Wherever you are in the Oakland public school enrollment process, there are always important next steps to take. Let us help!
I applied for the next school year – 2021-2022, what are my next steps?
Great! If you’re here, you probably took advantage of all of your Oakland public school options, district and charter. The On-Time Application deadline for both district (OUSD) and charter schools was in February. If you missed this deadline for whatever reason, don’t worry, there are still options. If you have already applied, below are the next steps to take depending on where you are in the process:
Before March 2021 Deadline
1. If you applied during On-Time Application period:
You will be included in the March lottery of each school where you have applied. For each application you submit, there are two possible outcomes: 1. you could receive an offer, or 2. you could be placed on the school’s waitlist.
There is nothing left to do until after the school lotteries. All lotteries are held in early March. You will be notified of your results after the lottery by text and/or e-mail. You can also check your results by logging into your SchoolMint account on or after the March 2021 deadline. Once the lottery has run, please see below for next steps.
2. If you applied during the Late Application period:
You will be placed on the school’s waitlist – seats are not guaranteed. You will only be offered a seat if one becomes available. We recommend applying to more than one school to increase your chances of getting a seat.
After March 2021 Deadline
1. If you receive an offer
This means the school has a seat for your child and is extending you an offer to take that seat. If you receive an offer, you may either 1. accept it, or 2. decline it. Accepting means you are telling the school you plan to attend. Declining means you are telling the school that you plan not to attend. If you accept one school’s offer, all other charter school offers will be automatically declined. However, accepting an offer will not take you off of any charter waitlists.
2. If you accept an offer
This means that you communicated to the school that you plan to attend the following year. However, you still need to register for the school in order to secure your seat. Registration requirements are different for every school. You will have to fill out forms, and/or bring documents into the school, and/or go to a meeting or orientation – or more. The best thing you can do is contact the school directly to make sure you are completing all of the required steps for registration by the school’s deadline.
Schools will take away the offer if a child is not registered by a certain date so it is best to contact the school and complete registration right after accepting the offer.
3. If you register for a school
Once you accept an offer, you must register. Each school’s registration process is a little bit different, but usually includes turning in documents (birth certificate, immunizations, proof of address, and more) and filling out more forms with information on you and your child. Some schools require that you attend an orientation or other meeting, and some require other things as well.
If you believe you have completed all the registration paperwork and fulfilled any other requirements for the school, make sure you confirm with the school that they have verified your registration and there is nothing else for you to do to keep your seat.
4. If you are placed on a waitlist
If you are placed on a school’s waitlist (WL), it means there are no open seats at that school. You will remain on the waitlist until:
1) you remove yourself, or
2) you receive an offer because a seat has opened up, or
3) the waitlist expires.
It is important to note that just because you are on a school’s waitlist, you may never get an offer to that school. If more seats don’t open up, the school won’t make any more offers.
Waitlists generally expire at the end of each school year. So if you apply to a school for the 2021-22 year, the waitlist expires in May of 2021. Waitlists do not roll over to the following school year. If you are on a waitlist and the waitlist expires, you must apply again for the following year in order to be considered for the school.
I have not applied yet for the next school year – 2021-2022
Charter Application: If you missed the February 2021 deadline, you can still submit an online application. Applications submitted after the February deadline will be considered a Late Application — you will be placed on a waiting list at each of your selected schools, and/or offered enrollment if space becomes available. Late Applications are processed on a first-come, first-served basis. Some schools use priorities for Late Applications, so your school waitlist positions may change up or down depending on the actions of other applicants.
District (OUSD) Application: If you would like to submit an application for the 2021-22 school year, please call or text (510-879-4600) or email (enroll@ousd.org) the OUSD Student Welcome Center, or visit www.ousd.org/enroll.
Not looking to apply, just getting prepared to or want to help others choose the best Oakland public school for their child?
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