By the end of spring break, parents of Vicksburg Warren School District students in grades kindergarten through 6 should know where their children will attend school next fall.

Postcards will be mailed out March 11, the Friday before the district’s weeklong spring break, Superintendent Dr. James Price said.

The new attendance plan, which reverts to individual districts for elementaries, won final federal approval in July after being proposed by Price in December 2003.

It replaces a system that was begun in 1999 and divided the county into north and south zones. Parents were allowed limited choice among elementary schools in those zones for K-4 students. All fifth- and sixth-graders have been attending intermediate schools housed in Dana Road and Sherman Avenue schools, the district’s two newest and largest facilities.

An exception during “choice” and continuing under “community schools” is Bowmar Elementary. It has been and will continue to be a districtwide magnet school, where students attend after an application process.

For three out of four homes, the postcards will list no change for students. Price said only about 24 percent of students will attend different schools under the zoned plan.

The district office will be closed the week of spring break, March 14-18. Parents who do not receive cards by March 21 may notify the district office at 638-5122.

After the change, the racial balances of the elementary schools will remain within about 6 percent of their current levels, not counting incoming kindergartners, who will not register until next year, Price said.

Teachers have already been reassigned where needed, Price said.

“We had a total of 14 teachers who will have different assignments, and only two didn’t request them,” he said. “The teachers are pleased with it.”

Some teachers who wanted to stay where they were teaching have changed the grades they will teach. Some who teach in grades K-4 this year, for example, will teach in grades 5 or 6 next year.

The district has about 9,000 students.

Its six elementary schools that will have zoned attendance areas are: