Rezoned to New HS for 2007 but Love Current HS...Help!

Our family recently faced a similar situation and we decided as hard as it was moving was the right decision. However since moving is something you don't want to consider your only option is to find out what your school district allows and see if that presents an option. If not you will have to accept that your son will be going to the new school and make the most of the situation. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

BBalldad,

Welcome to the hsbbweb

My daughter's school was closed at the end of last year. The choice of school she was given to attend was not very acceptable from the academic point of view and socially since many of her friends were now going to another school. We did not also have the sports issue you had to deal with however. I gave her the option to go to a private school but she wanted to go where the majority of her friends went. Thus, we applied to the school of choice. Our sacrifice - no bussing was supplied for the out-of-zone schools. Thus, we drive her to school each day and share pick-up duties with other parents. It has really not been too difficult for us to manage.

Any nearby grandparent or relative that would have the right location/address?

One other thing I forgot to mention is that school district rules governing where you must attend and state athletic rules are sometimes different. For example in our county you must attend the school in whose district you live. However the state rules allow you to continue to play for the high school you started at even if you move or if the district lines change as in your case. So if you can keep the school district at bay and continue at your current school by giving a friends address or something you would not be jeopardizing the schools athletics for playing an ineligible player.

As much as I counterdict myself I try to look at the glass as being half full. I do like dad10 look at the "relative" alternative as a last resort. However, HS baseball is not the only part of the baseball season. Many on this site would agree that hard work, "select" teams, camps, and showcases are what prepares a player for the future.

Other issues...

Your son is not a team of 1, other players must also be affected.
Maybe the new coach will be a dream come true.
Maybe more playing time and the opportunity to really shine.
The chance to be the foundation of a new dynasty.
New school athletics and academics are based on successful existing programs

This may all be a blessing in disquise. Many positives can be attained with a positive attitude and outlook, and many times that outlook has to be initially stressed by mom/dad.

Good luck.

Dad10....know not all school districts are the same, but part of my job in Arizona was registering new/transfer students at the high school....and if you were not the parent as so stated on the birth certificate then you had to have the legal paperwork showing that you were the court appointed guardian....no exceptions....

BBallDad....So. Arizona was building a lot of new high schools.....population growth....and a student had a choice of transfering to the new high school or staying where he/she was until they graduated....that option was available to all current students at the time the new school opened......have you checked to see if that is available?

bballdad-
Simply put, you need to research your county's/school districts/state athletic association rules.

As someone mentioned earlier the guidlelines for your district could be very different from the state athletic eligibility rules.

I know that in one county in Northern VA, a student can petition to attend a particular school because it offers a class that the school within their boundaries does not offer.

For example, I live within the boudaries for School A. But, I want to take Japanese. But Japanese is only offered at School B, which is the school I would really like to attend. I can petition to attend school B, and will probably be granted the petition. The only catch is that I would have to provide transportation for my student.

Good luck...

BBDad1961 ...

It sounds like you live on the south side of Charlotte, with all of the rezoning that is going on.

HS baseball, who you play for and what school you attend isn't nearly as important as what you do over the summer. If you end up at a lesser program, just think of it as a better chance to get playing time.

Any programs offered by the school he wants to attend and not by the new school could keep him at his school of choice in our district. We went through exactly the same thing, and that is why my son spent two years in the ROTC program, much to the consternation of his Child Of The '60's mother.

The 'alternative address' thing is done by many people. Our district's rules read that the address had to be where the student laid his head at night, and surprise visits to ensure same were allowed. Any player found fudging the issue would cause his team to forfeit games in which he played. There was such a case just about the time our hs was rezoned; with an impact player, people will most certainly report any questionable tactics.

From personal experience, I can tell you that the fear of the unknown is way out of proportion to the reality of the change. My parents moved me in the middle of high school. I was terribly upset to leave everything I knew and had (supposedly) built at my original school. In hindsight, the move was great for me. I didn't see it coming, but it clearly was the case.

My advice is, approach it with a positive attitude. Kids are resilient, he'll meet lots of new friends plus lots of folks in the same boat as he's in, and it'll all work out just fine.

quote:

Originally posted by dad10:
Any nearby grandparent or relative that would have the right location/address?

A couple of negatives to this:
-Realize if you use a fake address and your son plays the team could potentially have to forfeit all of their wins (someone will tell especially if the team is good and in the way of another team winning a championshp!

-When it comes to character, a college coach may not be impressed with that move.

-If your Son is ruled ineligible he may not be able to play for either school and lose a year!

