The city’s first magnet middle school will open its doors Aug. 14 to begin operations for the 2002-2003 school year.

Selma Middle CHAT Academy, formerly Selma Middle School, will embody a curriculum with the themes of communications, humanities, arts and technology.

On-site registration for the Summerfield Road school will be held Aug. 12 and 13 between 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m.

All Selma residents are eligible for registration. But interested non-resident students must complete an application to apply and student selection will be based solely on space availability.

The Academy, which will house grades seven and eight, also offers accelerated courses for student who qualify academically. Qualified seventh graders will have the option of taking integrated language arts, pre-algebra, life science and integrated social studies. Eighth-grade students who qualify can choose to take integrated language arts, algebra I, Earth and space science and integrated social studies.

Selma City Superintendent Dr. James Carter said, &uot;Our middle school students will be exposed to a core-curriculum based on national standards and the Alabama Course of Study performance standards.&uot;

In conjunction with the required course of study, students can choose from an array of arts and technological electives that will better prepare them for the digital age, he added.

Students have the choice to select courses like broadcast art, taekwondo, technical theater, media communications, guitar, band, piano, dance and much more.

The school is &uot;completely new and different from our previous school structure,&uot; said Charlotte Griffith, the Academy’s principal and Selma Magnet Schools’ grant manager. &uot;In addition to our school’s renovation, we have adopted an A/B/C/ block scheduling scheme that allows students to take four required courses and four elective courses each semester.&uot;

Selma Magnet Schools were created in 2001, and include The School of Discovery Genesis Center, for sixth graders only, and Selma Middle CHAT Academy.

The schools, funded by a three-year federal grant, are designed to provide students with a &uot;whole school&uot; magnet education that combines the arts and technology into the core curricula of mathematics, science, English, reading and social studies.

Non-residents can apply to the Academy by completing an application that can be obtained through the school’s office.

For more information, contact CHAT Academy directly at (334) 874-1695.