How does public school enrollment work in San Francisco? What do parents need to know?
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Parent Answers to "How does public school enrollment work in San Francisco? What do parents need to know?"
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It's call a lottery. The most important thing is that you "tour" as many schools as possible so that you're confortable with 7 choices. We received our 4th choice and so far we're happy.
The process is not nearly as bad as people make it out to be. But this is the downside of choice. We've applied to and been admitted to both public and private. The criteria for private is a bit more icky - more about how much money you have and who your know. Not really about your child, although that is the pretense.
The good news: there is a lot of choice among San Francisco public schools, and many parents find schools they like, especially at the elementary level.
The not-so-good news: there is a lot to know about how the enrollment process works, and it takes a lot of time to figure out which schools might be best for you. And you may be able to get a slot at the school(s) you want.
Let's say your child is entering kindergarten. Here's roughly how the process works:
* You learn about your school options during the fall and figure out your top seven choices. GreatSchools can help a lot - there are tons of parent ratings and reviews for San Francisco public schools.
* You indicate your preferences in an application due in January (at least that's when it has been due the last several years).
* The District tells you which school you got in March.
If there are more applicants than places at a given schools, the District uses something called the Diversity Index to decide who gets offered a spot. The goal of this system is to increase socio-economic diversity in schools.
A couple of resources:
* The district booklet here explains the process (for the 2008-09 school year): portal.sfusd.edu/data/EPC/Engl
* Parents for Public Schools in San Francisco: www.ppssf.org - tons of great information and they can help you navigate the process and figure out which schools might be a good fit for you. They can also help when (as sometimes happens) you don't get any of the choices you want.
It's a challenging process, but the process teaches you a lot about schools and helps you figure out what's important to you. And there are more than a few good schools out there...
Good luck!
The not-so-good news: there is a lot to know about how the enrollment process works, and it takes a lot of time to figure out which schools might be best for you. And you may be able to get a slot at the school(s) you want.
Let's say your child is entering kindergarten. Here's roughly how the process works:
* You learn about your school options during the fall and figure out your top seven choices. GreatSchools can help a lot - there are tons of parent ratings and reviews for San Francisco public schools.
* You indicate your preferences in an application due in January (at least that's when it has been due the last several years).
* The District tells you which school you got in March.
If there are more applicants than places at a given schools, the District uses something called the Diversity Index to decide who gets offered a spot. The goal of this system is to increase socio-economic diversity in schools.
A couple of resources:
* The district booklet here explains the process (for the 2008-09 school year): portal.sfusd.edu/data/EPC/Engl
* Parents for Public Schools in San Francisco: www.ppssf.org - tons of great information and they can help you navigate the process and figure out which schools might be a good fit for you. They can also help when (as sometimes happens) you don't get any of the choices you want.
It's a challenging process, but the process teaches you a lot about schools and helps you figure out what's important to you. And there are more than a few good schools out there...
Good luck!
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