an information fair Tuesday.
The fair will be 6-8 p.m. in the gym at Sullivan Middle School, said Mychal Frost, director of communications for Rock Hill schools.
The fair will highlight programs such as arts, language immersion and accelerated studies. It also will highlight programs for science, technology, engineering, arts and math, or STEAM.
Students generally must attend a public school based on where they live. However, Rock Hill allows parents to apply for their children to attend a school other than the one they are zoned for, if a particular program better meets their needs, Frost said.
“The ability for parents to have that option is important,” Frost said. “It provides the opportunity for us to meet the needs of our students by allowing them to attend programs that are of unique interest to them.”
Rock Hill is the only district in York County that offers school choice programs, he said. Rock Hill now offers bus transportation for students participating in choice programs, Frost said.
“If we are truly to offer a choice program, we have to assist children in getting here, and not allow transportation to be a barrier in accessing a program,” he said. “This year it has been working very well.”
The district had more than 600 applications to the choice program this school year, nearly double from the year before, Frost said.
“It can be attributed in part to a months-long effort to engage the community in exploring ways to improve programs and through a series of school-based information sessions with parents about changes to the programs,” he said.
More than 4,000 students, or about 23 percent of students in the district, attend a choice program, Frost said. Six percent of students are attending a choice program outside the school they are zoned for.
The district is continuing to improve its choice programs with a state-of-the-art “maker space” to open later this month at South Pointe High School, according to the release.
The new $5 million Montessori building at Ebenezer Avenue Elementary School is set for a December completion date. The program will move from The Children’s School at Sylvia Circle to the new building.
A new language immersion school is also in the works, set to open in August 2018 on the Sullivan Middle School campus, the release says. The school will consolidate three language programs at Ebinport, Richmond Drive and Rosewood elementary schools, according to the release.
Families that want their child to attend a choice program must complete an online application at bit.ly/iChooseRHSD.
The application period will close Feb. 17 and parents will be informed of acceptance in early March.
A second information fair will be held Jan. 26.
Want to go?
Upcoming Rock Hill School District School Choice Fairs
- Tuesday, Jan. 10 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the gym at Sullivan Middle School, 1825 Eden Terrace in Rock Hill
- Thursday, Jan. 26 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Kenneth Monroe Transformation Center, 785 Saluda Street in Rock Hill
This story was originally published January 9, 2017 at 2:52 PM with the headline "Arts, science or languages, Rock Hill students can choose programs right for them."