How does HISD admission works? (Houston, Spring: houses, magnet schools, live in)

[BetterToRemainSilent]

I tried gathering as much info from the HISD website but it's not laid out in a friendly way. I understand the zones and application timelines but I have a few more question that maybe some of you know the answer.



1) My kid just turned 3 a couple months ago. He should have started pre-school (3yo) but afaik HISD doesn't offer that to everyone, just disadvantaged kids, right? Same for pre-K (4yo).


2) What's the difference between applying through the lottery for magnet programs and to your zoned school? Let's say I'm zoned to Poe, does that mean that my kid can get a spot at Poe no matter what?
If I apply to magnet programs (lets say River Oaks or Wharton Dual Language academy) do I lose my spot at Poe?


3) If my kid needs to start attending Kinder(5yo) at a HISD school in Fall 2024, I'll need to apply in Fall 2023, right? To both the magnets and to my zoned school?


4) Let's say I move in Spring 2024 to the Roberts zone area (just giving an example), can my kid attend Roberts or it's already too late to change schools given that the applications were done the year before?


5) I read a post here in City-data saying that someone zoned in River Oaks elementary couldn't get their kids in that school. Are there cap limits in some schools? What happens to kids zoned in this areas then?


6) What is this mumbo jumbo about different tracks in elementary? some schools offer spanish dual language. Do I need to specify that I want that in my application? Same for gifted tracks? Who gets to decide what kids go to a regular track and who goes to a gifted or vantage track?



Thanks

[WRM20]

Here's the page with the magnet application timeline https://www.houstonisd.org/Page/192304 This was the timeline for the current school year, the one for next year should be similar. Past that, who knows.

Here's the Pre-K page https://www.houstonisd.org/domain/54145

Here's the page that explains tuition vs non-tuition Pre-K https://www.houstonisd.org/Page/192209

Here's the student enrollment page, which has a step by step guide https://www.houstonisd.org/enroll

[BetterToRemainSilent]

Originally Posted by WRM20

Here's the page with the magnet application timeline https://www.houstonisd.org/Page/192304 This was the timeline for the current school year, the one for next year should be similar. Past that, who knows.

Thanks, I have a question about this timeline which is confusing to me.



It talks about the three Phases, and it says about Phase I:
"Phase 1 (September 10, 2021 - November 18, 2021)
Although anyone may apply during this phase, applications are treated differently for different groups.

• Any applications for students who live outside the HISD boundaries will not be considered until Phase 3, even if the application was submitted during Phase 1."

What does HISD boundaries mean in this case? The whole of HISD or just your school zone?


If it's the whole HISD then the question on my previous post still stands...
How do I differentiate my zoned school from other magnet schools I'm applying? I'd need to apply for all of them in Phase 1. If I apply for magnets do I lose my spot at my zoned school?


If it's referring to my zoned school area only, then do I apply to my zoned school in Phase 1 and then to the magnets in Phase 3?

Originally Posted by WRM20

Here's the student enrollment page, which has a step by step guide https://www.houstonisd.org/enroll

I have seen this before, it just gives the simplest case scenario, which is applying to your zoned school and then links to another page for the magnets but then the timeline in the first link that you posted. Doesn't really answer many questions. Even the FAQ link is very shallow.


Let's say I have a short list of 4 or 5 magnets that I'm interested. Any way to find specific info on the tracks and enrollment capacity of those schools? And the requirements to apply to them?


And for anyone who has done this previously, do I apply to a specific track within a school or I need to just apply to the elementary school and later they (or I) choose the track?

[AboLayla]

I moved to Houston June and the early registration was over by then (I guess it was on March). So HISD told us that Kinder kids can still register for their zones school during the late registration periods (guaranteed spot). But for pre-k we needed to apply for up to 10 different schools and hope that someone offers a seat for us. Fortunately, our zoned school admitted my daughter.

[travelguy_73]

If you are on FB, there is a great group "HISD magnet parents forum" which is exactly what you need.

Generally:
(1) in the fall (November) there will be open houses and tours of schools, and then applications for magnet lottery will open in December. Then in late Jan/Feb you find out the results of Phase 1, which is generally the phase that people who live in the district will be in. It doesn't matter what school you are zoned to, only that you live within the HISD boundaries.

The school you are zoned to is generally guaranteed to be there for you, it is just whether you like it or not. The risk to not getting into your zoned school is whether it is a (1) very high demand school and (2) you move into the zone late in the process, like over the summer. You don't apply to your zoned school like you do a magnet school, unless there is a magnet function within your zoned school that has something special you want. So the easiest is to just be zoned to the school you want. In late spring, you will register to attend your zoned school if that's what you want.

We were zoned to our elementary school, but then instead of our zoned MS, our daughter chose Lanier, so we went through the magnet process (this past spring). It wasn't too bad, mostly because we were on that FB page mentioned above, where we realized we weren't the only confused people!

Note that some schools don't have a zone, they are magnet only. That isn't common for elementary school, more MS and HS (e.g., Carnegie, DeBakey, Pin Oak).

[BetterToRemainSilent]

Thank you all for the info. I'll make sure to subscribe to that FB group.

I certainly was confused about the magnet vs zoned admission process but you guys made it clearer. Magnets application is usually in Fall-Winter the year before you need your kid to start and Zoned registration is usually March-April the same year your kid needs to start. Two separate processes.

Magnet is lottery and you apply during a window on Phase I if we live within HISD boundaries (we do), Zoned from what I'm reading is first come first serve, usually guaranteed, but maybe not if you are in River Oaks or West U Elementary I guess.

Hope got that right, thanks again.

[travelguy_73]

Originally Posted by BetterToRemainSilent

Thank you all for the info. I'll make sure to subscribe to that FB group.

I certainly was confused about the magnet vs zoned admission process but you guys made it clearer. Magnets application is usually in Fall-Winter the year before you need your kid to start and Zoned registration is usually March-April the same year your kid needs to start. Two separate processes.

Magnet is lottery and you apply during a window on Phase I if we live within HISD boundaries (we do), Zoned from what I'm reading is first come first serve, usually guaranteed, but maybe not if you are in River Oaks or West U Elementary I guess.

Hope got that right, thanks again.

That's right. Of course exceptions will apply, but you get the idea.

[Elaine18]

The district needs to do something about the food being horrible in schools and they also need to fix the bus issues!

[Vicman]

Originally Posted by Elaine18

The district needs to do something about the food being horrible in schools and they also need to fix the bus issues!

This is why I support more state money going in to make school food better.