Students apply for placement in a magnet program. All students who apply for a magnet program must meet any entrance requirements that may exist for the school or magnet program and agree to fulfill program requirements to remain enrolled in the magnet program. Transportation will be provided if the magnet school serves the student’s identified transportation zone or is a county-wide magnet program. Beginning in the 2010-11 school year, CMS established magnet shuttle stops for students who attend selected full magnet schools.
Application Checklist
1. Enroll in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
Current CMS students do not need to enroll again. The 2013-2014 Student Enrollment process for new students runs from October 5 to December 7, 2012. New students to CMS must enroll by December 7, 2012 to be eligible for the First Magnet Lottery that runs January 12 – February 11, 2013. Students who enroll between December 10, 2012 - April 12, 2013 will be eligible for the Second Magnet Lottery which runs March 13 – May 3, 2013.
Families who enroll after April 12, 2013 will be assigned to their home school and may request placement in a magnet school through the reassignment/transfer process. Enrollment information can be found in the Student Placement section of the CMS website.
Current CMS students do not need to enroll. Students currently attending a CMS school may disregard the first step. All CMS students will automatically be sent lottery application information for the First Magnet Lottery in January.
2. Visit the Magnet Schools
The best way to determine if a school and program are a good fit for your child is to take a look for yourself. Contact the school for open house dates or schedule a visit. A listing of Open House dates can be found in the Magnet Programs section of the CMS website. Open house events for the first lottery will be held from October 2012 - February 2013.
3. Visit the CMS Magnet School Fair
From 9:00am – 1:00pm, Saturday, January 12th, 2013, representatives from all CMS magnet schools and from various CMS departments will be present at Phillip O. Berry Academy of Technology to take part in the district Magnet Fair. This is an excellent opportunity for “one-stop shopping” as families can learn about each school’s magnet program, have their questions answered, and begin to formulate a list of prospective magnet schools for consideration as options on the lottery application.
4. Submit your CMS Magnet Lottery Application
All current CMS students and students who were enrolled as future CMS students by December 7, 2012 will be sent instruction letters with Student Identification and PIN numbers the first week in January. These numbers will allow access to the student’s personalized, online Magnet Lottery Application form. The online Magnet Lottery Applications for the First Lottery will be available January 12 – February 11, 2013 at 10:00pm.
New and future students who enroll between December 10, 2012 and April 12, 2013 will be sent their Student Identification and PIN numbers beginning in mid-March, 2013. This will allow them to have access to their online Magnet Lottery Application form. The online Magnet Lottery Applications for the Second Lottery will be available March 13 until May 3, 2013.
Applicants must acknowledge the Magnet Expectations Agreement in order to complete their Magnet Lottery Application and it must be submitted by the lottery application deadline in order to be processed. For those families that do not have internet access, CMS Learning Zone offices and the Student Placement Office will have computer kiosks available. Families can also access computers at their local public library.
