guide to kindergarten registration

a very unofficial guide to navigating Worcester Public School's voluntary student assignment policy

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As someone who went through the kindergarten registration process for Worcester Public Schools last year, I found it a bit confusing to understand the “voluntary student assignment policy” and often got conflicting information. So, I wanted to share what I learned in case it’s helpful to others going through the process. I am just a parent, sharing what I have been able to piece together with resources that are scattered and inconsistent. So this is definitely not 100% correct or exhaustive. I appreciate any clarifications or insights. Also a note that policy and what actually happens in practice might be different…

If your kid was born in 2018 they are eligible for K in WPS.  Programs are full day and to register you can make an appointment at the Parent Information Center or you can do it online.

Your child automatically gets a spot at your neighborhood district school.  If you don’t know what yours is, you can figure it out by using the street list.

When you look at the list, it’s also helpful to know what quadrant you are in.  WPS is broken down in four quadrants, named after the corresponding high schools.  The high school listed next to your street is the quadrant you are in. 

In addition to your community school you can also apply to have your kid go to other elementary schools.  There are a few options.  1. You can apply to have your child enroll in the dual language program. 2. You can apply to have your child go to any of the magnet schools. 3. You can apply to transfer. Here is a breakdown for each one.

DUAL LANGUAGE: There are three schools that have dual language. Woodland Academy is a neighborhood school, so you have to live on those designated streets.  The other two are by lottery: La Familia & Chandler Magnet. Your child will have bus transportation if you enroll in dual language and don’t live within walking distance. You enter the lottery here. Even if you enter the lottery you still need to enroll your child with WPS. It’s two steps!

MAGNET SCHOOLS: Depending on who you talk to or what you read, there's anywhere from 3 to 8 magnet schools. I *think* they are: Jacob Hiatt Magnet, Worcester Arts Magnet, Chandler Magnet, Norrback, Goddard School of Science and Technology, and City View Discovery School. Just got an update from WPS that there are in fact just three magnet elementary schools: Chandler Magnet, Worcester Arts Magnet, and La Familia. Roosevelt is a magnet school just for the North quadrant.  Canterbury Street Magnet and Tatnuck Magnet have magnet in the name, but don’t let it fool you because they are no longer magnet schools! It’s important to know which are magnet, because you can apply to them no matter where you live in the city, and for magnet schools your child will have bus transportation if you don’t live within walking distance.

The family guide from 2020-2021 (I could not find an updated one for this school year) says “Each magnet school focuses on specialized areas of learning.” But I could not find any information online or at the Parent Information Center of what these schools focus on/why they are magnets.  People say just call the principals, but that just makes so much more work for them and for parents when basic info could be online. You also need to fill out a separate form if you would like your student to transfer to a magnet school.  Wouldn’t it be great if it was just streamlined in the registration process? I know folks are doing their best, and I’m hopeful because Superintendant Monárrez and the administration have this on their radar. But we are where we are in this moment, and that won’t help parents going through the process right now, so I’ll share what I have learned

WPS says the acceptance at a magnet school is based on a lottery, but I’m not sure that’s how it actually happens. There’s no clear application process and it’s different for each school. There’s no publicly available lottery dates, and no numbered waitlists that I could discern.  Also Worcester Arts Magnet is a magnet schools AND a neighborhood school. So kids who live on the designated streets get first enrollment priority, and then I assume they fill in from there.

Jacob Hiatt is apparently not a magnet school, but they have their own enrollment page and it offers insight as to why you might want to enroll your child there.

Worcester Arts Magnet has more arts programming, based on the name and from what I understand.  But I couldn’t find any details of what that actually means.  I think they have dance in addition to art and music?  The enrollment form is here.

APPLYING TO TRANSFER:  You can apply to transfer to a different elementary school within your quadrant, “provided the transfer has a positive effect on the minority percentage of the school and space is available.”  (In practice it sounds like if there’s space, they’ll let you transfer regardless of “minority/majority” percentage. So here’s a case of practice and policy differ.) So say you live in the Midland district, but really want your kid to go to May Street, you can apply to transfer.  Odds are you won’t know you get in until really close to the start of the school year when they are finalizing numbers.  And if you use the voluntary transfer option you will not be offered transportation, and will need to get your kid to school. You can see what other elementary schools are in your quadrant here. If you want more details about the voluntary transfer policy go to page 4 of the student handbook.

Other things to keep in mind:

School hours can be found on each individual school’s website.  Some start as early as 7:45am and some as late as 9:05am

Only certain after school programs offer transportation from certain schools. Only some schools have after school programs in their buildings. There’s no exhaustive list I could find, but I’m going to work on putting one together!

If you live within a mile or so of school, your kid will walk (or you will need to drive them.)  If they are more than that they will most likely be assigned a bus (assuming they are going to neighborhood school, dual language, or a magnet school.) The bussing policy says that "The district may also offer transportation to students living closer than two miles to the school to which they are entitled to attend for reasons of safety at the superintendent's or their designee's discretion." So in practice most elementary students who live one mile-ish or more are bussed, even though the technical policy is 2 miles.

Worcester Public Schools has so much to offer, good luck with the process! And if you have any other questions please reach out and I’ll see if I can help.