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

Families who enroll during the spring and summer, right before the start of the school year, which is considered late enrollment, should know that their child will be placed at the nearest school to the family’s address where seats are available if it is determined that there are not enough seats available at their neighborhood school. Should seats become available at their neighborhood school after the school year begins, the family will be contacted.

While students can enroll at any time during the school year, applying during the priority window with all required documents submitted and approved is highly encouraged as it increases the probability for placement.

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 process by:

1. Attending school tours and information sessions offered by RCSD schools to learn more about the family’s school or program of interest, meet teachers, parents, and administrators

2. Talking to current parents whose children are attending the program in which the new family is interested

3. Fill out an enrollment application for the assigned neighborhood school

RCSD Transitional Kindergarten (TK) programs welcome TK families to tours and/or information sessions to learn more about the school or program of interest.

Children born between September 2, 2021 and September 1, 2022 will be enrolled in TK.

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:

Please Note: Tours for Kindergarten families open Friday, November 14.

Adelante Selby Spanish Immersion School

Clifford School

Garfield School

Henry Ford School

Hoover School

Orion Alternative School (both the Mandarin Immersion Program and the Parent Co-Op Program)

Roosevelt School

Roy Cloud School

Taft School

All RCSD schools welcome Kindergarten families to tours and/or information sessions to learn more about the school or program of interest.

Children born between September 2, 2020 and September 1, 2021 will be enrolled in Kindergarten. 

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:

Please Note: While the tours starting on November 14 are open to families of all grade levels, families should note that these tours are tailored for kindergarten families. 

Adelante Selby Spanish Immersion School

Clifford School

Garfield School

Henry Ford School

Hoover School

Orion Alternative School (both the Mandarin Immersion Program and the Parent Co-Op Program)

Roosevelt School

Roy Cloud School

Taft School

Incoming families for TK-8 grade levels can enroll their students in their neighborhood school.

• Student’s birth certificate or passport

• Immunization records:

  • PreK and TK (18 months through 5 years of age): 4 DTaP, 3 Polio, 3 Hep B, and 1 Varicella 

  • K-6: 5 DTaP, 4 Polio, 3 Hep B, 2 MMR, and 2 varicella

  • 7th grade: One additional dose of DTaP

• Two (2) different and current documents showing proof of residence: utility bills, rental agreement, vehicle registration, etc.

If the child’s guardian is renting a section of a home, a letter from the landlord is required along with a current utility bill under the landlord’s name.

Please note: Current is defined as showing a date of within the last two months.

• Photo ID for parent or guardian

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.

• Families who are new to RCSD will need to register first before filling out a School of Choice application. Only fully completed and approved applications with all required documents move forward to the random computerized lottery. 
   

• 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 and approved, with all required registration documents, by the Priority Window deadline, which is Friday, January 9, 2006, 3:00 p.m.

Keeping the process in mind will prevent disappointment later should a family not receive an invitation to the school or program of their choice. 

North Star Academy (NSA), the Redwood City School District’s (RCSD) 3-8 grade school that houses the District’s Compacted Curriculum specialized program, welcomes applicants for the 2026-27 school year, which starts with the Cognitive Abilities Test™ (CogAT®). The CogAT is the assessment RCSD uses in the NSA admissions process.

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:

• Thursday, December 4, 3:00 pm
• Saturday, December 6, 8:30 am, 10:30 am, 1:00 pm, or 3:00 pm

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 sign up prior to the assessment day.

The school will only accept appointment applications during this designated window.

These strict guidelines are necessary to ensure the school can order the correct number of tests, plan staffing and resources appropriately, and prevent any errors that could disrupt the testing process.

Adhering to this timeline allows the school to responsibly and efficiently welcome students who will be testing.

Requests after this window has closed will not be accommodated, and families are strongly encouraged to submit their requests within the specified dates to secure their appointment.

Current 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: Wednesday, December 3
Clifford School: Monday, December 1 
Garfield School: Friday, December 5 
Henry Ford School: Monday, December 1
Hoover School: Tuesday, December 2
Orion Alternative School: Thursday, December 4
Roosevelt School: Friday, December 5
Roy Cloud School: Tuesday, December 2
Taft School: Wednesday, December 3

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

Families interested in their students attending North Star Academy who signed up for the CogAT assessment between November 17 and November 24 will be participating in this assessment.

Parents with additional questions about the instructional program 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 19, 3 PM.

North Star Academy begins to mail out CogAT assessment results to families of all students who participated in the assessment program. 

Please note: These assessment results are mailed out using regular U.S. postal mail service.

Application to North Star Academy opens. Using the CogAT assessment results, families will determine if they would like to apply for the 2026-27 school year. Only students who have already participated in the CogAT assessment in December of 2025 will be able to apply for the 2026-27 school year.

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

Applications close for families of students interested in North Star Academy for the 2026-27 school year. All North Star Academy applicants will be entered in a random computerized lottery.

Families who applied to North Star Academy will be notified starting Friday, January 16.

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

RCSD begins the 1st Round of notifications. This notification is for program or school placement based on the family’s School of Choice application and random lottery results for students whose families submitted their complete applications with all required and valid documents prior to the priority window closing. The district will also notify families if they are placed on a waitlist. The families who will be notified during this 1st Round are families who applied for the following grade level and program:

3rd Grade Notifications: Incoming 3rd graders at North Star Academy

Middle School Notifications: Incoming 6th graders at McKinley Institute of Technology

Deadline for families in the 1st 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.

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 for students whose families submitted their complete applications with all required and valid documents prior to the priority window closing. The district will also notify families if they are placed on a waitlist.

