FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WOWO): Families are invited to visit Fort Wayne Community Schools’ elementary, middle and high schools during Tuesday Tours on Nov. 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30 and Dec. 7 and 14.
Each school in the District will offer tours during school hours to allow families to see the work going on in each building prior to the Jan. 10, 2022, deadline to submit school choice lottery applications. During Tuesday Tours, families can visit most elementary schools from 9-11 a.m. and noon-2 p.m.; middle schools from 8-10 a.m.; and high schools from 9:30-11:30 a.m. Bunche Montessori Early Childhood Center and Towles Intermediate School will offer tours from 8:30-10:30 a.m. and noon-2 p.m. Families not able to attend during these times are welcome to call their school(s) of interest and arrange an alternative time.
Students are assigned to a school based on where they live, but families can also choose from any of the District’s other schools. FWCS has seven magnet schools, which offer a variety of special programs. Bunche (pre-kindergarten and kindergarten) and Towles (first through fifth grades) offer Montessori instruction; Towles offers New Tech Middle School (sixth through eighth grades); fine arts programs are offered at Whitney Young Early Childhood Center (pre-kindergarten and kindergarten), Weisser Park Elementary School (first through fifth grades) and Memorial Park Middle School (sixth through eighth grades); Croninger Elementary School focuses on communications; and Irwin Elementary School specializes in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). Magnet schools have no boundaries and draw students from throughout the district.
In addition to the traditional curriculum, each FWCS high school has a Program of Study, which provides students an opportunity to participate in a special program or take career-oriented elective classes. The Programs of Study include: Project Lead the Way-Engineering at Northrop; Early College-Global Studies/World Languages at North Side; Project Lead the Way-Biomedical at Snider; International Baccalaureate at South Side; and New Tech Academy and Early College-Business at Wayne. Families can also apply for Fort Wayne Virtual Academy, FWCS’ remote learning school.
Parents wanting to request that their child attend a different school must complete and return a lottery application by Jan. 10, 2022. Families can apply online via the myFWCS portal at myfwcs.fortwayneschools.org. If there are more applicants than spaces available at any of the schools, a lottery will be held to determine admittance. The lottery will be held at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2022.
