Press Release Details
SFUSD Sending School Assignments to Thousands of Students for 2021-22 School Year
Families Must Respond to their 2021-22 School Year Assignment by April 9
San Francisco (March 22, 2021) - The San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) sent out nearly 14,000 school assignment letters to students, primarily rising transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, 6th grade and 9th grade students.
SFUSD has a choice-based enrollment system, meaning families can list the schools they want to attend in order of preference. More than 59% of students who applied for kindergarten, 6th grade and 9th grade will receive an offer to their first choice school, and more than 80% will receive one of their top three choices. Families have until April 9, 2021, to accept or decline the assignment.
Last year, the share of first round applicants that were African American was 4.6%, which this year increased to 5.8%. Last year, 25.9% of families that applied in the first round were Latinx; this year, that number increased to 27.4%. There were 500 fewer kindergarten applications this year compared to last.
“Families applied to schools this year with an unprecedented amount of uncertainty. We want families to know that we are committed to offering in-person school next fall,” said Superintendent Dr. Vincent Matthews. “I want to applaud our staff and families for navigating a new online enrollment process. Our team did a lot to support families with the application process during the pandemic.”
Applying in the first round, also called the Main Round, is important because that’s when the most number of school seats are available. After the Main Round, most school seats have been assigned, which leaves families a much smaller number of schools to choose from.
The District also saw success in moving the application process online. In the past, applications had to be submitted in person and SFUSD was in the process of developing a secure and accessible process for families to apply online. After the pandemic began, the District moved to an online system and increased staff support to help families with the new process.
“We knew that moving to an online application system so quickly may be difficult for families, especially our newcomer immigrant families, so we increased the number of staff and support resources available to help families,” said Jeff Kang, executive director of the Educational Placement Center. “Our efforts helped and 85% of all applications came in online.”
The Main Round period for submitting applications ended on February 5, 2021. Families who have yet to apply for a school for their student for next year can apply for Round 2 by May 7 by going online at sfusd.edu/apply or by reaching out to the Educational Placement Center. Educational Placement Center staff members are ready to help families find a school that meets their needs. They speak English, Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin, Vietnamese, and Samoan. To get enrollment help, families may email enrollinschool@sfusd.edu or call 415-241-6085. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 4:00 pm.
About SFUSD
SFUSD is the seventh largest school district in California, educating over 56,000 preK-12 students every year. San Francisco is both a city and a county; therefore, SFUSD administers both the school district and the San Francisco County Office of Education (COE). This makes SFUSD a “single district county.”
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