Caroline Grannan: The School Application Process

The avenues may look placid, but in past years the neighborhood has been a hotbed of protest over San Francisco's school assignment process.

Some of the city's most popular schools are located in the Sunset District, and most neighborhood families want a guaranteed spot in a school close to home. But it doesn't always work that way.

The San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) is an all-choice district - a family can apply to any school. Neighbors get first shot at most schools, up to a point, but thereÕs no guarantee. This can make families who live near popular schools unhappy. But it pleases families who don't like their nearby schools by greatly increasing their options.

SFUSD has operated for several years under conflicting court orders. The district was required to assign students via a process aimed at diversifying schools and improving minority children's achievement. Yet, it must do so without using race as a factor in making assignments. Recent legal developments have made the future of the court-ordered assignment situation unclear, but it will not change for fall 2006 assignments.

There are widespread misconceptions about the school assignment process.

It's not true that the intent is to send westside students to eastside schools. SFUSD assigns students to the closest school with openings. If there isn't room for them (and they don't "win" the placement lottery) in a requested school, explains Orla O'Keeffe, director of SFUSD's Educational Placement Center, they get assigned to a school farther away.

Another key point: An initial assignment isn't really an assignment.

"It's an offer," O'Keeffe emphasizes. "It's a starting point. Then we have a conversation and find the right school."

Some Sunset District schools have many more applicants than available seats - most famously Abraham Lincoln High School, with about seven requests for each opening.

O'Keeffe, and advocates, such as the PTA and Parents for Public Schools recommend that parents look at many schools with an open mind, and list several on their application, which allows up to seven.

Informed parents know it's easy to pick seven excellent Sunset elementary schools because there are many in the area. Middle schools are farther apart and high schools even more so. A high-school applicant may be assigned far away from the closest school with openings. This is most likely to happen when applicants list only one choice.

The general application deadline for most SFUSD schools for fall 2006 is Jan. 13, 2006. Many families have been visiting schools since October, but it's not too late. A good starting point is Parents for Public Schools (PPS), www.ppssf.org or (415) 468-7077. PPS holds workshops and counseling on choosing schools and the enrollment process. Translation is provided.

The separate application deadline for Lowell High School (which admits students based on academic achievement) was Dec. 2.

The School of the Arts High School (SOTA), which admits students based on an audition or judgement in a studentÕs artistic discipline, has a Dec. 16 deadline for the first round of auditions, which is Jan. 7, 2006, and later deadlines for the second round of auditions. SOTA is at the old McAteer campus just west of Twin Peaks. For information, go to www.sfsota.org.