Any parents, who have plans to send their children to a public school outside their Seattle neighborhood, need to hurry. The deadline is on 20^th February to let the district know.

This year Seattle Public Schools’ annual open enrolment period runs through February 20. Though it has become tough to get schools of the first choice but filling the application on time facilitates a better chance for that.

At the time of Open enrolment, you can request placement in an alternative or option school, advanced learning programs or Montessori school. The students receiving special education services can also apply for a change of school at this time, though there are some restrictions in place.

How to Apply?

There are many ways to apply to schools.  You can quickly fill out and submit a form on the district’s website. There are different forms for different grades. You can also apply by visiting the district’s headquarters in Sodo or attend one of two upcoming community registration events, where you can ask questions and get help with the application process.

Resources for Translation-

For the parents seeking translation, interpreters will be made available at the community registration events listed to the right, along with links to translated application forms. Seattle Public Schools’ website, including the page describing open enrollment, has a Google Translation feature installed for the convenience of the non-English speaking parents.

The Process of Valuation-

As per the convention, the schools consider few factors to weigh the applications.

• It checks whether the applicant has any siblings at the school.
• If the applicant is requesting placement at an option school, priority is given to students residing that school’s “GeoZone,” or targeted geographical area.
• If the above conditions do not apply, applicants are given the lottery number.

The Status of Application-

The status of the application can be seen on the website, and the district will post the results online in April. If anyone is denied the choice of school, they will be put on a waitlist.

It should be reported here that the dates for the closure of receiving applications were earlier set at February 15, but later due to snow, it was revised to 20^th February. A video explaining the whole process also has been released by Media Operations Center Seattle Public Schools. It is available on the website as well as on YouTube.