SF’s school lottery drives parents crazy — and it’s about to change

Lyndsey Roach lost count of how many school tours she went on for her daughter, Charlie, who will enter kindergarten in the fall. She listed nine schools on her application, hoping to land one of her top choices.

She’s shocked at how unlucky she was: Charlie was placed in her No. 9 choice in the mid-March first round of results from the San Francisco Unified School District.

“I don’t want my ninth-choice doctor or ninth-choice meal at a restaurant,” Roach said. “The worst part is, your hands are tied, and there’s nothing you can do.”

Roach and more than 10,000 families are applying for positions within the complex SFUSD “lottery” system. It’s a highly sophisticated system with tiers of preference for various groups of applicants, designed to increase diversity in schools. However, many parents say it brings stress and uncertainty.

The lottery system, started in 2011, appears to have failed in its goal to desegregate schools, and the district has been developing a plan to change it. But, as the district struggles with a financial crisis, changes are happening slowly.

Families with young children can consider pre-kindergarten (3-year-olds), transitional kindergarten (4-year-olds), and kindergarten (5-year-olds) programs.

Pre-K is optional and is needs- or tuition-based, as many parents choose private preschool before joining SFUSD. The real competition in the lottery begins with TK programs, which are universal under state law starting this year. SFUSD plans to expand these programs.

Applicants whose siblings are enrolled in a school are often given top preference in assignments. Additionally, living in the preferred “attendance area,” as mapped by the district for each elementary school, gives applicants an edge.

Another advantage comes from living in areas with low average test scores, which often overlap with low-income neighborhoods. Families can search by address to determine the school in their attendance area and whether they qualify for priority based on low test scores.

The district is trying to improve the TK-to-kindergarten pipeline by introducing policy changes, pending the Board of Education’s approval. It also rolled out a waitlist system to make the process easier for families.

For most elementary schools, the priority tiers for assignments, known as “tiebreakers,” are:

About 65% of incoming kindergarten families get their top choice, according to district data.

Some schools and programs, including the highly popular Lawton Alternative School and foreign-language immersion programs, accept citywide applications without a designated attendance area, making them even more competitive. 

Middle schools favor the elementary feeder schools and sibling priority. High schools have a relatively simplified lottery process, with the exceptions being Lowell and Ruth Asawa School of the Arts, which are based on, respectively, academic merit and audition. Willie Brown Middle School applicants who live in the Bayview receive priority preference because of historic issues of inequity.

For years, parents have come up with strategies to navigate the lottery game. Meredith Dodson, a leader at the SF Parent Coalition, advises incoming parents to tour neighborhood schools regardless of popularity and remain patient through waitlist periods, even after the school year has started, as openings may appear. She also advises parents not to be deterred by ratings on sites like GreatSchools.org. 

“Talk to families at lesser-known schools,” Dodson said. “You will hear they are thrilled with their child’s teachers and the community.”

The district has acknowledged that the system has failed to achieve its diversity goals and plans to move to “zone-based” assignments, similar to the neighborhood school concept that would guarantee families a spot in their home area.

However, SFUSD leaders are focused now on higher-priority issues: balancing the budget, stabilizing the district, and implementing a new payroll system. 

“The zone assignment system will be revisited once we are further along with those priorities,” spokesperson Laura Dudnick said in a statement. Phil Kim, president of the Board of Education, said it’s important to provide clarity and predictability for families in the enrollment process, especially as more families join SFUSD. 

But the forthcoming “zone-based” approach is expected to prove contentious as the district draws new maps. 

Vicky Keston, an education consultant, said parents are generally frustrated with the lottery system but prefer more choices to fewer. She explained that the “zone-based” plan may limit parents to a certain area, especially affecting those interested in language immersion, which are currently citywide programs.

“The only time they want less choice is when they automatically get their favorite choice,” Keston said.