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Office of Magnet Programs
Elementary Magnet Application

Be sure to scroll down to read all information on this page.

The brochure and application for the 2013 - 2014 school year will be available on this site
from 12 noon on Wednesday, September 5, 2012, through Friday, November 30, 2012.

2013 - 2014
Magnet Application Deadline
Friday, November 30, 2012

Submitting an Elementary School Magnet Application

  • Please review the elementary school magnet program descriptions at the link on the right side of this page.
  • Read all instructions in the Elementary School Magnet Programs brochure and application prior to submitting an application.  Note that each program description identifies the location of the program and the entry grades for which applications are accepted.
  • Review the Magnet Transportation Information in the magnet programs brochure to determine your child's eligibility for transportation to a particular magnet program.
  • Complete all sections of the two-sided application.  Submit only one application per applicant.  Select up to three schools on side 2 of the application.
  • Parents should carefully review program selections prior to submitting the application. Any change in program selection(s) requires the submission of a new application, postmarked or hand-delivered on or before the application deadline.
  • Kindergarten applicants MUST meet the Maryland State Age-of-Entry requirements for the 2013-2014 school year (Age 5 by 9/1/2013), or they MUST have applied to their zoned elementary school for early admission into kindergarten testing.  A copy of the letter requesting the early admission into kindergarten testing must be attached to the magnet application.

    A child may only be considered for early admission into kindergarten testing for the 2013-2014 school year if he/she will be age 5 after 9/1/2013 and on or before 10/14/2013. 
  • Applications MUST be postmarked or hand-delivered to:

    Elementary School Magnet Application
    6901 Charles Street
    ESS Building – Room 106
    Towson, MD 21204

    on or before the established application deadline: November 30, 2012.  Hand-delivered applications will be accepted until 4:30 p.m. on Friday, November 30, 2012.

    Applications are not processed without proof of timely submission (i.e., clear postmark date or certified mail receipt). Applications postmarked, hand-delivered, or received without a clear postmark after the November 30, 2012, deadline are not processed.

For proof of timely submission and verification of delivery, it is strongly recommended that applicants use certified mail with a return receipt requested from the U.S. Post Office.

The brochure and application for the 2013–2014 school year will be available on this site through November 30, 2012.

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Elementary School Magnet Programs Brochure

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(The Elementary School Magnet Programs Brochure is in PDF format, which requires a PDF reader to open.
If you are unable to open this file, please contact your local school for an application.)

Admission to Elementary School Magnet Programs:

Baltimore County Public Schools does not employ any admissions criteria for elementary school magnet programs.

All applicants who meet the requirements for enrollment in Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) at the time of application and who meet the entry grade-level restrictions for the program(s) selected, will be considered for placement.  If the number of eligible applicants exceeds the number of program seats available, the selection of students will be made in the following sequence:

  1. Available seats will first be filled with priority placements.
  2. A random lottery will be conducted to fill all remaining available seats and to generate a wait list.

Two priority placements exist at the elementary school level:

  • Kindergarten Sibling Priority Placements – kindergarten applicants receive priority placement when they have an older sibling who is currently enrolled in the same magnet program and who will continue in the magnet program during the year for which the kindergarten applicant is seeking placement.  NOTE: Kindergarten sibling priority placements are subject to repeal and will no longer be granted beginning with the 2015-2016 school year.
  • Child of an Employee - If the primary work site a BCPS employee is a school with a magnet program and the employee's child applies to, and qualifies for, a magnet program in that school, the child will be given priority placement in the magnet program.

Random Lottery Process:  For each program, eligible applicants are assigned a computer-generated random number.  The applicants for each program are then sorted into a list according to their assigned random numbers, from lowest to highest.  Available seats are offered to eligible applicants, starting with the lowest random number (i.e. first on the list).  When all of the available seats in a program are filled, the remaining applicants are given a wait-list number that corresponds to their position in the list. 

Admission decisions are mailed to parents by early March. 

If you have questions or need additional information,
please contact the Office of Magnet Programs at (410) 887-4127.