MARIETTA - West Side Elementary continues to be the favorite school among Marietta parents who make use of the city school district's choice program.

For the coming 2010-11 school year, 51 children have applied to transfer to West Side, although only 18 slots are available. Parents of the 51 children will receive letters sometime this week notifying them of their acceptance, said Preston Howard, assistant superintendent of operations and policy development.

The school district kicked off its elementary choice program in the 2007-08 school year, opening the enrollments of West Side, Burruss and Hickory Hills elementary schools to all children living within the city. Transportation, however, is the family's responsibility.

That year, 28 students opted to transfer to West Side, located about a mile west of the Square on Polk Street. The district extended its choice program to all elementary schools the following year. A school must first allow space for children living within its attendance zone before accepting enrollment from students living in other parts of the city.

For the 2008-09 school year, 29 students opted to attend West Side. And for the current 2009-10 school year, 62 students applied to West Side, although only 20 were admitted because of space, prompting the system to conduct a lottery.

West Side has been the most popular school to transfer to through the choice program, with other elementary schools receiving a mere handful of transfers if any. Last year board member Tony Fasola referred to the phenomenon of students choosing West Side over other schools as a "temporary aberration," but with 51 of the total 57 students who applied for choice for the 2010-2011 school year applying for West Side, the trend continues.

"I think it comes down to test scores. Parents are mostly focused on achievement," said Marietta school board Chairman Randy Weiner.

Of the 51 students who applied to West Side for the coming school year, 21 are zoned for Sawyer Road, 14 from Hickory Hills, 11 from Burruss and seven from private schools, among others, Howard said.

When students apply for a choice school, they may list a second choice as well. A sibling who already has a brother or sister enrolled at a choice school receives preferential enrollment status, he said.

Because only 18 of the 51 applicants will be chosen for West Side, a pool of 33 students will have to pick someplace else to attend. Howard said 15 of those 33 students listed Burruss as their second choice, but the problem is Buruss only has 13 slots open for the coming school year. The school district will conduct a lottery in mid to late February at a yet to be announced date to determine which of those 15 students will get one of the 13 slots at Burruss, Howard said. No lottery is planned for West Side because the 18 slots available were filled by choice siblings; that is, a brother or sister of a student already enrolled in West Side through the choice program.

Board member Jill Mutimer said the choice program is just one of many options Marietta offers parents. The total number of students who take advantage of a Marietta school outside their neighborhood school is more than 1,000 counting Marietta Charter School, Marietta Center for Advanced Academics and students from outside the system who pay tuition in order to attend a Marietta school, she said.

"I think that's a success," Mutimer said of the board's goal to offer choice in its system.

The board reviewed its choice program during its retreat at the Marietta Conference Center, held on Friday and Saturday.