There are several different ways to become a student at Jefferson Lighthouse School.  Below you will find a more thorough explanation of the process. Unfortunately, every year there are more students who would like to attend our school than there are spaces available.  Please read and understand the options and be persistent--often, it takes more than one try to get in. What you need to know about enrolling at Jefferson Lighthouse School Some basic facts: JLS serves grades kindergarten through fifth. There are two kindergarten classes and four classes of the other grade levels. There is a maximum of 105 children per grade level, with four teachers per grade level. Maximum class size is 26 students. Each year, there are between 550 and 570 students, representing more than 400 families, enrolled at our school. Approximately 60% of the students at JLS have been identified as intellectually gifted and 40% are in the program through an open enrollment lottery process or sibling preference. How does a student get into JLS? Each year JLS accepts approximately 50 new kindergartners (open enrollment lottery or sibling preference only) and 50 new first graders (all via testing in / identified as gifted). Exact numbers vary each year in order to maintain the 60/40 balance. Some students enter the school after first grade to fill vacancies at upper grade levels when families move out of the school district or choose to leave the school. There are three ways for students to qualify for enrollment at JLS: 1. Lottery system 2. Testing in / identified as gifted 3. Sibling preference for kindergarten Lottery system The lottery system is a means of enrolling new kindergarten students and filling vacancies in the upper grade levels.  The number of students enrolled via the lottery varies each year. Parents must attend an orientation meeting and fill out a lottery application form, requesting enrollment at JLS for the upcoming school year. You will be notified by mail, usually in April, if your student is one of the new students randomly selected. You must then confirm your pending enrollment with JLS. Not all those selected will eventually choose to attend and those openings will then be offered to the next names on the waiting list. Even if you are uncertain about enrolling, go ahead and submit a form. You can always decline at a later date, but if you miss this chance to enroll or get on a waiting list, it is more difficult to enroll in the future. The lottery and waiting list generated are good for one year. Parents must apply for lottery status each year in the future and must remember that only a few new students are added to the JLS population at the upper grade levels each year. Testing in / identified as gifted The majority of new students at JLS are identified as gifted through testing at the end of the kindergarten year, and are then invited to enroll in the program. These tests are administered to all RUSD kindergarten students in April. Gifted is defined as falling within the upper 6% of the kindergartners tested. The parents of all kindergarten students identified as gifted will receive a letter in the mail in May.  Enclosed with that letter is a postcard to return to Jefferson to signify interest in having their child attend Jefferson.  However, there are not enough spaces available at the school for all those students to enroll so enrollment for gifted students is on a first-come, first-served basis. That’s why it’s important that you return your card stating your desire to enroll as quickly as possible—you might even want to deliver it in person. We accept only about 40 new students this way each year. Again, a waiting list is established so if some students opt not to attend, others are then invited. Even if you are in doubt, return the enrollment card anyway. You can always say no later—but it’s more difficult to get in if you decide later that you do want to attend.  Students coming into RUSD, including those from outside the district and those from private and parochial school, grades K-5, will be tested at the district’s enrollment center. Those students identified as intellectually gifted will be eligible for entry to JLS and placed on a waiting list. Sibling preference RUSD’s magnet schools have a sibling preference policy so that when possible, younger siblings from the same family can attend the same school. Therefore, once you have a student enrolled at the school, younger children who reach school age while the older sibling is still enrolled at JLS will be enrolled here as well, starting in kindergarten. It makes no difference whether the older student came to the school via open enrollment or was identified as gifted. Remember, the older sibling must have been a student at the school for at least a year and must still be at the school when the younger sibling starts.  In order for a younger student does qualify for enrollment through sibling preference, parents must still fill out and submit an application form.  However, this policy does not include older siblings. If your student is selected for enrollment at JLS, any older school-age siblings generally remain at the school where they are currently enrolled. They can apply through the lottery, however, class openings are extremely limited. The class day The school day runs from 8:58 a.m. until 3:42 p.m. There is a break at midday for lunch and recess.  