level. If a space is available, families on the waitlist will be offered the chance to accept a transfer to that school for the upcoming school year.
Wait List Process and Overview The wait list is comprised of families whose children are placed in a school and they would like the opportunity to transfer to a different school. This includes not only families who did not receive their first choice, but any families who may wish to move their child to a different school placement for the subsequent year. This means, for example, a family who received their first choice placement may decide later that year that they would like to request a transfer to a different school for the following year. That family would contact the registrar and request that their child be placed on the transfer wait list. Wait lists for specific grades at certain schools can be quite lengthy, with some wait lists reaching 30 to 40 students. Current District practice is that any available spots at a school on July 1 will first be offered to students on the waitlist before determining placement options for students who are new arrivals to the District and enrolling in an elementary school for the upcoming school year. Finally, if a student is enrolled at a school through the K Lottery, and then the family elects to defer the child’s enrollment by a year, the family will need to re-enroll in the subsequent lottery process. They can not hold on to the school placement they received for the current school year and apply it to the following year. Enrolling in Elementary School After the Kindergarten Lottery (K through 6th Grade) In addition to families who enroll their child in an A-B elementary school through the K Lottery, the remainder of newly enrolled students can be grouped into three additional categories: ➔ Families who arrive in the District after the K Lottery has taken place and want to register their child for Kindergarten for next school year ➔ Families who arrive in the District in the summer and enroll their elementary-aged child for the upcoming school year in grades K through 6 ➔ Families who arrive in the District during a school year and enroll their elementary-aged child for the school year in session Approximately 23% of currently active elementary-aged students fall within the above three categories and enrolled in A-B after the K Lottery. Including active students in grades 7 thru 12, that figure rises to 27% . For families who fall into those categories, the open enrollment system is still in effect and they are asked to identify their preferred schools and to rank them in order of preference. However, the likelihood that a family’s first choice may have an opening at their child’s grade level is wildly variable. Families that may select a school that has recently had a higher level of interest will have a very low chance of placement at that school. Furthermore, the existence of choice(s) narrows when a family registers their child closer to the start of the school year, or during the school year. For example, families who arrive in Acton-Boxborough in August or early September will typically need to be placed at the schools that either have lower class sizes and/or have not reached the limits outlined in the District’s class size guidelines.
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