Parents or guardians of current fifth- and eighth-grade students have until Jan. 4 to apply for enrollment at the middle or high school of their choice if they don’t want to attend their assigned, home school. The district mailed letters to all fifth- and eighth-grade families in late November stating which school the students are scheduled to attend for the 2012-2013 school year.
Parents or guardians interested in enrolling their child at Lincoln High School, Science and Math Institute or School of the Arts are invited to attend each school’s Parent Information Night:
• Dec. 12 at 5:30 p.m. at Lincoln High School, 701 S. 37th St.
• Dec. 13 at 6 p.m. at SOTA, 1818 Tacoma Ave.
• Dec. 14 at 6 p.m. at SAMI, 5501 N. Pearl St.
The applications for optional enrollment are available at any elementary or middle school or from Technology Services, Room 107, Central Administration Building, 601 S. Eighth St., Tacoma.
Applications will be accepted between 7 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. through Jan. 4. The form may be returned either by mail with a postmark no later than Jan. 4 or in person to Technology Services, Room 107, Central Administration Building no later than 4 p.m. on Jan. 4. Schools cannot accept optional enrollment applications.
School capacities may limit the number of optional enrollments that can be approved for individual schools. The district automatically schedules students who reside in a school’s attendance area to that neighborhood school. Other considerations include:
• Students who have siblings or members of the same household already enrolled – and who will continue to be enrolled – at the preferred school requested on the application receive first priority for optional enrollment requests.
• Remaining spaces will be filled by random lottery following district Regulation No. 3131R on enrollment.
Each child in a household must have a separate optional enrollment application. For example, if there are two children in a house eligible for optional enrollment, each must have an application; however, those students will be processed at the same time and will be given the same random priority number.
Please note: Tacoma Public Schools does not provide transportation for students selected through the optional enrollment process, per Transportation department guidelines. These guidelines are listed on the district Web site at tacomaschools.org, your child’s school or the Transportation office, located at 4002 S. Cedar St.
If a parents’ optional enrollment request is approved, the preferred school becomes the child’s permanent placement, and subsequent transfers are subject to denial. Parents need to carefully consider optional enrollment placement factors such as program offerings, distance from home and available transportation. Parents of fifth- and eighth-grade students who do not currently attend a district school should call the district’s Technology Services department at 253-571-1189 for assistance if they are interested in having their children attend the Tacoma Public Schools during the 2012–13 school year.
Contact Secondary Education at 253-571-1036 for more information.