Navigating the School Scare Frenzy or How I Learned to Love eChoices

Amy Kiehl
Even if you are not a parent, if you live in Los Angeles, you must have witnessed
the School Scare Frenzy. You know, that histrionic daze that takes over after
your first visit to your first playgroup with your first three month old? Where are
you applying for preschool? What classes do you have her in? Can she sit up?
Have you had him tested/immunized/waitlisted?
Since my husband and I relocated from Brooklyn to New York when our oldest
child was 19 months old, (9 months pregnant with our second) I missed most of
the Frenzy, and was so very lucky to have had an informed and generous
obstetrician. She was going to a mommy and me class that she loved, so I
tagged along. She was applying there for preschool, so I did too. It was only
after the applications were submitted that I understood how stressful and
overwhelming the search for school can be. Preschool was just the beginning.
We were lucky. The preschool we wound up at had a director who, each year,
offered a symposium on how to navigate the LAUSD system. She was (is) a big
proponent of public schools, and the Los Angeles United School District is filled
with excellent, challenging schools to fit almost every child in the system, no
matter what their needs, interests and/or abilities are. The trick isnt forcing your
child to study or to simply enjoy school; the trick is finding the right school for your
child and then figuring out how to actually get them enrolled.
When my oldest was 3, and the Montessori director invited us, with all the other
preschool parents, to come discuss the system known as eChoices, I thought it
was probably a little too soon to be worried about elementary school. My
husband pointed out that we had nothing else going on that evening, and so we
went; mostly because we truly enjoyed the other parents company and wanted to
socialize a little more. It retrospect, it was one of the best parenting decisions we
have ever made, and I am grateful almost every day that I was given the
opportunity to understand how to navigate the LA public school system

successfully.
The truth is that unless someone actually sits down and explains the system of
eChoices, Magnet schools, Magnet points, wait list points, overcrowded points,
sibling points and PHBAO you will likely not ever grasp what opportunities and
obstacles exist with regard to schooling in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, you
absolutely need that knowledge in order to enroll your child in one of the many
desirable magnet programs here in the city.
What is a magnet school? According to the LAUSD Choices Program website
magnet schools are Court-Ordered voluntary integration opportunities
available to students in grades K-12 living within the LAUSD
boundaries. Currently, there are 198 Magnet Programs located
throughout the District. All District students, including English
Learners, Special Education and Gifted/Talented are encouraged to
apply. The program was established in 1977 as an alternative to desegregation
busing, in an effort to level the playing field when it came to what students attend
which schools. The magnet program schools all have specific quotas under the
LAUSD guidelines, and the only possible way your child can attend any magnet
school in Los Angeles is through points; these points are assigned in a variety of
ways to all prospective students. How you collect those points, which is your
gateway into a magnet program, is straightforward, convoluted, easy, frustrating,
and can be manipulated by parents who have all the right information and pay
attention to deadlines and rules. I am going to explain it to you.
You can certainly begin collecting your points when your child heads into
Kindergarten, but most people use their points to get into the right middle school
for them and their family. The first piece of information you will want to know is
what is your home school , and is that school considered overcrowded and/or
PHBAO (which stands for Predominantly Hispanic, Black, Asian and Other NonAnglo). If your home school has either of these designations, you will receive
four points for each (or for just one, depending on the designation). If your child
has a sibling at the school you are applying to, you will receive another three
points, known as sibling points. Theoretically, you could bang out the maximum
points for your child, and then begin applying to magnet schools willy nilly until

you get into one, right? Except, magnet points expire after three years. If you
like your elementary school, you dont want to start collecting points until your
child is in 2nd grade. This means that you would fill out the eChoices application
while your child is in 2nd grade for 3rd grade.
I just made a big leap. 3rd grade? Why would you want to switch your child midelementary school, especially if you and (more importantly) your child are happy?
Heres where it gets tricky.
The absolute, maximum points a child can have is 23. It is unlikely that your child
will have that much, but a few do, and here is how it breaks down:
4
4
3
12

PHABO
Overcrowded
Sibling
Wait List

Chances are that you will not be in an overcrowded school because, even though
LAUSD is the second largest public school system in the country, they have taken
pains to increase the number of schools to relieve overcrowding. Dont worry.
Most people will not have those points, so it does not edge you out of the
competition.
What are wait list points?
Wait list points are the points that are awarded to your child for NOT getting into
the magnet program you applied to last year, and here is one of the most
important things for you to understand about wait list points: they expire.
Another really important thing for you to know is that if you start collecting wait list
points when your child is in kindergarten, it is LIKELY, very likely, that they will get
into the magnet program you are applying to. I will back up because I know this
is confusing.
First of all, there are magnet elementary schools in LAUSD. Open Charter,

