Enrollment and School of Choice Timeline

November 2022 Marks Start Date for 2023-24 Registration Priority Window

Interested in a specific program or school within the Redwood City School District (RCSD)? Families who will be new to RCSD for the 2023-24 school year and current RCSD families looking to transfer to another program or school next August of 2023, are encouraged to complete their application during the District’s priority window. The enrollment and School of Choice application priority window is scheduled for Friday, November 4, 2022 - Friday, January 13, 2023.

What is the Priority Window?

Because placement into a specific program or school is determined based on seat availability, applying during the priority window increases the probability that a family will be placed in the program or school of their choice. The later the family applies, the less likely seats will be available.

In addition, students who register during the summer, which is considered late registration, are only temporarily enrolled in their neighborhood school for the first 10 days of the school year, and may be moved if it is determined that there are not enough seats available.

While students can enroll for most schools at any time during the school year, applying during the priority window with all required documents submitted, is highly encouraged as it increases the probability for placement. It is also important to note that applying to some specialized programs is only available during the priority window.

Getting Started:

RCSD is a stellar PreK-8 school district known for its very unique and popular award-winning programs. Families are invited to engage in the enrollment and registration process by:

Attending information sessions offered by RCSD schools to learn more about the family’s school or program of interest, meet teachers, parents, and administrators
Talking to current parents whose children are attending the program in which the new family is interested
Filling out an enrollment application for the assigned neighborhood school. If the family is interested in transferring to another program within RCSD, they will also need to fill out a School of Choice application.

Here is the timeline to keep handy as we welcome new families to RCSD:

Friday, November 4, 2022:

All RCSD school principals begin to welcome families to tours and/or information sessions to learn more about the school or program of interest. Families are invited to check the program’s or school’s website in which they are interested as different programs schedule specific dates and times for tours and/or information sessions:

Adelante Selby Spanish Immersion School
Clifford School
Garfield School
Henry Ford School
Hoover School
Kennedy Middle School
McKinley Institute of Technology (MIT)
North Star Academy
Orion Alternative School
Roosevelt School
Roy Cloud School
Taft School

Friday, November 4, 2022, 9 AM:

Incoming families for all grade levels can register their student into their neighborhood school. In order to complete the registration process, the following documents are needed:

* Student’s birth certificate
* Student’s immunization record
* Parent or guardian picture ID
* Proof of address (two different documents are needed)

Please note: Your application will be completed once all documents have been uploaded and received by RCSD. Once all documents have been turned in, RCSD will then process registration for placement.

Once families have determined their assigned neighborhood school using their address on the school locator, they can then register their student as follows:

The application can be completed online.

OR

Families who do not have a device at home and need face-to-face support from school staff, can visit their assigned neighborhood school:

Clifford School
Garfield School
Henry Ford School
Hoover School
Kennedy Middle School
Roosevelt School
Roy Cloud School
Taft School

District staff can also support the family at the District Office on the following days and times:

Every Tuesday: 12-5 pm
Every Wednesday: 9-2 pm
Every Thursday: 12-5pm

The District Office is located at 750 Bradford St. in Redwood City.

(Please note: Families with children who are three and four years old can enroll their children in preschool, the RCSD Child Development Center (CDC), by calling
(650) 482-2417, which is a separate process).

Friday, November 4, 2022, 9 AM:

Incoming families and current RCSD families looking to transfer to another program or school other than their neighborhood school may do so starting at this time by filling out a School of Choice application.

Please note:

Families who are new to RCSD will need to register first before filling out a School of Choice application.
Families who fill out a School of Choice application with the intention to transfer to a different program or school other than their neighborhood school, will be entered into a random computerized lottery. All applications will need to be completed, with all required registration documents, by the Priority Window deadline, which is Friday, January 13, 3:00 p.m.

Saturday, November 5, 2022, 9 AM - 2 PM:

Families who do not have a device at home and need face-to-face support from staff on a day other than a week day, can visit the District Office on Saturday, November 5.

District staff will be available 9 am - 2 pm. The District Office is located at 750 Bradford St. in Redwood City.

In order to complete the registration process, the following documents are needed:

* Student’s birth certificate
* Student’s immunization record
* Parent or guardian picture ID
* Proof of address (two different documents are needed)

Monday, November 28 through Friday, December 9, 2022:

North Star Academy (NSA), the Redwood City School District’s (RCSD) 3-8 grade school that houses the District’s Accelerated Learning specialized program, welcomes applicants for the 2023-24 school year, which starts with the Cognitive Abilities Test™ (CogAT®). The CogAT is the assessment RCSD uses in the NSA admissions process.

RCSD 2nd grade students will participate in the CogAT assessment at their current RCSD school during the school day. RCSD schools will administer the CogAT assessment to RCSD 2nd graders on the following dates:

Adelante Selby Spanish Immersion School: Friday, December 9
Clifford School: Tuesday, November 29
Garfield School: Friday, December 2
Henry Ford School: Thursday, December 1
Hoover School: Wednesday, November 30
Orion Alternative School: Monday, December 5
Roosevelt School: Wednesday, December 7
Roy Cloud School: Tuesday, December 6
Taft School: Thursday, December 8

Current RCSD 2nd grade students do not need to register for the assessment as testing will take place at their current school.

