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Frequently Asked Questions -
Tiebreakers
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- ADVANCED LEARNING TIEBREAKERS
- ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TIEBREAKERS
- MIDDLE SCHOOL TIEBREAKERS
- MONTESSORI SCHOOL TIEBREAKERS
- INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL TIEBREAKERS
- OPTION SCHOOL TIEBREAKERS
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GENERAL
How does the District
apply tiebreakers to student assignment today?
Today, all entry grade seats
are available under the open choice system. Students are assigned
to those seats by applying a series of tiebreakers.
What tiebreakers does
the District use for students on waiting lists?
The same tiebreakers used for making
assignments to attendance area
schools and option schools are
also currently used to sequence the ordered waiting
list.
How will the
application of tiebreakers change under the new student assignment
plan?
Entry grade seats
at attendance area
schools will be filled first by students from within the
school’s attendance area; any remaining available seats will
be filled with students from outside the attendance area using a
series of tiebreakers.
What tiebreakers will
the District use for students on waiting lists under the
plan?
The same tiebreakers used for making
assignments to attendance area
schools and option schools will
also be used to sequence the ordered waiting list.
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ADVANCED LEARNING TIEBREAKERS
What are the
tiebreakers that apply to the Spectrum program?
Tiebreakers for assignment to Spectrum
seats are (1) service
area and (2) lottery.
Why isn’t there
a sibling tiebreaker for the Spectrum program?
The sibling tiebreaker is applicable for
assignment to a school; it is not used as a tiebreaker for
admission to a program within a school.
What are the
tiebreakers that apply to the ALO program?
Students who want to participate in the
ALO program apply to a school through the regular process. There is
no special application for assignment to the ALO
program.
What are the
tiebreakers that apply to APP?
The tiebreaker for assignment to APP is lottery.
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ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TIEBREAKERS
What are the
tiebreakers for elementary school assignment to attendance area
schools?
Elementary attendance area
schools—including both K-5 and K-8 schools—will be
filled first by students from within their attendance areas; any
remaining available seats at the schools will be filled with
students from outside the attendance area using the following
tiebreakers: (1) sibling and (2) lottery.
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MIDDLE SCHOOL TIEBREAKERS
What are the
tiebreakers for middle school assignment to attendance area
schools?
Middle schools attendance area
schools will be filled first by students from within their
attendance areas; any remaining available seats at the schools will
be filled with students from outside the attendance area using the
following tiebreakers: (1) sibling, (2) feeder school, and (3)
lottery.
What is a feeder
school tiebreaker and how does it work?
A feeder school is an elementary school whose students channel
into, or feed, a specific middle school. The benefit of this
tiebreaker is that it supports keeping together those students who
attended the same elementary school as they move into middle
school. In many cases, even if students are attending a school
other than their attendance area school, they will go to the same
middle school anyway.
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MONTESSORI SCHOOL TIEBREAKERS
What are the
tiebreakers for Montessori program assignment?
Tiebreakers for assignment to Montessori program seats are (1) attendance area and
(2) lottery.
Why isn’t
there a sibling tiebreaker for the Montessori program?
The sibling tiebreaker is applicable for assignment to a
school; it is not used as a tiebreaker for admission to a
program within a school.
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HIGH SCHOOL TIEBREAKERS
What are the
tiebreakers for high school assignment attendance area
schools?
Each attendance
area high school will have Open Choice seats available for
students from other attendance areas who are applying for
assignment to that school. Participation in selected courses or
programs is not included as an assignment tiebreaker; once
assigned, students would go through the school’s regular
processes for selection to participate in curricular or
extra-curricular opportunities.
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INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
TIEBREAKERS
What are the
tiebreakers for assignment to international schools?
International schools will be filled first by students from within
their attendance areas; any remaining available seats at the
schools will be filled with students from outside the attendance
area using the same tiebreakers as those for attendance area
schools: (1) sibling and (2) lottery for elementary schools;
and (1) sibling, (2) feeder school, and
(3) lottery for middle schools.
Will students from
outside an international elementary school’s attendance area
be eligible for the feeder school tiebreaker when going to middle
school?
Yes. For example, students attending Concord from outside of its
attendance area could apply to attend Denny and would be eligible
for the feeder school tiebreaker. This eligibility would give them
priority to move on to middle school with their elementary school
classmates.
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OPTION SCHOOL TIEBREAKERS
What are the
tiebreakers for option schools?
Tiebreakers for assignment to option school seats
are (1) sibling, (2) geographic zone,
and (3) lottery.
What is the
geographic zone tiebreaker?
The geographic zone tiebreaker is for applicants to an option school who
live within a defined area in proximity to the school. Each option
school will have a clearly defined area that will be the geographic
zone within which the tiebreaker will apply.
Does living within a
geographic zone guarantee assignment to an option
school?
No. Living within a geographic zone
does not guarantee assignment to a requested option
school?
How will geographic
zones be drawn?
Various factors will be taken into consideration in development of
the geographic zones, and each geographic zone will be customized
for the specific option school. As
with the development of attendance area boundaries, various factors
need to be balanced in establishing geographic zones. Some
geographic zone examples are provided in the
new student assignment plan.
How will the District
apply the sibling tiebreaker to option school
assignments?
Option schools
do not have a defined attendance area population; all entry grade seats
are open just the way they are today. There will be no change from
the current system for entry grade siblings applying to an option
school. However, if a sibling lives in an option school’s
geographic zone, he or she will be placed for assignment ahead of a
sibling who does not live within the zone.
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SIBLING TIEBREAKERS
Will the District
retain the sibling tiebreaker for assignment to non-attendance area
schools?
We will continue to use this tiebreaker as a mechanism by which we
attempt to satisfy the desire of families to keep their children
together.
What will change, however, is the order in which we assign seats
at an attendance area
school. Previously, all entry grade seats
were available under the open choice system. Under the new student
assignment plan, entry grade seats will be filled first by students
from within the school’s attendance area; any remaining
available seats will be filled with students from outside the
attendance area using a series of tiebreakers. The presence of a
sibling is the first and highest level of these tiebreakers.
The issue of grandfathering incoming kindergarten siblings is not
part of the new student assignment itself, but is an implementation
issue. It is the Board’s plan to address grandfathering of
incoming kindergarten students as part of the transition plan,
provided that this is feasible without displacing incoming
attendance area kindergarten students.
Upon parent/guardian request, siblings (including twins/multiples)
applying for the same school(s) in the same order will be assigned
together [or kept at the current school(s) if requesting
reassignment and they cannot be reassigned together]. This is
dependent on being able to meet any specific program or service
needs of one or more siblings at the requested school(s). Please
note that this option will not be available during the first year
of the plan’s implementation.
Does the sibling
tiebreaker apply to schools, to programs, or to both?
The sibling tiebreaker applies only to schools. It does not apply
to programs (Spectrum, APP and Montessori) within those
schools.
What can families do
if they think it’s critical that siblings be assigned to the
same school?
Upon parent/guardian request, siblings (including twins/multiples)
applying for the same school(s) in the same order will be assigned
together [or kept at the current school(s) if requesting
reassignment and they cannot be reassigned together]. This is
dependent on being able to meet any specific program or service
needs of one or more siblings at the requested school(s). Please
note that this option will not be available during the first year
of the plan’s implementation.
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Comments or questions on the New
Student Assignment Plan - Tiebreakers?
Last Updated:
October 13, 2009
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