Parents applying to kindergarten for fall 2012 still have questions as the pre-registration period draws to a close on March 2. Here are a few more questions that parents asked at our kindergarten workshop this month.

1. If you apply to a school not in your zone or district before the deadline, do you take precedence over someone in the zone who has missed the deadline?

No, sorry, the school is required to serve its own zoned kids before anyone else whenever they show up unless the Education Department has agreed that the school has no room left and caps enrollment. In that case, out of zone kids would not have been accepted in the first place. When you register does not count – priorities do.

2. Can you apply to a school in a district or zone where you don’t currently reside but plan to move? Or is current residence paperwork required?

You can’t register unless you bring proof of current residence with you. You can apply as an out of zone parent and be low on the priority list. When you  move, you can register again as a zoned family and the school must accommodate you, assuming there is space. 

3. Am I grandfathered into my zoned school even if we move later? What about siblings?

Yes, once your child attends a school, he or she can continue until the highest grade in the school. Siblings have priority over other out of zone students but not over children who are zoned for the schools. And these siblings of  the "grandfathered" kids must have an older sister or brother still enrolled. See the newly revised Chancellor's Regulation A-101 which is up for approval at the March 1 Panel for Education Policy meeting.

4. Is it possible to be zoned for more than one school?

It's not common but it is possible. For instance PS 3 and PS 41 in Greenwich Village share the same zone lines. There are others as well. If you are uncertain, check with an enrollment office, the school secretary or call 311.

Good luck to all incoming kindergarten families.

Judy