Montgomery County Public Schools

One hundred percent of eighth grade students moving into Northeast Consortium schools next fall will receive their first choice of school assignment for the 2002-03 school year.

Students in the consortium area have the option of attending James Hubert Blake, Paint Branch, or Springbrook high schools. Blake has a signature program in fine arts and humanities. Paint Branch's signature program focuses on science and media. Springbrook has a signature program on information technology in a global society and an International Baccalaureate program.

Sixty-one percent of the students selected their base area school as first choice, and 39 percent selected a school other than their base area school as their first choice.

This year, the fifth year of the Northeast Consortium Preferred Choice student assignment process, 1,363 forms were entered into the computerized process. Since the consortium was established, 364 students from private schools have participated, including 58 for the 2002-03 school year. Data from previous years indicate a gradual increase in the number of private school students entering the Northeast Consortium in the first school choice round each year since the second year of implementation.

During the second round of the Preferred Choice process, any student who has attended a Northeast Consortium high school for one school year may make a new choice within the consortium the following year. On average, less than 2 percent of high school students in the Northeast Consortium request a change in high school each year.