Madison Public Schools - enrollment (rental, transfer, neighborhood)

[MKR39]

Can someone tell me if Madison has open enrollment or if you must live within a specific zone for each school in order to attend? I'm so surprised that the registration takes place just a couple weeks before the start of the school year - in Minneapolis it's months ahead of time!

As we look to move, I'm trying to lock down certain areas based on the schools - but maybe it doesn't matter? Any insight is greatly appreciated, thanks!

[Megan1967]

You can request an "internal transfer" for your child to attend a school that does not normally serve the neighborhood you live in.

https://www.madison.k12.wi.us/node/10224
https://infosvcweb.madison.k12.wi.us/node/957

[Ragnar]

We've already registered our daughter for kindergarten in the fall, so my guess is that school registration will still be open for awhile yet and can be done ahead of time. Maybe you have a different time window since you are out of town and do not yet have a local address? Not sure.

Based on my conversations with friends in town, I don't believe you can reliably count on a transfer. My understanding is that slot availability can vary widely from year-to-year and grade-to grade. The schools just don't automatically grant any transfer request. I'd recommend picking a city location to live based on your lifestyle/employment/school needs and use the schools that serve that area. If it's a rental for the first year, you can always move if you are not happy with the neighborhood or schools that serve that neighborhood.

If you are accepted into a different school out of your neighborhood area, you will be responsible for transportation of your child. Maybe you're planning this anyway, but it's something to consider if you need to utilize the school bus system.

My understanding is that it's best to already have a local address and register with the school(s) that serve that address. This is much easier to do when in town than out of town, and I've never had to do this from your position.

Remember that you can only make the best decision you can with the information that you have. Once you're in town, you can always make changes. It can easily take 2-3 years to get settled in a new city.

[Bo]

Originally Posted by Megan1967

You can request an "internal transfer" for your child to attend a school that does not normally serve the neighborhood you live in.

When we lived there in the 90s, the district's rule of thumb was that you could transfer your kids out of a better-performing school to a lower-performer, but you couldn't do the reverse. The rule pretty effectively minimized most peoples' interest in transferring.

[MKR39]

As my kids aren't super young (will be 4th and 2nd graders), I'd prefer to keep my kids in one school for the time we are in Madison (may not be a permanent move). I think my kids would do better with the consistency, making friends, etc.

Thanks all - I'll be sure to keep researching. I was having a hard time navigating the district website, so I appreciate the insights/guidance!

[Megan1967]

The school district website, well, sucks.