CHICAGO — The deadline to apply for spots in the city's magnet, military or selective enrollment schools is Friday.
Parents should use the "Standard Application" for magnet schools, which emphasize Advanced Placement and honors classes, and magnet cluster schools, which feature concentrations, such as fine arts or math and science, CPS said.
The "Selective Enrollment Application" works for selective elementary schools and high schools, as well as Chicago's six military academies.
Parents should have already applied for a Personal Identification Number through CPS — assigning a PIN takes five business days, so those haven't completed that step are ineligible to apply until the end of the school year.
Also due Friday are applications for CPS's gifted and enriched academic programs (GEAP). The city's 13 regional gifted centers accept the selective enrollment application from students who qualify based on their 2011-2012 Illinois Standard Achievement Test (ISAT) scores.
Paper applications must be postmarked by Friday, but CPS is encouraging parents to go digital and apply online, which allows for immediate confirmation of reciept and also diminishes the "chances for parent error."
Regional gifted centers consider students scoring at or above the 90th percentile in reading comprehension and math. Students in the 80th percentile are eligible for classical schools, and academic centers consider students at or above the 70th percentile in both subjects.
Students performing in the 90th percentile in one subject and in the 80th percentile in the other are also eligible for international gifted programs housed at Lincoln Elementary School and the Ogden International School of Chicago.
Selective enrollment schools, on the other hand, run their own testing. Elementary school-aged applicants will be assigned test dates between November and February.
Magnet and open enrollment schools will often consider the value of keeping siblings together, according to CPS.
There's a second chance for parents who miss Friday's deadline. Applications for the End-of-Year Citywide Options Program to fill open seats in magnet, magnet cluster and open enrollment schools are accepted until 5 p.m. May 25, 2013.
