Parents or guardians who wish to send their students to any of the comprehensive high schools can do so by filling out a parent-initiated student-transfer form. Stadium High School will accept students for the first time since completion of the school’s remodel in January 2006 when enrollment peaked at more than 1,900 students.
The district had kept Stadium closed to new students from outside the school’s attendance boundaries due to capacity issues. However, without any additional students, Stadium’s enrollment will drop to an estimated 1,450 students by next school year.
Enrollment at all of Tacoma’s high schools has declined from 9,692 in 2003 to 8,557 this school year. Projections indicate enrollment at Tacoma’s high schools will decline by another 800 students by 2016.
The parent-initiated student-transfer form can be picked up at one of Tacoma high schools or downloaded from Tacoma Public Schools Web site at www.tacomaschools.org under the For Parents, Enrollment Services section.
Applications will be accepted until May 31 to allow the district the opportunity to review each request, notify families and assign the appropriate number of staff members at each school.
Here’s how to apply:
A letter approving or denying the request will be sent to parents at the end of June. The time the transfer request for enrollment application is received does not determine the outcome of the requested placement. To be considered, forms must be received no later than 4 p.m. on May 31.
School capacities may limit the number of transfer students who can be approved. Students who reside in the school’s attendance area are automatically scheduled for their neighborhood school.
Each child in a household must have a separate parent-initiated student-transfer application. For example, if there are two children in a house eligible for transfer, each must have an application; however, those students will be processed at the same time and will be given the same random priority number.
Please note that the Tacoma School District does not provide transportation for students selected through the optional enrollment or parent initiated transfer process, per Transportation Department guidelines. These guidelines are available on the district Web site at www.tacomaschools.org, your child’s school or the Transportation office located at 4002 S. Cedar St.
If a parents’ optional enrollment or initiated transfer request is approved, the preferred school becomes the student’s permanent placement, and subsequent transfers are subject to denial. Parents need to carefully consider optional enrollment placement factors such as program offerings, distance from home and available transportation.
Parents of high school students who do not currently attend a district school should call the district’s Office of Secondary Education at 253-571-1191 for assistance if they are interested in having their children attend the Tacoma Public Schools during the 2011–2012 school year. Contact Toni Pace, director, Secondary Education, at 253-571-1191.