Learning Curve

Since your address will determine which schools your sons and daughters will be eligible to attend, and since getting an exception to send them elsewhere can often be difficult, it only makes sense to shop for schools while you are shopping for a home.

An Internet search can be a good way to start researching local schools. It can help you narrow down the list while saving gasoline and telephone tag time.

If you don't have a computer, or if it's packed up with all your other worldly goods, public libraries usually have computers for public use. The first stop should be the Florida Department of Education Web site at www.fldoe.org, where you can find a complete listing of every school in the state and their most recent performance grades.

Tampa Bay Homebuyer can also help. Following is a primer describing local school systems, how they operate and how to evaluate them based on standardized test scores and other factors.

The ABC's of FCAT

In Florida, schools as well as students are graded, from A to F. The school's grade is based, in part, on how its students perform on a standardized test called the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. FCAT testing starts at third grade and continues through the 10th grade. Students in third and 10th grades must pass the FCAT to progress.

The test has been somewhat controversial. Proponents say the FCAT provides a fair and balanced method of rating how much students are learning-and how effectively teachers are teaching. It brings accountability, they say, where previously there had been none.

Critics, however, claim the FCAT forces teachers to "teach to the test," thereby producing students who become more proficient at test taking than anything else. Plus, they say, the FCAT penalizes schools where students are economically disadvantaged or where a significant number speak English as a second language.

In any case, raw FCAT scores are only part of the calculation when school grades are determined. In addition, there's a measurement of how much low-performing students improve their scores from the previous year.

Schools that receive an A are obviously succeeding, but schools that receive lower marks aren't necessarily doing a poor job. Indeed, relying strictly on a letter grade to assess a school can give a misleading impression.

For example, less-than-expected FCAT improvement from a relatively small group of low-performing students will result in a lower grade for an entire school even if most other students do very well.

Also, a school serving a significant number of children who speak English as their second language-not uncommon in multicultural Florida-may receive a grade that does not necessarily reflect how well students are learning.

Do Your Homework

In the Tampa Bay area, there are considerable variations from county to county as to how students are assigned to schools and how much control parents have over the schools their children attend.

Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Hernando and Manatee counties all offer a home page with links to individual schools, newcomer information, registration tips, activities, programs and services. The Hillsborough Web site is www.sdhc.k12.fl.us; Pinellas is www.pinellas.k12.fl.us; Pasco is www.pasco.k12.fl.us; Hernando is www.hcsb.k12.fl.us.; and Manatee is www.manatee.k12.fl.us.

Online, you can find out which schools offer advanced-placement courses or help with learning disabilities. Some Web sites offer school grades and enrollment numbers as well as teacher-pupil ratios and the number of teachers with master's degrees.

But when you're finished using high-tech methods to research schools, you might opt to enlist some old-fashioned research techniques, such as talking to people and asking questions.

Ask your real estate agent, people you meet in line at the supermarket or introduce yourself to the other family waiting for a table at a restaurant. Parents love to talk about their kids, and you may make a friend in the process.

Once you've narrowed your list to a handful of schools, schedule time to drive by at drop-off and pick-up time. Take a look at the students coming and going and get a feel for the organization, safety and morale of the place.

Are parents and teachers smiling and saying good morning? Do the older children help the little ones struggling with their backpacks? Are there plenty of adults shepherding children from bus lanes and cars?

Take your family to a fund raiser or sporting event at the school you're considering. Football games, car washes, carnivals or bake sales offer the opportunity to see students in action and, at the very least, you're supporting involved young people.

Still, nothing beats a personal visit. Call the school office and request to meet with the principal for a few minutes and take a brief tour of the facilities. Have a list of questions ready and ask if you may telephone or e-mail with follow-up questions.

A Matter of Choice

What if the home you've fallen in love with is zoned for a school with which you're less than impressed? Getting permission to transfer a child out of his or her assigned school is a process that varies in complexity from county to county.

Some counties allow children to move freely between district schools, providing there's room. Parents simply fill out a form, agree to provide their own transportation and get the principal's signature.

In other counties, children are only transferred to different schools under extraordinary circumstances involving medical needs or financial hardship. Parents fill out lengthy applications, attach a letter stating specific reasons for the request and wait as the school board individually reviews each case.

The state offers children the opportunity to transfer if their district school shows "consistent underperformance"-a failing grade for two out of the last four years. These students may receive vouchers allowing them to switch to a different public school or even a private school. If a private school is chosen, the state pays tuition costs up to the existing per-student allocation for a public school.

But, since such poor school performance is rare in the Tampa Bay area, here are summaries of how each local county handles student assignment and requests for transfer.

