TMSE - A Specialty School

Tuscaloosa Magnet Schools-Elementary (Grades 1-5) is an authorized International Baccalaureate World Schools. We offer a curriculum approved by the International Baccalaureate Organization and provide an inquiry based learning environment. Students learn to discover knowledge, to create a better world, and to serve in a way that respects others.

1. Students residing in any Tuscaloosa City School zone are eligible to apply for enrollment at the Tuscaloosa Magnet Schools in grades 1-8. Applications will be available to all students currently enrolled in the Tuscaloosa City Schools and to students currently enrolled in private or home schools who reside in the city schools attendance zone.

2. The enrollment distribution will be based on a 7 percent allocation from each school, along with a 7 percent allocation from the University Place Choice Zone (UPZ). Students that currently live in the University Place Choice Zone will be allotted the number of
spots, equal to the number of spots available for the largest 7% allocation.

3. The 20-day report from the current year will be used to determine the 7 percent allocation. Private and home school students that reside within the Tuscaloosa City Schools attendance zone will be allocated any remaining slots available, not to exceed 7% of enrollment from the largest elementary school within the Tuscaloosa City Schools.

1. The Tuscaloosa City School’s Attendance Office will open the online application process. The online application will electronically collect student data for currently enrolled students from the TCS student information system.

2. Students currently enrolled in private schools, homeschools, or schools outside the Tuscaloosa City Schools attendance zone will be contacted by the Office of Teaching and Learning with a scheduled time to complete assessments required for the screening process.

3. Students currently enrolled in private schools or homeschools will need to provide the following information at the time of application or bring them prior to the scheduled assessment time:

• Proof of Residence within Tuscaloosa City Schools Attendance Zone
• Current report card
• Any other data that may be requested by the Attendance Office or Teaching and Learning

4. All current Tuscaloosa City Schools kindergarten students will be administered the
Universal Screeners for reading and math. Once all data has been collected, the online
Specialty School application system will generate a Student Profile Page for each applicant.
Students will be assigned an overall percentage score based on the following data:

More Specialty School Information

Specialty School Guidelines

Tuscaloosa Magnet Schools information and registration will be available on the Tuscaloosa City Schools’ website during January of 2027.

1. The Tuscaloosa Specialty School online system will process applications and make the final selection of students for enrollment. The system will be overseen and administered by a committee. The committee will be chaired by the Deputy Superintendent of Teaching and Learning or their designee. Members will include, but are not limited to, the following personnel:

• The Director of Literacy
• A District EL Specialist
• A District Special Education Specialist
• A District Literacy Specialist

2. Applicants must have an overall percentage score of 73% or higher in order to be eligible to attend.

3. The following procedures will be utilized to identify rising 1st grade applicants to attend Tuscaloosa Magnet School.

• A minimum qualifying score of 55 points or 73% on the Student Profile is required for consideration of application.
• Applicants will be ranked from highest percentage Student Profile score to lowest percentage Student Profile score within each school.
• The system will calculate the number of seats available from each grade for each home school zone within the Tuscaloosa City Schools by multiplying the current grade enrollment by .07. The system will select students with the highest score from each school until the number of seats allocated for each school has been filled. The number of applicants invited from private and home schools will not exceed 7% of enrollment from the largest elementary school within the Tuscaloosa City Schools.
• Available spots will be filled in the following order:
  • Applicants currently enrolled in the Tuscaloosa City Schools
  • Applicants currently residing in the Tuscaloosa City Schools attendance zone, but attending private or home schools. The number of applicants invited from private and home schools will not exceed 7% of enrollment from the largest elementary school within the Tuscaloosa City Schools. If seats remain in the 1st grade, the system will go to the school with the lowest percentage representation and place the highest scoring students. This will continue until all schools are represented at 7% or a school is out of eligible students, based on the number of applications received from each school.
  • If seats still remain in the 1st grade and eligible students still remain on the list, the system will place the highest scoring students until all seats are taken or all eligible students are placed whichever occurs first.

4. The following procedures will be utilized to identify rising 2nd through 8th grade applicants to attend Tuscaloosa Magnet School.

• A minimum qualifying score of 55 points or 73% is required for consideration of application.
• Applicants will be ranked from highest percentage score to lowest percentage score within each school. Based on the available number of spots in that grade level, qualifying students from underrepresented schools (those below 7% allocation) will be placed first followed by other schools.
• If seats still remain in any grade and eligible students still remain on the list after all schools are at 7% or all eligible students from those below 7% are placed, the system will place the highest scoring students until all seats are taken or all eligible students are placed whichever occurs first, based on the number of applications received from each school.

Applicants that are invited to attend Tuscaloosa Magnet Schools must respond to their invitation online at to accept or decline the offer or call the attendance office by the deadline listed on the invitation. Applicants that do not respond to the invitation by the deadline listed on the invitation will forfeit their spot at Tuscaloosa Magnet Schools.

1. Students currently attending Tuscaloosa Magnet Schools will be required to complete a commitment letter regarding their decision to or not to attend Tuscaloosa Magnet Schools for the next school year. The commitment letter must be completed and returned to the school no later than the last working day of January. Students not returning a commitment letter will lose their spots at the end of the current school year. Any student that is not present on the first day of school will be no-showed and may lose their opportunity to be a part of the Magnet program.

Vacant spots will be filled through the end of the second week of the school year. In filling vacant spots, the online system will invite the next student on the list to fulfill the 7% representation of each school. For students entering 2nd – 8th grades and rising 1st grade, the system will select the highest scoring student on the list from any underrepresented school. Parents will be notified of the invitation by US mail letter and by email if an email address was provided on the application.