Enrollment FAQ
Enrollment FAQ
- What is Open Enrollment?
- Should I participate in Open Enrollment?
- What is my neighborhood school?
- What is the Open Enrollment lottery?
- Who may apply for Open Enrollment?
- How do I apply for Open Enrollment?
- Is transportation provided to PUSD schools?
- At what age is my child eligible to enroll in kindergarten?
- If my child is currently attending a PUSD preschool, should we apply for Open Enrollment?
- If I am interested in having my child attend a magnet school, transitional kindergarten program, or dual language immersion program, do I apply?
- Is there an assessment prior to attending a Dual Language Immersion Program?
- Do I submit an Open Enrollment application to enroll my child in Marshall Fundamental?
- What is "Neighborhood Preference"?
- If I have more than one child in my household, do I need to submit a separate application for each child?
- Will my child be considered for admission if we submit an application after the application deadline?
- Do I need to submit an application if my child already attends their requested school?
- What if my child is not accepted at any of the schools I have selected?
- If my student is offered a placement, how do I confirm and secure a seat at the school?
- May I change schools during the school year?
- I am new to PUSD but missed Open Enrollment. How may I participate?
- What are the enrollment opportunities for students who reside out of PUSD boundaries?
- Is any preference given to a student whose parent/guardian is employed by the Pasadena Unified School District?
- Is there a waitlist following the lotteries?
What is Open Enrollment?
Should I participate in Open Enrollment?
What is my neighborhood school?
Use the School Finder to find your neighborhood school, an assigned school based on a student's home address. Students have priority to attend their neighborhood school. A number of seats at lottery-only schools, TK programs, and dual language programs are reserved for neighborhood students. Students who live within this area may be more likely to be accepted, but they are not guaranteed placement in these schools or programs.
What is the Open Enrollment lottery?
Each winter, the Open Enrollment process offers families the opportunity to apply online to request any PUSD school or to request a transfer from one PUSD school to another. When the number of applications for a school or program exceeds the number of available seats, a random lottery process is used to offer available seats to interested students. Open Enrollment includes two random lotteries, the first general lottery and a later second lottery for families who missed the first. After the 2nd lottery, applications continue to remain available for schools with remaining seats.
Who may apply for Open Enrollment?
All incoming Transitional Kindergarten-12th grade students currently residing in the Pasadena Unified School District are eligible to apply. Out-of-district families may participate after the 1st lottery (see Lottery Application dates and eligibility). Applications are required for dual immersion, transitional kindergarten programs, and school transfer requests (such as students who wish to transfer from their current lottery school to their neighborhood school for the next school year).
How do I apply for Open Enrollment?
- Complete an online application during the lottery window dates. Families that miss the application for the first lottery may participate in the second lottery. Applications remain available for families who missed both lotteries until two weeks before school starts. New-to-PUSD families may continue to enroll at any time at schools with available space by contacting the Office of Enrollment.
- Indicate each school that you prefer in ranked order.
- Submit the application from any computer, tablet, or cell phone with internet access.
- Applications submitted earlier during the lottery window (first to apply) do not gain any additional priority or preference over other eligible applications submitted during the same lottery window.
- Revisions to the list of preferred schools (adding schools or changing the rank order) may only be made by contacting the Office of Enrollment.
- If you are no longer interested in a school, remove it from your application by withdrawing. This is important as the system presumes you prefer your higher-ranked choices and may continue to make offers for your higher ranked choices whilst automatically declining your lower-ranked schools.
Is transportation provided to PUSD schools?
At what age is my child eligible to enroll in kindergarten?
Children who turn five by September 1 of the requested school year are eligible for kindergarten. Early admittance to kindergarten is not permitted.
If my child is currently attending a PUSD preschool, should we apply for Open Enrollment?
Yes, enrollment at a PUSD preschool does not guarantee a student will be enrolled at that same school for Transitional Kindergarten or Kindergarten. Families must go through the Open Enrollment process to enroll in a dual language program, transitional kindergarten program, or to request a school transfer.
If I am interested in having my child attend a magnet school, transitional kindergarten program, or dual language immersion program, do I apply?
Is there an assessment prior to attending a Dual Language Immersion Program?
There are no pre-requisite requirements to apply for PUSD's dual language programs in the kindergarten or transitional kindergarten grades.
To ensure fidelity to the programs' two-way immersion model and ensure access to programs for English learners, dual language immersion program applicants will need to indicate the student's primary language on their application. If the student is bilingual or trilingual, they should make this determination based on the language the student is most comfortable speaking. Students whose primary language is a language other than English will be assessed to determine eligibility for English learner programs.
A language assessment may also be required for students who are applying for late entry into a dual language immersion program (grades 1 and above) to determine if the student will be able to successfully access the curriculum as taught 50% or more in the target language.
Do I submit an Open Enrollment application to enroll my child in Marshall Fundamental?
Marshall Fundamental is not a neighborhood school with attendance boundaries. Therefore, an Open Enrollment application must be submitted to attend Marshall Fundamental. This school offers "neighborhood preference," which ensures that Marshall applicants who live near the school have a higher chance of receiving an offer.
What is "Neighborhood Preference"?
Lottery-only schools and programs, including Marshall Fundamental, transitional kindergarten programs, and dual language campuses are subject to "neighborhood preference," which means a select number of open seats is set aside for students who live within defined zones around these schools. However, preference only applies when seats are available for the requested grade level, and applicants who live in the "neighborhood preference" zones list the school or program as their first choice on the application.
Applicants are selected through a random lottery. If not selected via "neighborhood preference," a student's application is included into the general lottery.
If I have more than one child in my household, do I need to submit a separate application for each child?
Will my child be considered for admission if we submit an application after the application deadline?
