The annual elementary lottery for the Columbus Municipal School District will open next month.
The district announced plans to open the lottery on Monday. Applications will be available at Brandon Central Services on Friday. They can be turned in from Feb. 10 through March 3.
Through the lottery program, parents list their top three school choices for their children. The children are then matched to schools on a first come, first serve basis. School choices available are Cook Fine Arts Magnet School, Fairview Aerospace and Science Magnet School, Franklin Medical Science and Wellness Magnet School, Sale International Studies Magnet School and Stokes-Beard Technology and Communication Magnet School.
The lottery is open to children who are new to the district or children wishing to change schools. Those who are happy with their current placement need not reapply, school officials said.
To help parents choose which school suits their child best, the district is hosting a series of open houses at the five elementary schools.
Open house dates and times
Cook
Monday, Feb. 3
5 p.m.- 7 p.m.
Fairview
Tuesday, Feb. 4
5 p.m.-7 p.m.
Franklin:
Thursday, Feb. 6
5 p.m.- 7 p.m.
Stokes-Beard
Tuesday, Feb. 4
5 p.m.- 7 p.m.
Sale
Thursday, Feb. 6
5 p.m.- 7 p.m.
Sarah Fowler covered crime, education and community related events for The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.