Q: We’re on a waiting list for the school I want my child to go to. Is there anything I can do to move up to the top?
A: I lucked out. When we bought our house in Ballard nine years ago, we didn’t know one of the top elementary schools in Seattle was located three blocks down the street. Because we’re so close, we didn’t end up on a waiting list. But that doesn’t make you feel any better, does it?
Your family is not alone. There are 980 kindergarteners, 463 sixth-graders, and 429 high school freshmen on waiting lists for the schools of their choice, according to preliminary enrollment numbers from Seattle Public Schools released in March. The longest list for an elementary school is at John Stanford, with more than 80 families waiting to get in. Eckstein has the largest demand for a middle school, with more than 140 on the waiting list. More than 200 teens are waiting to get into Garfield and Roosevelt high schools.
Now what?
Students on waiting lists are offered admission if and when space becomes available at the school they’re requesting. The enrollment office keeps track of the lists until mid-August, and then individual schools deal with the wait-lists. When a spot becomes available, they find the next name on the list and call that family to see if they’re still interested in the school. If yes, they’re in. If not, the next student on the list gets a call, and so on.
The district has an automated student assignment line you can call to check on your wait-list status: 206-252-0212 or 206-252-0213. You’ll need your child’s student ID number and birth date to access the system. Waiting lists for the 2008-2009 school year are maintained through the end of October, so if you haven’t heard about your school yet, don’t be too disheartened.
I’m not aware of anything you can do to improve your chances of making it off the waiting list. Seattle Schools spokesperson David Tucker says principals have an established order for moving students off the lists and into schools, “so no amount of schmoozing will help.”
Please share, Seattle’s Child readers, if you’ve found a shortcut through the system.
Linda Thomas is a freelance broadcast and print journalist in Seattle. She just put a huge smiley face on the calendar for September 3rd – the start of the new school year. Can you relate?