Hillsborough County
(813) 272-4000

In the region's largest county, students are assigned to a district school based on street address. Special assignments are considered only after the parent fills out an application from the desired school and provides a letter explaining the hardship to the school board office.

Job location and childcare issues may be valid arguments for a transfer for students up to seventh grade. But there are no guarantees, and each case is reviewed on an individual basis. At the beginning of this school year, there were more than 6,000 such requests before the Hillsborough School Board.

Magnet schools, which offer specialized curricula, each have their own application processes. There's a lottery system currently in place for some elementary and middle school magnet programs.

Hillsborough also has charter schools and schools with special programs under Exceptional Student Education. ESE students run the gamut from hearing impaired to gifted.

Pinellas County
(727) 586-1818

For the past three years, Pinellas County has tried something different. Instead of traditional school districts, school assignments are made using Attendance Areas.

Street addresses are still used to determine Attendance Areas. But, within each designated sector, children could be sent to any one of several elementary, middle and high schools.

Pinellas County residents don't even register their children at schools or in school board offices, but rather at one of two Family Education and Information Centers.

Say, for example, you buy a home on Happy Street in St. Petersburg, and your new address places you in Attendance Area B. Your child will be assigned to a school within Area B, but not necessarily the school attended by the children next door or the school you wanted when you selected the neighborhood.

This system gives Pinellas County the flexibility to create schools with equal numbers and diverse populations.

Parents do, however, have a window of opportunity to request a particular school. Check the school system's Web site periodically to find out the dates for making such requests.

Pinellas also offers a Special Attendance Request program for parents who wish to move a child from one school to another. Application forms are available at every school, and each case will be reviewed individually.

Magnet schools are thriving in Pinellas. The admission process begins with an application, which can be picked up at the school. The county also offers charter schools, fundamental programs, advanced placement, special programs for students with learning disabilities and more.

The school system's Web site offers information on each school and the specific programs offered, along with statistics on expenditures per pupil, school status and performance and how many teachers hold advanced degrees.

Pasco County
(727) 848-6590

Pasco County assigns students to a school based on home address within designated Attendance Zones. Each Attendance Zone offers one elementary school, one middle school and one high school, so your child will most likely sit in class with other children from your neighborhood.

A transfer option is also available. An application can be picked up at the school your child is zoned to attend and turned in to the student services department. Extraordinary circumstances are looked at carefully, but if you want a school that isn't overcrowded, and if you're willing to drive your child yourself, chances are you'll be granted permission to switch schools.

The school system's Web site offers information about each school's student population, uniform requirements and mascot. If you want more in-depth statistics or answers to specific questions, you'll have to call the individual school office.

Pasco also offers several charter schools, but no magnet schools.

Hernando County
(352) 797-7000

Hernando County determines your child's school by your street address. But, before you count your child's school as a given, keep in mind that it could change in the next year or two. Rapid growth has created a need to carve up the district differently, and rezoning is expected sometime in 2006 or 2007.

Through Hernando's Special Attendance Request program, a transfer to a different school may be granted when parents prove a valid need, such as medical reasons or financial hardship.

The process starts with filling out a form from the assigned school and getting the principal's signature. Next, parents need a signature from the principal of the desired school and a letter stating their reasons for requesting a transfer. All materials are then sent to the Hernando School Board and reviewed case by case.

Enrollment in Hernando's magnet schools is decided by lottery, but children with special gifts and aptitudes receive a "weighted" application, which gives them a greater chance of acceptance. Contact magnet schools individually to begin the process.

Manatee County
(941) 708-4971

In Manatee County, students are assigned to a zoned school based on their parents' address. To prove residency, parents must submit a current utility bill, a lease or other documentation to the Parent Information Center.

Growth in Manatee County has been explosive, resulting in construction of numerous new schools. That means redistricting is always a possibility, so when buying a home, parents should be aware that school zones may change.

Manatee County's Open Enrollment Choice Program offers students the opportunity to apply to schools other than those for which they are zoned.

Elementary and middle school students may apply to any school within their cluster/region. And incoming ninth and 10th-grade students may apply to any high school in the county. Applications are considered based on school capacity, proximity to the school and other neutral factors.

Parents can visit the Parent Information Center at 234 Manatee Ave. E. in Bradenton to learn about school choice options or visit the school district's Web site at www.manatee.k12.fl.us.

Manatee County schools offer six elementary magnet schools, four middle school magnet schools and numerous high school academy programs. Applications for magnet schools are made through the Open Enrollment Choice period, while applications to high school academies are made directly to the academy sponsors.

Students who must transfer from a school based on hardships related to medical, safety or other extenuating circumstances may also file an application at the Parent Information Center.