Kelsey Volkmann, The Examiner
2008-05-12 07:00:00.0
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BALTIMORE -

More than half of the seats have been filled at the six new combined middle-high schools opening in Baltimore this fall, showing parents’ desire for new schools and new options for their kids.

About 475 of the 880 seats at the combined middle-high schools, which will be public but run by private operators, have been filled, said Vanessa Pyatt, schools spokeswoman.

The deadline to sign up is Tuesday. If more applications are submitted than available seats, a lottery will be held this month.

City schools chief Andres Alonso wants to open these schools to entice parents to keep their kids in city schools because many enroll their children in private and county schools after eighth grade.

“It becomes very difficult to move the district forward if we are losing the most invested parents every single year after eighth grade,” Alonso said.

“These schools really answer the call parents have been making for more options for their kids.”

The combined middle-high schools, which will offer themes from health career preparation to civic engagement, boast better attendance, graduation and college admittance rates than traditional public schools.

Parents can visit bcps.k12.md.us to learn more.

kvolkmann@baltimoreexaminer.com