By Jamie Murphy
Staff Writer
This is an unusual year for kids on the SLA wait list.
There are about 1000 students that apply to SLA every year. In a typical year, only about 180 of those students get acceptance letters. Then out of the 180 acceptance letters, some choose not to attend. In the end, SLA ends up with about 120 freshmen.
In the past, getting into the school off of the waitlist was a special thing. Only a handful of students would manage it each year. If accepted students choose another school, or maybe change their mind and move before the school year starts, a few precious spots need to be filled.
Junior Jessica Maiorano was one of these lucky students in the summer of 2010.
“I was going to go to Palumbo before a got a call one day in the middle of my nap. I woke up to answer my phone and Ms. Diane had told me I was accepted and asked if I wanted to come,” she said.
“I said yes and fell back asleep. It wasn’t until I actually woke up, that I realized what just happened and freaked out.”
In previous years, Jessica would be one of only a couple of students in her class who got in late. Senior Annisa Ahmed, Junior Ellen To, and Sophomore Tytianna Broadwater are a few others.
This year, however, things are different.
On Wednesday, April 24th SLA announced that there will be a second SLA building that will hold an additional 125 freshman that will be pulled from the waitlist. This new building will not affect any of the current students enrolled in SLA now.
Adam Cavalier is currently an eighth grader at Girard Academic Music Program. He had been been put on the waitlist for SLA, and was ready to be enrolled in CAPA.
When SLAMedia first contacted Adam for this article, he was waiting and hoping to be accepted to SLA.
On Tuesday, April 23rd, Adam was thrilled when SLA School Secretary Ms. Diane called him to let him know that he had been pulled off the wait list to attend SLA — in time to attend New Family NIght that Wednesday.
The Cavalier family is one of the few who got off the waitlist to attend the original SLA — but in the coming weeks, more families will get the good news.
This will mean many phone calls to waitlisted parents — but no more work for Ms. Diane, who has been dealing with anxious families calling to check their status.
“I won’t have to make anymore phone calls. Who ever the new secretary is [at Beeber] has to call all the new accepted waitlisted students,” she said.
“All I do now is take down any names that call in who are interested in the Beeber school.”