The families who will be notified during this 2nd Round are families who applied for the following grade level and program:

TK Notifications: Incoming TK students at the specialized programs--Adelante Selby Spanish Immersion School, as well as both the Mandarin Immersion and Parent Co-Op programs at Orion Alternative School.

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.

RCSD begins the 3rd Round of notifications. This notification is for program or school placement based on the family’s School of Choice application and random lottery results for students whose families submitted their complete applications with all required and valid documents prior to the priority window closing. The district will also notify families if they are placed on a waitlist.

The families who will be notified during this 3rd Round are families who applied for the following grade level and program:

Kinder Notifications: Incoming Kinder students at the specialized programs--Adelante Selby Spanish Immersion School, as well as both the Mandarin Immersion and Parent Co-Op programs at Orion Alternative School.

 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.  

RCSD begins the 4th Round of notifications. This notification is for program or school placement based on the family’s enrollment into their assigned neighborhood school or school of choice application and random lottery results for students whose families submitted their complete applications with all required and valid documents prior to the priority window closing. The district will also notify families who are placed on a waitlist. 

The families who will be notified during this 4th Round are families who applied for the following grade level and program:

TK Notifications: Incoming TK students at assigned neighborhood schools--Clifford, Henry Ford, Hoover, Roosevelt, Roy Cloud, and Taft. 

Kinder Notifications: Incoming Kindergarten students at assigned neighborhood schools--Clifford, Garfield, Henry Ford, Hoover, Roosevelt, Roy Cloud, and Taft.

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.

RCSD begins the 5th Round of notifications. This notification is for program or school placement based on the family’s enrollment into their assigned neighborhood school or school of choice application and random lottery results for students whose families submitted their complete applications with all required and valid documents prior to the priority window closing. The district will also notify families who are placed on a waitlist. 

The families who will be notified during this 5th Round are families who applied for the following grade level and program:

Middle School Notifications: Incoming School of Choice transfers to Kennedy Middle School for students who have previously attended the RCSD Mandarin or Spanish language immersion programs. 

Middle School Notifications: Incoming 7th-8th graders at McKinley Institute of Technology

Deadline for families in the 5th 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.

The School of Choice process for the second application window for the 2026-27 school year opens for submission. Families who apply for the second window will be notified starting Friday, April 3.

Sibling Priority: Siblings always have priority when applying. If a sibling applies, it may shift the waitlist. To qualify, the sibling must have a brother or sister attending the program during the same school year.

Placement and Waitlist Information: The random lottery only takes place during the first application window of each school year. Families applying during the second application window in the spring are placed in programs, schools, or waitlists based on the order in which their application is received, unless the applicant is a sibling. Siblings always have priority. Please note that North Star Academy is not available during the spring; its School of Choice process occurs once a year in the winter.

Because placement into a specific program or school is determined by seat availability, families applying during the second window are placed on a case-by-case basis according to when their application is received. Families who do not receive a placement offer should plan on attending their current school.

Late Enrollment: Families who enroll during the spring and summer, right before the start of the school year—which is considered late enrollment—should know that their child will be placed at the nearest school to the family’s address where seats are available if there are not enough seats at their neighborhood school. If seats become available at the neighborhood school after the school year begins, the family will be contacted.

RCSD begins the 6th Round of notifications. This notification is for program or school placement based on the family’s enrollment into their assigned neighborhood school or school of choice application and random lottery results for students whose families submitted their applications prior to the priority window closing. The district will also notify families who are placed on a waitlist. 

The families who will be notified during this 6th Round are families who applied for the following grade level and program:

School of Choice transfers for 1st-8th Grades: All TK-5 schools (Adelante Selby, Garfield, Henry Ford, Orion Alternative, Roosevelt, and Taft); TK-8 schools (Clifford, Hoover, and Roy Cloud); and North Star Academy.  

Transfers in the Upper Grades: Current families looking to transfer within in the district in the upper grades should be aware that these seats are typically limited due to the fixed seats available as students rollover at their schools from one grade level to the next. In addition, new students continue to enroll at their assigned neighborhood schools. Families looking to transfer who do not receive a placement offer should plan on attending their current school.

Deadline for School of Choice applicant families in the 6th 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.

RCSD begins the 7th Round of notifications. This notification is for program or school placement based on the family’s enrollment into their assigned neighborhood school for students whose families submitted their applications before the priority window closing on January 9. 

The families who will be notified during this 7th Round are families of the following grade level and program:

All incoming 1-8 graders (new to the district) whose families submitted their enrollment applications before the priority window closed and who plan on attending their neighborhood schools. 

Please note: All required and valid documents need to be submitted in order for a family to receive a formal placement notification.

RCSD begins the 8th Round of notifications. This notification is for program or school placement based on the family’s enrollment into their assigned neighborhood school for students whose families submitted their applications after the priority window closed on January 9. 

The families who will be notified during this 8th Round are families of the following grade level and program:

All incoming 1-8 graders (new to the district) whose families submitted their enrollment applications after the priority window closed and who plan on attending their neighborhood schools. 

Please note: All required and valid documents need to be submitted in order for a family to receive a formal placement notification.

RCSD begins to notify families on an ongoing basis pending seat availability. 

The district will notify families of program or school placement (assigned neighborhood school or school of choice transfer) based on the family’s completed and finalized enrollment application. 

Please Note: 

Spring and summer enrollment prior to the new school year is considered late.

Late Enrollment: Families who enroll during the spring and summer, right before the start of the school year—which is considered late enrollment—should know that their child will be placed at the nearest school to the family’s address where seats are available if there are not enough seats at their neighborhood school. If seats become available at the neighborhood school after the school year begins, the family will be contacted.