Top 10 things You Need to Know
about Applying to Public School in
San Francisco.

Parents for Public Schools and PTA

1. Our district offers school choice. Families may
apply to any public school in the district. The district's
Educational Placement Center (EPC) is committed to
working with all families to find schools that meet the
needs of your child(ren). Please remember that there
are many wonderful schools in our district and to be
proactive in finding a school that meets the needs of your family and child. We encourage you to visit schools that may not be on your immediate radar. You may be surprised with the local school! For the 2004-2005 school year, 86% of kindergarten students who applied on time received a school of their choice and 68% got their first choice in the first round of assignments at the elementary level.

2. The district offers many excellent schools that are "hidden gems", and excellent quality schools you may not have heard of. Don't be afraid to consider schools that are not commonly spoken of. What's important is that the school meets your child's needs. Many criteria can help in assessing a school.Test scores are only one criteria, special programs may be another. Is the atmosphere friendly and are the children learning happily? Are the students challenged? Is there an active PTA or other parent group? Are parents welcome and encouraged to help at school? Do the people working at the school seem to want to be there? Are they respectful?

3. The San Francisco Unified School District is using a "diversity index" as part of a plan to achieve diverse schools. This index is only used when there are more applicants than seats available. The district is still required to implement such a plan by a 1983 court order mandating an active desegregation plan, which is known as the consent decree. A recent amendment to the consent decree prohibits the district from using race/ethnicity as a primary criterion in enrollment.

4. The factors in the diversity index are designed to create diversity in academic achievement, economic status, and English proficiency. Many parents have asked about the factor requesting the mother's educational background. According to the district's Excellence for All Plan, research indicates that this is "one of the strongest predictors of a student's educational performance." Similarly, preschool attendance is used as one predictor of "student readiness" for kindergarten. These factors are not designed so that one status receives priority over another. The goal is to achieve a blend of students of differing backgrounds and experience. Again, it is important to remember that the diversity index is only used when there are more applicants than seats available.

5. Siblings will continue to be the highest priority under the assignment plan if the family requests the school currently attended by a sibling. Sibling priority takes precedence over the diversity criteria.

6. Program students such as limited English proficiency and special education also get priority, based on their needs and the programs that are available at a given school. Although the GATE program is not included at this time, there is a GATE task force that will be providing recommendations to the district to determine the issues surrounding GATE. For more information on the GATE task force, please call (415) 759-2950.

7. All schools except alternative schools have assignment areas, almost entirely in the immediate neighborhood. A few schools have "satellite zones" in other neighborhoods to increase diversity. Applicants from neighborhood and satellite assignment areas get priority as long as they meet the diversity criteria. Families in the assignment area must list the school as a choice to get priority. All public schools and the EPC have this information in a street directory. Please call any public school or the EPC at (415) 241-6085. You can also find it on the SFUSD website. Please note that many schools provide special programs but are not considered alternative schools. Schools designated as alternative schools simply have no geographical assignment area.

8. If your child was assigned to a school that was on your list, but you still prefer admittance into one that you ranked higher, you may accept the assigned school and request to be in the wait pool for a higher choice.

9. Your child may be assigned to a school that you did not request. Should that occur and you are unhappy with the assignment, you would be invited to discuss school options with the EPC. Again, we recommend that you visit a variety of different schools and list as many schools as possible that you would be willing to accept. This will increase your chances of receiving a school of choice.

10. The process encourages parents to choose up to seven schools. If you would be happy with your local school of assignment even though you prefer another school, it would be in your best interest to list both schools. If you chose not to list the local school of assignment, and it has more applicants than openings, your child will not receive priority. You need to rank your school choices by order of preference.The deadline for turning in your applications is January 13th 2006. You must take your application in person to the Educational Placement Center-555 Franklin St. If you are at a public school, in the 5th or 8th grades, applying to middle or high schools, you can hand in the application at your current school as long as your address has not changed.

For information on networking with families currently attending public schools, please feel free to contact Parents for Public Schools at (415) 468-7077 and ask for a parent ambassador for the school you are considering, or PTA at (415) 241-6048.

Please join the efforts of PPS in improving the enrollment process by participating in our Recruitment and Enrollment task force. Please call our offices for more information or for information on other important issues we are working on to improve public education for all children.

For more information on school selection or the application process, please contact EPC at (415) 241-6085 or go to SFUSD website.

Attend the public school enrollment fair on October 29th from 9:00am - 3pm at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium

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