Monday, November 28 through Wednesday, December 7, 2022:

RCSD welcomes families of 2nd graders who don’t attend RCSD schools, but live within the RCSD attendance zone, as well as all 3rd-7th graders (including RCSD 3rd-7th graders), to sign up to take the CogAT assessment. The CogAT for these two groups of students will take place at North Star Academy on the following dates and times:

Saturday December 3, 9 am, 11 am, and 1 pm.
Thursday December 8, 3 pm.
Saturday December 10, 9 am, and 11 am.

Families who plan to have their student participate in testing on any of these dates for non RCSD 2nd graders and all 3rd-7th graders need to register here.

Saturday, December 3, Thursday, December 8, and Saturday, December 10, 2022:

Families interested in their student attending North Star Academy and who between November 28 and December 7 signed up for the CogAT assessment, will be participating in this assessment.

Parents with additional questions can visit North Star Academy’s website or call 650-482-2411. Assessment results will be mailed to parents during winter break starting on Friday, December 16.

Friday, December 16, 3 PM:

North Star Academy mails out CogAT assessment results to families of all students who participate in the assessment program.

Tuesday, January 3, 2023, 9 AM:

Application to North Star Academy opens. Using the CogAT assessment results, families will determine if they would like to apply for the 2023-24 school year. Only students who have already participated in the CogAT assessment in December of 2022 will be able to apply for the 2023-24 school year.

Parents with additional questions can visit North Star Academy’s website or call 650-482-2411.

Friday, January 13, 2023, 3 PM:

Applications close for families of students interested in North Star Academy for the 2022-23 school year. All North Star Academy applicants will be entered in a random computerized lottery.

Friday, January 13, 2023, 3 PM:

The Priority Window for all registrations, including the School of Choice application for all programs, closes. All applications are entered into a random computerized lottery.

Wednesday, January 25, 2023, 3 PM:

RCSD begins to notify parents of students who have been accepted to North Star Academy. This 1st Round of notification goes out via regular mail. The school will also notify families if they are placed on a waitlist.

Wednesday, February 1, 2023, 3 PM:

Deadline for families of students who have been accepted to North Star Academy to confirm with the school on whether they will be accepting the spot. Families who do not notify the school by this date will be removed from the list and the seat will be offered to the next family on the waitlist.

Friday, February 3, 2023, 3 PM:

RCSD begins the 2nd Round of notifications. This notification is for program or school placement based on the family’s School of Choice application and random lottery results. The district also will notify families if they are placed on a waitlist.

The families who will be notified during this 2nd Round are parents of the following three student groups: All rising Transitional Kindergarten (TK) students, Kindergarten students at the non-neighborhood schools, and 6-8th graders at McKinley Institute of Technology (MIT).

TK Notifications: Students at Adelante Selby, Clifford, Garfield, Henry Ford, Hoover, Mandarin Immersion (program at Orion Alternative), Orion Alternative (English strand), and Taft schools.

Kindergarten Notifications: The District will also notify all rising kindergartners at non-neighborhood schools, which are Adelante Selby Spanish Immersion School, Mandarin Immersion (program at Orion Alternative), and Orion Alternative School (English strand).

Wednesday, February 8, 2022, 3 PM:

Deadline for families in the 2nd Round to accept their school placement based on their School of Choice application and the lottery results. Families who do not notify the District by this date will be removed from the list and the seat will be offered to the next family on the waitlist.

Friday, February 17, 2023, 3 PM:

RCSD begins to notify families in the 3rd Round of their program or school placement based on their School of Choice application and lottery results. The district also will notify families if they are placed on a waitlist.

The families who will be notified during this 3rd Round are parents of kindergartners at all neighborhood schools, which are Clifford School, Garfield School, Henry Ford School, Hoover School, Roosevelt School, Roy Cloud School, and Taft School.

Friday, February 24, 2023, 3 PM:

Deadline for families in the 3rd Round to accept their school placement based on their School of Choice application and the lottery results. Families who do not notify the District by this date will be removed from the list and the seat will be offered to the next family on the waitlist.

Friday, March 17, 2023, 3 PM:

RCSD begins to notify families in the 4th Round of their program or school placement based on their School of Choice application and random lottery results. The district also will notify families if they are placed on a waitlist.

The families who will be notified during this 4th Round are parents of rising 1-8 graders at all schools with the exception of McKinley Institute of Technology (MIT) and North Star Academy.

Friday, March 24, 2023, 3 PM:

Deadline for families in the 4th Round to accept their school placement based on their School of Choice application and the lottery results. Families who do not notify the District by this date will be removed from the list and the seat will be offered to the next family on the waitlist.

Monday, April 3, 2023, 9 AM:

The School of Choice process for the second application window for the 2023-24 school year opens for submission.

Please Note: The random lottery only takes place during the first application window of every school year. Families looking to transfer during the second application window in the spring of every school year are placed in the program, school, or a waitlist based on the order that the application is received. In addition, North Star Academy is not available as an option during the spring. North Star’s process only takes place once a year.

Because placement into a specific program or school is determined based on seat availability, applying during the second window is based on seat availability.

In addition, students who register during the summer, which is considered late registration, are only temporarily enrolled in their neighborhood school for the first 10 days of the school year, and may be moved if it is determined that there are not enough seats available.

Friday, September 1, 2023, 3 PM:

The second window for the School of Choice application application process closes in its entirety for the 2023-24 school year.

(Note: Families are notified of their placement on a case by case basis as each student is placed based on the order that their application was received.)

The registration and School of Choice process for the 2024-2025 school year opens for the priority window during the fall of the 2023-24 school year.