Fort Wayne Community Schools is inviting interested families to tour its elementary, middle and high schools during Tuesday Tours this month.
The tours will be available Tuesdays, Jan. 15, 22 and 29 to allow families to visit schools before the Feb. 1 deadline to turn in transfer applications.
The district’s school-choice program allows families to apply to attend any school in the district, regardless of residency.
Families can visit most elementary schools from 9 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 3 p.m. and middle and high schools from 8 to 10 a.m. Bunche and Towles Montessori schools will offer tours from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. and noon to 2 p.m. Bunche, 1111 Greene St., will have an additional open house from 1 to 4 p.m. today.
FWCS has seven magnet schools, which have no boundaries and draw students from across the district. Bunche Early Childhood Center and Towles Intermediate School provide Montessori instruction; Whitney Young Early Childhood, Weisser Park Elementary and Memorial Park Middle offer fine-arts programs; Croninger Elementary focuses on communications; and Irwin Elementary specializes in math and science.
Each FWCS high school has a program of study, giving students an opportunity to participate in a special program or take career-oriented elective classes. These include Project Lead the Way-Engineering at Northrop; global studies at North Side; Project Lead the Way-Biomedical at Snider; International Baccalaureate at South Side; and New Tech Academy and business at Wayne.
Each year, about a third of FWCS families take advantage of the choice program.
Parents interested in applying to a different school should submit an application by Feb. 1. Applications are available at each school and online at www.fortwayneschools.org.
If there are more applicants than available spaces at any school, students will be chosen by lottery. The lotteries will be held Feb. 22, with elementary at 9 a.m. and middle and high school at 1 p.m. at Grile Administrative Center, 1200 S. Clinton St.
