Ashley Lyden decided the 15-minute drive to Kelly Walsh High School was worth it.

Although she lives on the west side of town, Lyden said she travels to the east side to go to school because of the types of classes Kelly Walsh offers.

"The block scheduling made it more convenient for me," said Lyden, a junior who came to the school in her freshman year.

Starting Monday, parents of students in first through 12th grades who are either new to the Natrona County School District or who want to change schools for the 2007-08 year will be requesting schools, said Anne LaPlante, director of staff development for the district. The request period for those students ends on Jan. 25.

Parents of incoming kindergarteners for the new school year will make their requests from Jan. 29 through Feb. 2.

All requests will be made on-line on the school district's Web site at www.natronaschools.org.

Parents who don't have Internet access can access the system by going to the public library, the schools during regular school hours or the district's central office.

For the kindergarten request period, preference is given to children who have siblings already enrolled at the same school. To ensure they get that seat, LaPlante said parents should still go through the request period even if they're unsure their child is ready for kindergarten.

If they don't and decide after Feb. 2, they won't be given preference and the request will be honored on a space-available basis, LaPlante said.

After the preference is given, the district then fills the other spaces left by assigning all the students who requested that school a random number. If there are 15 seats that are still available, the students with numbers one through 15 will be placed in the school. All others will be assigned to their second-choice school.

Although a student may not get their first choice school, LaPlante said families will be contacted from February until August if more space becomes available.

A personal choice

For students like Lyden and junior Todd Cheney, the decision to attend Kelly Walsh was for personal reasons because it fit better into their academic lives. Lyden said the block scheduling makes it easier to participate in sports and extracurricular activities. Block scheduling allows students to take about five classes a semester each day instead of having the traditional nine periods.

Cheney decided on Kelly Walsh for similar reasons.

"I think we work at a faster pace than at (Natrona County High School)," he said.

Students who head from the east side of town to NCHS every day have their own reasons for preferring the school. For example, NC offers an International Baccalaureate program and diploma.

Before a parent requests a school for their child, LaPlante suggested they research the different programs by either going on-line or visiting the open houses which will be held all this month.

"We are recommending that parents visit the kindergarten and secondary schools' open houses prior to going on-line," LaPlante said.

Several principals in the district said their open houses will provide information on their programs and what makes them unique.

Tom Ernst, assistant principal at Centennial Junior High School, said Centennial offers a collaborative team for teachers and has a peer mentoring program for the students.

"The youngest students who are in sixth and seventh grades are matched up with the older students in grades eighth and ninth," Ernst said. "It helps integrate them into the schools."

Smaller class sizes

The open houses for the elementary schools in January are new. With the district receiving additional money to lower class sizes starting in the early grades, the schools will be holding the open houses as a way for parents to learn about the different schools, said Chris Frude, principal at Paradise Valley Elementary.

For the 2007-08 school year, the kindergarten classes will have a maximum of 17 students. The smaller class sizes will then be implemented in the first grade in 2008-09, the second grade in 2009-2010 and the third grade in 2010-2011.

The immediate impact is there will be an additional five new kindergarten sections opening up somewhere in the district, Frude said.

The exact locations, however, will depend on a building's ability to hold more classes. That means not everyone will get their first choice, but Frude said the children will be exposed to a better learning environment because of the smaller classes.

Paradise Valley was already able to implement the one teacher to 17 students plan and Frude said it's been beneficial. Smaller class sizes mean teachers are able to catch problems faster and help students.

"There's a lot more individualized attention," she said.

Contact reporter Aimee Tabor at (307) 266-0593 or aimee.tabor@casperstartribune.net.