Let me clarify why there was such an outrage regarding the line this year. This seems to have been passed over for some reason.

Administration at CSAS/CSLA have informed parents that until applications for the kindergarten class are available the line cannot begin. Despite this being the policy someone decided that rather than wait and risk not being first in line they would come up with their own policy and start the line before applications were available.

The parents who followed what they were told by administration got duped by those who essentially cheated the system. I guess you cannot use the honor system when some have no honor.

Krissy Joels

* * *

First and foremost I’d like to thank Dr. Scales, the Hamilton County School Board, and the staff at the CSAS and CSLA admissions office. As the discussions about this year’s admittance policy took place, we as a group felt as though our opinions and concerns were listened to and responded to in a timely manner. I feel that the parents who are currently in “the line” banded together to right what we felt was a wrong decision by Dr. Scales. We also appreciate beyond measure the support shown to us by the parents and teachers at CSAS and CSLA. As a parent involved in this year’s line, I hope to be able to contribute some feedback to the school system after this year’s application process has been completed, whether or not my child is accepted at CSAS or CSLA.

Obviously this is a controversial issue and the majority of that controversy seems to come from misinformation and assumptions. Many parents, myself included, assumed that the line to turn in applications could not begin until after the applications were out and available. After doing some research after the line started though I found that CSAS, CSLA, nor the Hamilton County Board of Education ever carried this as a policy. It was not stated on either school’s admission pages on their website or written anywhere in the admissions policy. Further, when the mother who began the line asked the school if she could start it, she was told that they could not tell whether she could or could not start the line. If the school’s policy stated that a line could not be formed until after the applications were out, she would have been told by the school that she couldn’t start the line yet.

A second piece of misinformation about this year’s line is the make-up of the students hoping to be enrolled. For a little background, I am a city employee and my wife is in sales. Our second choice for elementary school is Alpine Crest Elementary in Red Bank, the school my daughter is zoned for. I have not met a single parent in the current group whose second choice is Baylor, McCallie or GPS. This year’s “line” literally has students from every part of the county. We have prospective students from every race , we have single mothers, we have single fathers, we are diverse, and we have the entire scope of the socio-economic scale of Hamilton County represented by the parents and students currently in line.

I feel that I can say with confidence that the main motivation behind the parents currently hoping to get into these schools is strictly because of the excellent reputation in education that both schools have. Many of the parents and teachers I met from CSAS expressed that they feel a parent’s willingness to take an active role in their child’s education is a determining factor in these school’s reputation. As a participant and witness to the parent’s involvement in this years application process, I can definitely say that this will continue with the kindergarten class of 2011.

One last piece of misinformation I’d like to address is the assertion in an earlier piece that the parents in this years line had “no honor”. I can honestly say that I have been very impressed with the willingness and fortitude of the parents in this year’s line. As a group I can tell you that we did not intend to “cheat” the system in any way. Personally I feel the line was started too early and in the future a little bit of regulation from the schools could prevent this miscommunication from occuring. The line system worked for a long time in the hands of the parents, but I think that the school’s’ reputations of being head and shoulders above some other schools in Hamilton County will dictate a change in the policy. I think a school-regulated line could be effective in accepting applications in a fair manner. I challenge other parents who have such strong opinions on the subject to contact the admissions office from the school and request to be a part of the team looking into the changes to be made for next year’s application policy as I have. Working together as parents and citizens for the betterment of our community and school system as opposed to simply complaining about the problems we feel these systems have may be the best lesson we can teach our children from this entire situation.

Randy Steele
Red Bank

* * *

I, like Ms. Joels, feel that the administrators at CSAS misled many parents into believing that a registration line couldn't be started until the applications were ready. After letting the school know that I was interested in starting a registration line, I was told, "Please check back after Labor Day to find out if the applications are available." Too bad for me that my "misinformation and assumption" came from school officials.

As far as making a clever tactic of researching the CSAS/CSLA website and HCDE website for a policy that states applications must be ready before a line can start, tell me where is the policy written anywhere that states parents can begin a self-proclaimed list of people that want to attend the school. The only policy is that registration is on a first come-first serve basis. I understand that for the last few years the school has allowed parents to initiate a registration line to eliminate the camping out situation. But by accepting the list, the school is validating the list. But yet the school does not provide guidance or rules to follow. In this case, the school actually misled many parents. Who is in charge of this process, the school or the parents?

This year's list was begun so early because there were rumors that CSAS/CSLA was thinking of changing to an equitable lottery system. This list was started to try to circumvent the new process. It was started in hopes that the school would feel compelled to accept the list. Ultimately it seems they were successful in manipulating the school system.

This year's registration process has been akin to a foot race where everyone is poised at the starting line waiting for the official to fire his gun to start the race, instead one of the runners yells "Go" and races down the field to win. Congratulations to the winner.

This fiasco at CSAS/CSLA should be reviewed and the list deemed invalid and not recognized by the schools as originally decided. Everyone that wants to attend these two magnet schools should be given an equal playing field to apply.

Don't make the assumption that everyone "in the line" wants the line or is happy with the line.

Brenda Hall
Hixson

* * *

There seem to be many misunderstandings about "the line" for CSAS and CSLA Kindergarten registration this year. I inquired with the school about admissions many months before "the line" started, and I was not ever told that applications must first be available before a line formed. On the Hamilton County Dept. of Education website, the information relating to "the line" stated that "in the past, parents have taken measures to insure that their child's application is among the first receievd by the Paideia Admissions Office. In the event parents begin forming a line to be among the first to submit applications,.......that line will be recognized by both the district and the schools." This is word for word from the website.

When the parents in "the line" were told on Monday August 30th that the line would not be honored, that is when the HCDE changed the website. They have since added that wording back into the website. I don't think any parents were looking to "cheat the system." I also do not think anyone knew of a plan to change the admissions policy for the 2011-2012 school year. Current parents of students at the schools and teachers were not aware of a supposed change. I don't think there were plans for a change until this line started.

The fact that is was 2 months earlier than when applications are usually accepted shocked everyone and I believe this is what prompted school officials to try to make a change. I don't think anyone feels like it is a good idea to stand in line for 2 months, but those on the list simply felt it was unfair to change the rules after a line had already formed. We all know that a lot of the schools in our county are not successful. These 2 schools have a tremendous track record for providing a top-notch education and this is why so many parents start these lines earlier and earlier each year - to ensure that their children are admitted. With the state of our economy, private schools are just not an option for many people and with that in mind, I had many people guessing "the line" would start before Labor Day. It turns out they were right. I think that since standing in line for the schools is something that has been done for more than 15 years, parents who wished for their children to attend this school knew that they needed to keep eyes and ears open for the start of the line. As said earlier, I wasn't expecting it to be this early, but when I got to my cell phone and saw 9 missed calls I had a pretty good idea what was going on. I believe the Superintendent and school officials made the right decision by allowing "the line" to stand. The parents on this list only did what parents for years before have done.

Stacie Smith
Chattanooga