Enrolling a foster child in the OUSD

There is an open enrollment process that runs each spring, but you don't actually need to worry about that, assuming this is a placement that is happening in the near future for fall enrollment. You can just go into the Student Assignment Office and see where there are openings, and those will be your options. (Note that there are usually more openings after school starts--right now there are still active waitlists and they will shuffle kids based on the waitlists for the first two weeks of school. After that the lists expire and new students are placed wherever there is space.) You will have priority at your neighborhood school (probably Laurel) but it's certainly worth checking out other nearby options. You might also consider Sequoia, Redwood Heights, or Melrose Leadership Academy if the child speaks Spanish. You could also look at Urban Montessori, a charter school that is near the Laurel.

Dear potential foster parent, congratulations!  I really wish that our taxes were used better so that all Oakland schools were equally excellent and safe but that is not the case.  If the child already speaks Spanish, you can request one of the bilingual schools (Melrose, Manzanita seed).  If s/he already speaks Chinese, you can request Lincoln.  The Options process of requesting a school allows you to put several choices in order of preference.  If you have a child who already speaks English, I would go for the hill schools--Redwood Heights, Joaquin Miller, Thornhill, Kaiser, Hillcrest, Montclair.  It's sad to say but the hill schools have many more programs because there are a lot of wealthy parents who make donations.  My daughter who is non-white, is very happy at a hill school.  The hill schools do have a paler, more privileged ethnic mix but there are kids of every ethnic and economic group in each of them.  OUSD lets the most popular schools get bigger to keep parents happy.   I sometimes feel like the poor relation at our elementary school, but mostly I'm glad that she's up on the hill and out of the worst of the trouble and suffering.  Unfortunately, many schools on the flats of Oakland have large numbers of traumatized kids and your foster child will have been through enough trauma already.  You can get extra help for her from teachers and aides.  School lunches are free for all OUSD kids.  Once you get to know her you can make appointments with school personnel to get the best program for her.  Don't be afraid to change schools if you feel you really have to.  Go to the OUSD website and also look at Best Schools.  Good luck!

Oakland (OUSD) has what is called School Choice, so in theory you can apply to any school in the entire district.  That said-I am not sure how the formula works but I do believe they give certain preferences to different groups.  For example it would be easier to get into your attendance area school or the school in your neighborhood. You will rank the schools you want to go to.  I would recommend reading up on the schools in your area and also throughout Oakland. 

Many people will respond to your question regarding the school that you are zoned for and your options to attend another school if they have availability. You have missed the lottery but all is not lost! Sometimes schools have space in certain grades. I wouldn't be worrying too much about the great schools score or test scores -- I'd be looking for a place where my kid feels safe and supported. To figure out where there are spaces, go down to the assignment office and lead with two things -- you're unfamiliar with the process and really need their help (they see a lot of very entitled parents making demands and looking for loopholes, so they're likely to help if you make them want to help you) and that you're taking a foster kid. Two things about foster kids -- highly sympathetic AND there are special rules that foster kids don't have to go the school assigned to their zone. It's really designed to ensure they can stay in a school when they move, but I'd keep mentioning it to see if it provides some wiggle-room. Also, if you're willing to wait until school starts, sometimes a seat opens up after schools see who really shows up on the first couple of days. Again, the assignment office or an individual school can be more helpful if they want to. Unlike everyone else who is trying to get in after the lottery, you didn't have a choice. I'd keep saying "she was placed with me this week, so I couldn't do this at the right time."

Hi Winnie,

Having navigated this with several foster placements, I might be able to offer you some info. Lydell Willis is the person that is responsible for helping foster youth establishing a place in the district. Lydell Willis. (510) 273-1659. Lydell.will [at] ousd.k12.ca.us. I would recommend getting in touch with him for assistance.

It is true that it is not necessary that your foster child attend your local school and if it is full, it may not even be possible. The process is a ranked choice system that gives priority to siblings and people in the district, but that happened a long time ago, so at this point, you will have to find a school that has space for this year.

What the "best" school is may depend on the child. At the time of my first placement, I found a hills school that was not far from our house and had an opening and placed a foster child there. While it is considered one of the best schools in Oakland, there were few black children and little understanding of how trauma affects children and their education. Although this child had been through many moves and dealt with a lot of recent loss, there was immediately a great deal of academic pressure put on her and our family, which is the last thing any of us needed. I had a similar experience with my adopted daughter at our local school, which is by many considered the best public elementary school, which we left after kindergarten. The highest scoring schools are not always the best at understanding and handling students with special needs, but it is really hard to know what is going to work for you or your child.

The other advice that I will offer is that when you have narrowed in on a school, get on the waiting list as soon as possible, but once the year starts, don't necessarily trust the districts computers if they tell you a school is full. Reach out to the school directly and continue to do so in the first weeks of school. In the first month of the new school year, students don't show up, they get into another school, or they realize the school is not going to work for them and it can take a while for that to get worked out on a district level. We were able to get a 1st grade spot a month into the year by hearing from another parent at the school that a student had never shown up, although it had never got entered in the districts computer. I think it is more applicable for younger grades, but you never know. 

Good luck!

Both Sequoia & Laurel Elementary Schools have many positive aspects.  Another issue you may want to consider, is that as a foster child, she is entitled to free afterschool care in an official CDC (Child Dev Ctr) that is affiliated with her elementary school and run by the school district.  But not all schools have CDCs, so you may want to include that in your search.  Also, as CDCs often fill up quickly, you may want to apply to the CDC as soon as you identify the school you want.  It is a separate application process than registering for school.