DeKalb schools unveil new school-choice enrollment process

A new website for enrollment into magnet schools and other accelerated programs will roll out Monday, and school officials say it is more user-friendly and efficient than its predecessor.

Complaints began immediately last winter from parents who sought unsuccessfully to get their children into the highly sought programs. Parents have complained for years that students with lower grades and test scores than their children are admitted into an elite program that can put students on the fast track to educational success. In addition to those allegations, a computer-generated lottery system ruled out some students by mistakenly classifying them as living outside the district and by dropping some grades from their records. School Choice director Pat Copeland said last summer that it was time for the entire system’s software to be replaced.