Students spend classroom time learning reading, mathematics, language arts, science, social studies and other subjects. In addition, each day has a designated “specialist” time when students have classes in art, music, physical education or library on a daily, rotating basis. What about busing? As with all RUSD schools, students who attend JLS are eligible to receive free bus transportation if they live more than two miles from the school. (Busing for students who live closer may be available for an annual fee. Contact the RUSD transportation department for more information on that option.) Because students who attend JLS come from all over the district, approximately 80% of our students ride the bus. Because of the size of the district and the location of JLS, bus rides for some students can be quite long, although the district’s goal is that no student spend more than 60 minutes on a bus to or from school. What makes JLS special? JLS uses what is known as a thinking curriculum—it may sound confusing, but we teach students to think about their own thinking. The goal  is to teach skills which are considered basic, but are key to developing the ability to think creatively. Classes are faster-paced, with less skill work and remedial learning, and more application, analysis, comparison, contrast, evaluation and synthesis. Our school’s educational focus is to connect all learning into a whole. JLS students are generally faster learners, interested, eager, and motivated. They are also  verbal, questioning and independent. Classwork is student-centered and often involves hands-on experiences. Group work is used to spur a sharing of thoughts and ideas with other able learners.Because students and parents usually want and choose to be part of JLS, there is a strong sense of school pride and ownership. Behavioral and disciplinary problems are minimal. There is a higher than average degree of parental involvement in both the work of their individual student and the activities and programs of the school as a whole. How does JLS work? JLS uses the same curriculum as all other RUSD elementary schools. What’s different is the way our students are taught. While a third grade class at other elementary schools may spend three weeks on a particular area of study, JLS students might complete that work in two weeks. The additional time is spent with further exploration and enhancement of the material just learned. The goal is not to push students ahead of their grade level but rather to expand and broaden their learning. Our classes are designed to move quickly and steadily in a forward direction. Thus, there is very little re-teaching or remedial education and minimal at-risk programs are offered here.  Students at JLS are held to a high standard of educational accomplishment. What we have found is that most students will rise to the higher expectations which have been set for them, which has been key to the success of this program. Our grade levels operate on a team concept. With the exception of kindergarten, there are four teachers for each grade level. Students are assigned to a primary teacher and classroom, which is known as their homeroom. But each student will also be taught by the other teachers on their team. They may have one teacher for math, another for science and still another for reading, in different rooms also, much like a middle or high school setting. The teachers on the team become familiar with each student; likewise, students are exposed to the styles and methods of other teachers. What if a student isn’t doing well? Sometimes the coursework at JLS will prove to be too challenging to a particular student, or there may be some other area in which the student and school aren’t suited to one another. In those cases, school officials—teachers, administrators, specialists and social workers—will meet with the student and parents involved to try to solve the problem. If time and effort prove unsatisfactory in resolving the situation, those involved may jointly determine that it is in the students best interest to move to another district school. In those cases, which are rare, students are able to easily transfer into the same grade level, since the curriculum and coursework are generally the same as they had been studying at JLS. What will you find at JLS? You’ll find smiling students, happy to be part of this school and excited about learning. You’ll find highly-skilled teachers, who love their jobs, truly care about their students and work tirelessly to help them succeed. You’ll find administrators and staff members who are enthusiastic about being part of this winning team. And you’ll find parents, whether at the school or behind the scenes, pitching in wherever needed to help make it all work. There are a variety of programs and offerings that make JLS special. Here are just some of them: • A first-grade musical performance that is nothing short of  remarkable • Suzuki strings instruction for second through fifth graders • A month-long intensive study of Africa for second graders • An in-depth study of the Renaissance for third graders • Focus on Wisconsin heritage for fourth graders • Annual assembly presentations from an established author or artist • After-school six-week foreign language sampler program • Choir for fourth and fifth graders • A school-wide geography bee • An after-school science club • Annual spring art fair and ice cream social • Participation in academic enrichment programs, such as WordMasters Challenge and Battle of the Books An active and involved PTA assists with and makes many of these programs possible. Our students shine Students at JLS routinely perform well above district and state standards on standardized testing.  You’ll find that a very high percentage of our students regularly perform at honor roll level scholastically. But the difference goes far beyond test scores. They also excel in numerous extra-curricular academic activities, such as: • WordMasters Challenge • Reflections, a national PTA arts competition • math competitions • Battle of the Books, city-wide reading contest • spelling and geography competitions • and more! In conclusion We hope this helps you understand a bit more about Jefferson Lighthouse School. If not, please don’t hesitate to ask questions (names and numbers of PTA officers can be found below). Another good source for information about our school is our website. Check us out at: www.JLSPTA.com  (still under construction). You can also find information on the RUSD website:  www.racine.k12.wi.us then click on “Schools” and “Jefferson Lighthouse.” As the PTA, we welcome your interest in our school. We are so proud of our students, teachers, administrators, staff and parents. A winning school requires effort from many people and we think you’ll see evidence of that at JLS. Prepared by the   Jefferson Lighthouse PTA 2/07