Wonderland, Community Magnet, Mid City Magnet all of these elementary

schools will graduate your child with Matriculation points, and they will all receive
12. These matriculations points are only good for one year, and are intended for
the use of applying to a magnet middle school. All the students who are NOT in
a magnet elementary school, and in public or private elementary schools, will
have to stock up on their waiting list points so that they, too, will have those 12
points to apply to a magnet middle school program. Those 12 points are
absolutely necessary for your child to move forward into the LAUSD magnet
program. However, those 12 points will never be enough, which is why you need
to know if your home school (which is the school that you would be assigned to in
the LAUSD district if you sent your child to school the way most of us went to
school when we attended elementary school, not necessarily the school you are
sending your child to). If you are sending your child to a charter school, or a
private school, that is not what LAUSD will consider your home school. Find out
what it is, and if you get PHABO points. Its important.
Student Integration is the office in LAUSD that runs the eChoices program. They
are really nice, lovely people, and they are very conversant in the magnet
program, points, deadlines and the rules. They will not be able to help you get
into a magnet program, no matter what you say, so it is really important that you
understand the rules, and the protocol. The reason you do not want to apply for
wait list points before your child is in 2nd grade (going into 3rd) is that if you do,
you will be accruing points faster than almost every other parent who
understands the system in LAUSD, which means that you will get into a magnet
elementary school. This may be your plan. You may not love your current
elementary school, and you may really want to go to Community Magnet (we
did .. wanted to, that is), and if that is the case, you should most definitely apply
for those magnet wait list points immediately.
If that is not your preference, start applying to a magnet elementary school when
your child is in 2nd grade. If you wait until they are in 3rd grade, it will be too late
and you will not have enough points to be competitive for 6th grade. Heres the
secret: apply to the most popular magnet elementary school you can find, that
you would be willing to move your child to. I will say that another way: submit

your eChoices application for one of the magnet elementary school that is almost
impossible to get into; it is likely that you will be rejected, and then you will have
those four, magical wait list points for that particular year. Before you pick a
school, ask yourself two really important things: 1. are you willing to move your
child if he or she gets in. Why? Because if you turn down your spot in that
school, you will lose ALL of your points accrued thus far, and will have to start all
over again. 2. Is it an elementary school that ends at 5th grade, or is it a span
school, that continues until 8th grade, or even 12th? If it is a span school, once
you are in, you will receive zero points to matriculate to another magnet program
in LAUSD, and will need to keep your child in that program until the last year
designated for that program (there are many span schools that end in 8th). If you
get into a span school, like Valley Alternative School (which is a spectacularly
great magnet school), you will not be able to transfer to another magnet school
using points.
So you start to play the points game. You will have endless conversations with
your partner, your friends, your principals, even your neighbors about what school
to apply to, what program is best for you, how to get into that middle school and
what is eChoices, anyway? I am very involved in the magnet school that my kids
attend, and I am always in the parent center after the prospective parent tour to
answer questions about the school and help the parents with whatever they
need. Almost every single parent who comes into that room asks me how they
can get their child into that school, and it is with true and deep regret that I have
to let them know that it is too late. If they are there with a 4th grader, and have
never been taught about eChoices, or followed up on a conversation they
overheard or were part if at their preschool, it is too late for their child to attend
our school in 6th grade. That is not to say that they can all begin to collect their
points so that they can apply down the road, once theyve collected enough to be
competitive. The reality is, though, that 6th grade has an incoming class of 240
and 8th grade will maybe have 25 spots available. It would be hugely
disappointing (to me) to know if I had only been informed, I could have helped
navigate my childs education and helping them into the right school.
As a side note, there are some elementary magnet schools that have been

designated feeder school into certain magnet programs. I encourage you to

visit the eChoices web site, look up schools, research the 198 magnet programs
in LAUSD; remember, these are public schools. Those magnet programs have
incredible teachers, and please consider that the parents who take the time to
understand the system are the parents who are at that school with you. They are
involved, focused, supportive and want the best for their child and their
community. There are arts magnets, science magnets, college prep magnets,,
there is even a zoo magnet that will give your student practical experience
working with animals and a great understanding of the zoo as workplace. A
caveat here: there is still the system of random selection applied to all students,
even after their points have been collected and assessed. The more points your
child has, the likelier it is that they will get into the magnet school of your dreams,
but it is still not a guarantee. It is highly unlikely that you will not get into any
program if you collect your points and work within the system, but there is still no
absolutely, foolproof way to gain admittance because the one variable no one can
control is selection and your luck of the draw.
Dont be put off by the extraordinarily complicated system. It can be so beneficial
if you do it right and your child will thrive! My final piece of advice: do not miss
the eChoices deadline. When its over, its over. Dont lose your points and take
your chid out of the running because you missed the deadline. eChoices usually
opens in October, and you will have approximately 6 weeks to apply and submit
your application, on line or via mail. If you change your mind about the school
you are applying to, you can update your application; the only one that counts is
the last one you submit. Good luck and may the points be with you!!!