San Francisco (March 18, 2024) - The San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) is preparing to enroll students for next school year. The Enrollment Center, which oversees student assignments for the district, mailed letters to more than 14,000 students on Friday, March 17, 2024, primarily incoming Transitional Kindergarten (TK), Kindergarten, 6th grade and 9th grade students. Letters will reach homes this week and are available in ParentVue as of Monday, March 18.
This year, 62% of students who applied for TK, Kindergarten, 6th grade, or 9th grade will receive an assignment to their first choice school, and 83% will receive one of their top three choices. Families have until April 5, 2023 to accept or decline the assignment. Families can accept or decline online or by contacting the Enrollment Center, and can find instructions at sfusd.edu/mainround. The Enrollment Center is offering virtual workshops on March 20 and March 23, where families can learn more about the accept-or-decline step and about future application rounds — more information is available at sfusd.edu/workshops. Many schools are having parent meetings or are offering tours for families to learn more about the assigned school; families can sign up for tours at sfusd.edu/tours.
SFUSD received a similar number of applications this year compared to last year. The district received 14,133 applications for the 2024-25 school year, compared to 14,080 for the 2023-24 school year. More highlights are available at sfusd.edu/highlights.
One key increase was in transitional kindergarten (TK) applications — an additional 274 compared to last year — as more 4-year-olds become eligible for TK under California’s new Universal TK program. Following a tiebreaker policy change this year, applicants to TK are eligible for the attendance area tiebreaker, as in K-5th grade applications, and this year SFUSD saw an increase in the proportion of TK students assigned to TK within one mile of their homes. For the first time, TK students who enroll in 2024-25 at a TK-5 or TK-8 school will be able to remain automatically enrolled at their same school and pathway for Kindergarten and through 5th or 8th grade — depending on the grades their school offers — without having to re-apply.
“There is a public school for every child in San Francisco, and we are excited to welcome families to the 2024-25 school year, whether they are changing schools or enrolling in our district for the first time,” SFUSD Superintendent Dr. Matt Wayne said. “I want to thank our Enrollment Office team who have been working tirelessly to support thousands of families in finding a great school for their child.”
SFUSD staff have transformed their approach to outreach to ensure that families know when, where, and how to apply through various methods:
- Including enrollment fairs, staff organized more than 60 virtual and in-person events, attended by more than 5,800 families.
- Staff coordinated closely with the City’s Department of Early Childhood, libraries, Head Start Centers, and Children’s Council to provide individualized support to families in childcare settings all over town.
- Staff improved the centralized sign-up website for school tours that helped more than 20,000 families visit SFUSD schools as they completed their applications.
- School staff — teachers, counselors, and office staff — worked closely with their families so that any current SFUSD student moving onto elementary, middle, and high schools next year applied on time.
Because of these efforts, 96% of “transitional grade” students applied on time this year for Kindergarten, 6th, and 9th grades.
In addition to one-on-one family support, the team placed radio and social media ads, handed out fliers at local community centers, and mailed families a copy of the application. SFUSD partnered with Frequence, a company that donated services through SFUSD’s nonprofit fundraising partner, Spark* SF Public Schools, to garner in-kind digital marketing services.
The Main Round period for submitting applications ended on Feb. 2, 2024. Families who have not yet submitted an application for next year can apply for Round 2 by April 19, 2024 by going online to sfusd.edu/apply or by contacting the Enrollment Center (EC). The EC can be reached at enrollinschool@sfusd.edu, 415-241-6085, or in-person at 555 Franklin Street or 1520 Oakdale Avenue (Oakdale is open Tuesday and Thursday). Enrollment Center staff members are ready to help families find a school that meets their needs. They speak English, Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin, Vietnamese, and Samoan. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm.
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