Waitlisted for TK - What to do when school starts?
We live in the school boundary for Glenview but my son landed on the wait list for TK. He's at #3, so I realize he may move up before school starts. My main concern is that if he's still waitlisted on the first day of school, what do we do? Do we just show up? (I got that advice from an OUSD teacher friend of mine at one of the top schools.) Do we stay home and wait to hear back? How long? Who would contact us to let us know he got in or didn't?
I'm concerned that if I'm not proactive, my son could be overlooked, but I'm also concerned about starting off on the right foot and not being disruptive. It's a crazy time, it's a new campus, we're new to the whole process, so I'm nervous. Any insights from those of you who've been through this is much appreciated!
Parent Replies
In normal times, they would call you to offer the spot, and generally TK neighborhood waitlists do clear, so I expect you will have a spot shortly after registration ends in June and it will be moot. But if you don't get in, there's no particular benefit to just showing up--the school doesn't have control over getting you in. (This used to be less true, but one benefit/downside to the newish online enrollment process is that the waitlists go in order, and you can't jump them by being the squeaky wheel as you could before. I think this is a plus from an equity perspective, but appreciate that it can be frustrating!) If you've accepted a spot elsewhere in the district, you'd go to that school until the waitlist moves. If you haven't accepted any other spot and are just on the waitlist for Glenview, then yes, you can stay home until something shifts. The waitlists expire on the 10th day of school and then you can go into the enrollment office to see what other openings exist if you don't get in and aren't placed anywhere else (i.e., if you were planning to do preschool or have your child home if you didn't get into Glenview TK). It's not yet clear how the pandemic may affect all of these processes, though.
#3 is very high on the waitlist. So many kids get off of waitlist in the summer or during the first 2 weeks of school.