In our area kids can stay in current school if they are going to be a JR but not a Soph.

On a plus side if they do like schools in our area there are very few Jr's SR's so he will have the chance to help start the traditions and be a leader of the program.

I know you mentioned academics, but are you more upset for leaving a good acedmic situation or a good baseball program?
Send your son to a new school, with a new baseball program. Become active in helping coach to start up a new team.
We had a similar situation, seniors were allowed to stay if they choose at current school. The baseball team were all younger players who struggled against the more established schools for the first year, but that actually made them a better team, IMO.
And they all got to play, something many do not get to do at the better HS programs. The idea is to get in as much playing time as yu can in HS. Don't rely on that to get son noticed, look for stronger fall, summer programs so yuor son will return in the spring one of the better players.
JMO.

Baseballdad 1961:
What are NC's rules for sports participation in charter schools?

In many states, a student enrolled in a charter school that has no sports program still gets to participate at the nearby school's team. Maybe an option is enrolling your son in a charter, then playing on his old high school's team.

Check it out. Call the state department of education office that deals with charters and see what the rules are.

We recently had to make the same decision. My son wants to continue to go to school with the same kids since Kindergarten. Quite a few people moved for various established programs and traditions: band, football, baseball, etc. The Varisity baseball team at the original high school carries 30 players. The new school carries 16.The new high school hired an outstanding baseball coach. We are looking at it as an opportunity.
Every case is different, but whatever you do, do not follow the advice of some on this board and cheat about your residency. What kind of example is that?

I wasn’t suggesting that anyone cheat or lie about their address. I suggested looking to built-in resources. When I was in HS one of my friend’s dad’s got a job transfer. He liked the school he was at, his friends and the music program, which the new community’s HS did not have. With his parents’ blessing he chose to live with his grandparents in town and continue to go to our school. He had a good home, looked after the grandparents and enjoyed it immensely. We were always welcome there and did the things that his grandparents couldn’t, or shouldn’t do, like shovel the snow, mow the lawn, run errands, and just be a presence in the house. He also learned a lot from them that he might not have otherwise. He is now the music director for a local HS.

In my junior and senior years I lived with my grandparents in the summer and on weekends during the school year because I worked near their home. I could have gone to school there as well, but I chose to stay where I was and commute on the weekends, but I loved every minute of living with them. One of my fondest memories is sitting with my grandfather, watching the Red Sox frustrate us, but he taught me perspective, as only an old man can; he’d had many years of Red Sox collapses long before I came along. I’m thoroughly sad that he wasn’t here to sit with me in 2004.

We’re not always lucky to have our grandparents around for long enough. Grandparents, and old people in general, are under appreciated and under utilized in our society.

Presented with the situation originally posted here, they would be one of my first options.

I figured somebody had been in the same spot and that's what so great about this board. We are truly lucky in that the newly announced coach is also excellent. He historically has top ten teams as well so we can't go wrong baseball wise either way except you always "...love the one your with". We will see if some of the advice is applicable in our district, but we won't move or use the grandparents.

Actually in Texas, you are allowed to legally use a grandparents home address.

Thanks for the loophole update.

Rezoned, im not sure about NC but in Ca you can get around being rezoned by finding one program that the school you want to stay at has that the new one does not...example...We had a player who was able to bypass his proposed zoning by deciding to join the FFA (future farmers of america). The FFA was only offered at the school that also happened to have a better baseball program....good luck, and get creative. You can get this done.

Georgia or at least our County has the same rule as DeeMack mentioned. Look hard there is usually a loop hole.

Second many people are saying some of these suggestions are cheating when they are not. For example in Georgia if you start at a school and move or get rezoned and stay at your old school you remain elligible at your old school. The county may make you transfer if they find out about it but any games you played in would not result in a forfiet.

Kids are moving around in our County all the time. They are doing so for play time in the sports. I have heard the way they get away with it is to say that they want to take a certain course that the other school does not offer. Then they get to change schools. But it really sounds as if you are in a Win Win situation. Baseball aside most kids that I know would pick the new school.

If I decide I want my son to attend a different school, for whatever reason, then I will move to the area zoned to that school. I don't say he lives with his grandparents, say he wants to take Japanese or any of the other ideas put forth.
Because my son would know that we, as a family, are cheating. It is really almost more about what kind of kid I am raising than it is about baseball.

Playing by the school systems rules would not be cheating. I would not include using a grandparents address but not living there as playing by the rules, but the classes, etc. would be completely legit.