Yes. You may submit an application during the late application-second lottery phase or the late post-lottery phase if your child has not yet submitted an eligible lottery application. The second lottery and post-lottery phases allocate unfilled seats from the first lottery. The late, post-lottery application period ends two weeks before school starts.
Do I need to submit an application if my child already attends their requested school?
No. Once a student is admitted for grades TK or above, they can continue until the school's exit grade level without reapplying. Please note that preschools and children's centers are not considered part of their associated elementary schools; preschool students must apply to enter TK or kindergarten.
What if my child is not accepted at any of the schools I have selected?
Applicants may remain on the waitlist for each of their preferred schools until two weeks before school starts, in case a seat becomes available. Children who are waitlisted at all of their preferred schools should complete registration for their neighborhood school. If a space becomes available for one of the student's waitlisted schools, staff may transfer the student's existing registration to the newly offered lottery school.
If my student is offered a placement, how do I confirm and secure a seat at the school?
The child's parent/guardian must log in to pusd.schoolmint.com to accept any offer by the published deadline. Families who need assistance may call (626)396-3639. Parents/guardians must also complete the school registration process as communicated in any offer/acceptance notifications. PUSD considers email sent as a notification delivered. If a child is not registered by the deadline, the spot may be forfeited and offered to the next waiting student. Applicants are strongly encouraged to check email SPAM/Junk folders frequently to ensure all messages are received in a timely manner.
May I change schools during the school year?
No. PUSD does not grant mid-year transfers.
If your child is currently attending a PUSD school and you wish to change enrollment to a different school for the next school year, an application is required during Open Enrollment dates (pusd.schoolmint.com). Transfers requests are only accepted up until two weeks before the start of the school year and may be denied when the requested school/grade level is at capacity.
I am new to PUSD but missed Open Enrollment. How may I participate?
New resident families who missed the first round of Open Enrollment may participate in the second round and post-lottery application periods. New-to-PUSD families who miss Open Enrollment completely may request a placement at schools with remaining availability by applying online at pusd.schoolmint.com.
What are the enrollment opportunities for students who reside out of PUSD boundaries?
Non-resident families are welcome to explore PUSD signature programs: College & Career Academies in our high schools, Dual Language Immersion Programs in French, Spanish, Armenian, and Mandarin, the STEAM Magnet at Octavia E. Butler Magnet, Visual & Performing Arts at Eliot, the International Baccalaureate Programme at Willard Elementary School and Blair Middle and High School, and more. Non-residents are invited to submit an interdistrict permit request (see Important Dates at pusd.us/enroll and interdistrict permit request to enter PUSD).
Is any preference given to a student whose parent/guardian is employed by the Pasadena Unified School District?
Yes, District employees’ children are offered preference in the 1st Lottery phase. To qualify for this preference, the employee must work 30 hours or more per week for the Pasadena Unified School District, and the student must be a child of the employee and reside with the employee. Space is limited to available capacity. If more employees apply than preferred seats available, a student who qualifies for employee preference may be included in the general random lottery. Therefore, employee preference is not a guarantee of placement.
Employees of the City of Pasadena also qualify for this preference. However, this preference is limited to no more than 10% of the projected openings by grade at any school, and placement is through a random lottery.
Is there a waitlist following the lotteries?
Yes, applicants not offered their first preference will be placed on a waitlist for all of their preferred schools as selected on the student's lottery application. Waitlists will be maintained until two weeks before school starts, and families will receive a notification if they are offered placement from the waitlist. Historically, many families have been successfully placed off of the waiting lists during the summer months. Families who are satisfied with another offer may decline waitlist placement by withdrawing their application.
Transitional Kindergarten FAQ
- Who can enroll in transitional kindergarten (TK)?
- What distinguishes transitional kindergarten from kindergarten?
- After transitional kindergarten, do students advance to kindergarten or 1st grade?
- How long is the school day for transitional kindergarten?
- Is transportation provided for transitional kindergarten?
- Are there after-school options for transitional kindergarten children?
- How do families register for transitional kindergarten?
- How are TK programs different than preschool or other child development programs for three and four year old children?
Who can enroll in transitional kindergarten (TK)?
What distinguishes transitional kindergarten from kindergarten?
Transitional kindergarten bridges the path between preschool and kindergarten and gives children an opportunity to learn and grow in an environment tailored to meet their academic and social needs. TK provides the gift of time that will help students build a strong foundation for success in elementary school.
After transitional kindergarten, do students advance to kindergarten or 1st grade?
How long is the school day for transitional kindergarten?
Is transportation provided for transitional kindergarten?
Are there after-school options for transitional kindergarten children?
Pasadena LEARNs provides afters-chool programming for PUSD students in all grades, including transitional kindergarten. Registration occurs online or at the school site.
How do families register for transitional kindergarten?
All families requesting transitional kindergarten must participate in Open Enrollment. Students who live in a school's neighborhood zone will be given priority during the lottery process. Families are encouraged to include all TK programs on the student's application to increase the likelihood of an offer. Once a student receives and accepts a lottery offer, the student will be invited to pre-enroll/register to finalize the enrollment process.
How are TK programs different than preschool or other child development programs for three and four year old children?
TK programs are not preschool classrooms or child development programs. They are part of the TK-12 public school system and are the first year of a two-year kindergarten program, which uses a transitional kindergarten curriculum developed by PUSD in accordance with the Preschool Learning Foundations and California Department of Education Standards. TK programs are required to be taught by a teacher who meets credentialing requirements.
Preschool or other child development programs prepare three and four-year-old children for school and are not required to be taught by persons meeting teacher credential requirements. Instead, they must meet separate child development permit requirements.
Transitional kindergarten and preschool are both excellent early learning options that support students' long-term success in school.