How does the San Diego Unified school district work in terms of options if you don't live near good schools? (Escondido: houses)

[GoldenKiwi]

Specifically, in the group of detached houses just south of the 24 Hour Fitness on Balboa (southwestern Kearny Mesa, could also be considered Clairemont Mesa East). There are a few good elementary schools nearby but in terms of good, regular (non-specialized) middle and high schools it seems the closest would be UTC to the northwest.

I'm not at all familiar with how it works, are you able to send your kids anywhere as long as they're within the same district as where you live? Are the schools in UTC even considered the same district? If not, what are the alternative options?

Also, are there any schools that aren't the greatest now and are projected to improve within the next 5-10 years?

[Pedro2000]

You can try to get your kid into magnet programs, if they are listed. So if you think another school is better, you can put your top 3 list of schools that participate. Most do. At least the good schools seem to participate. However you have to send in your list by like the end of Feb and even then, it's almost like a lottery at some of these schools. A friend of mine lives up in Escondido and they had to register for one school that had like 400 applicants for 15 spots. And this was for elementary school. This happens in a lot of the better schools.

There was another program that offered bi-lingual (actually teach classes in both languages, not just an hour a day of a different language), but they had like 150 applications for 25 spots.

If you want your kid to get into a better school come August, it's probably not going to happen at this point, unless you pay for a private or charter school.

[photo4fun]

Neighborhood Schools and Enrollment Options / School Choice/Open Enrollment Act

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Get your kids on the choice list. Take the best one you can but know the locals schools have been hammered by busing and won't fare well. You need to visit the schools NOW because you have one week left before summer break.

[moved]

You get your kids on the CHOICE list, and hope for the best.

[NYSD1995]

You roll the dice