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MEDIA ADVISORY
October 7, 2019
San Diego Unified School District Opens 2020-21 School Choice Application Window; More than 10,000 Area Students Expected to Apply
Walk-in support and personal assistance for families who want to discuss their child's preschool through high school enrollment options
WHAT: To mark the opening of the 2020-21 school choice window, members of the media are invited to tour the Enrollment Options/Parent Welcome Center. School Choice gives students the chance to enroll next year in magnet programs or schools outside their neighborhood boundaries. The choice application window remains open through Nov. 13. Parents can apply online or in person. In addition to specialty programs available to students through the choice application window, San Diego Unified also has free and fee-based, full- and half -day enrollment seats still available in the district's Pre-K for all and Headstart programs.
Media are invited to tour the San Diego Unified Parent Welcome Center that offers parents free one-on-one enrollment options assistance year-round, and especially during the choice enrollment window. The Parent Welcome Center is located at San Diego Unified District headquarters. The center is open to families by appointment or on a walk-in basis. Staff is available to offer assistance to district families, many of whom include active-military parents, by providing information about their quality neighborhood schools as well as schools with special programs such as International Baccalaureate, STEM/STEAM, foreign language studies, and visual and performing arts. Staff members are multilingual.
The choice program and Pre-K/Headstart program are both open to all existing San Diego Unified students, as well as out-of-district students, and students attending schools in other settings such as private or charter schools. Each year, more than 10,000 area students apply for the choice program to attend one of the more than 180 schools in San Diego Unified. Last year, approximately 75 percent of all students were seated at one of their three choices of schools.
WHEN: Tuesday, October 8, 2019 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
WHERE: Eugene Brucker Education Center, Family Welcome and Enrollment Center, Annex 12, 4100 Normal St., San Diego, CA 92103.
DETAILS: Families within the San Diego Unified will receive enrollment catalogs in the mail this month. They can also find their neighborhood school by visiting www.sandiegounified.org/schoolfinder<http://www.sandiegounified.org/schoolfinder>. The enrollment catalog is also available online in both English and Spanish at: https://www.sandiegounified.org/enrollment-guide.
San Diego Unified also offers personalized consultations for families who want to discuss their options with an enrollment specialist. The bilingual staff at the Family Welcome and Enrollment Center is available at 619-260-2410 or eoptions@sandi.net to provide assistance in English and Spanish, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Choice applications must be submitted online at https://www.sandiegounified.org/school-choice-application . If families are unable to access the online application, they should contact the Neighborhood Schools and Enrollment Options Office at 619-260-2410, send an email to eoptions@sandi.net, or contact any school for assistance. The priority application deadline is Nov. 13. After that date, any applications received are processed in time/date order of receipt.
Families will receive an email notification in late February indicating if they have been accepted or waitlisted to a school of choice. School choice enrollment is determined through a computerized lottery system, with weight given to factors such as sibling enrollment and magnet program continuity. No priority is given based on when the application is received, so long as it is received by the Nov. 13 deadline.
SPEAKERS: The Director of Neighborhood Schools and Enrollment Options will be available for questions.
VISUALS: Media tours of the Parent Welcome Center along with interviews with enrollment options specialists will be available on an appointment basis from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Please confirm your attendance
Contact: Isabella McNeil, San Diego Unified School District, 619-341-2343 Imcneil@Sandi.net
