Hamilton County Department of Education officials announced a new pilot program providing open enrollment opportunities for students.
Rivermont Elementary School and Brown Academy will pilot a new open enrollment process for K-5 students for the 2017-2018 school year.
Interested parents may fill out the open enrollment form at the schools May 1-31, 2017. The number of open enrollment slots will be determined by the schools’ principals. Open enrollment positions will be filled in a first-come, first-served basis.
“Parents have told us they want more choices,” said HCDE Chief Academic Officer Jill Levine. “So we looked at innovative ways to open up more opportunities for parents across Hamilton County. We are thrilled more parents can now get the chance to discover two schools that offer rich arts and STEM programs.”
For parents interested in learning more about two of Hamilton County’s hidden gems, Brown Academy will hold an open house May 9th from 6-7 p.m. Rivermont Elementary will hold its open house May 18th from 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Brown Academy Principal Emily Baker looks forward to welcoming more students to her school. “Open enrollment will allow us to showcase the innovative programs going on at Brown, including our partnership as we build a lab school with UTC (University of Tennessee at Chattanooga),” she said. Brown Academy is located on the UTC campus.
Laboratory schools are schools operated by a college or university used especially for student teaching and the demonstration of cutting-edge classroom practices.
Rivermont Elementary Principal Nikki Bailey hopes more parents discover the school’s new focus. “We emphasize STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) and project-based learning in our school with plans to build an outdoor classroom and greenhouse,” she said.
If the pilot program is successful, additional schools could participate in open enrollment in the future, as space allows.