Choosing a School & Enrollment Data

Find your proximity school

Many parents and guardians send their children to their neighborhood school, also called a proximity school. Please find your child's proximity school by looking up your address on the:

Alphabetical Street Directory Please call the Enrollment Office if you have any questions about your proximity school: 625-6600, x6962.

Visit the Schools Overview Page for a map of the location of all schools.

Tips for Choosing a School

Somerville is a "Choice School District" which means residents of Somerville have the option to send their students to any of our eight district K-8 schools. Most students receive their first choice school. Preference is given (in this order) to siblings of students already enrolled in a school, students who choose their proximity school, and the ranking parents and guardians place on the school registration form.

Here are a few ways you can learn more about the individual schools:

• Visit us! Talk to us! Visit Schools during Open House Week. You will visit classrooms, and meet teachers and students. You can also join a Coffee Hour at the Enrollment Offices during Open House Week and ask our staff questions or swap notes with other parents going through the same process. Many schools schedule evening events; visit the District Calendar to find dates and times for these events.
• Learn about us! Visit school webpages and learn about each school, special programs, and the school location. Follow the Somerville Public School district on Facebook, to learn about classroom projects, school events, and district news. 
• Join us! Attend a school or District event. Our District Calendar provides information about the public activities happening regularly in each school, like concerts, family math nights, or student science fair presentations. 

Controlled School Choice for K - 8 Students

Somerville uses a "Controlled Choice" Student Assignment Policy. When an elementary grade student is registered for school, their parent or guardian is asked to select 5 ranked choices of school for student placement for their student, in decreasing order of preference. Every effort is made to assign students in either their first, second, third, fourth, or fifth choice placement based on several factors, including the current enrollment of the school, class sizes, their need for special education or English language learner services, and whether or not they have a sibling in the school.

According to this policy, children will be assigned to schools in order of the following priority preferences. Please note that the priority preference is linked to the first choice school listed only.

Sibling Preference (to first choice of school): Sibling Preference is the top placement priority for students not needing a special education or SEI program placement. Students with a sibling at the same school are given priority provided that students are registered by the registration deadline.

Proximity Preference (to first choice of school): Proximity Preference is the second placement priority for students not needing a special education or SEI program placement. After sibling preferences have been assigned for students who register by the registration deadline, students will be placed based on proximity as determined by the SPS Street Directory to their first choice of school, based on seat availability.

Seat Availability to All: Students who register by the registration deadline, do not require a special education or SEI program placement, and are not assigned to a school based on sibling preference or proximity preference are placed based on their ranked order of school preference if seats are available.

There is no preference given for kindergarten placement to students based on their SPS prekindergarten placement. In other words, attending a PK-8 school prekindergarten class does not guarantee or prioritize a kindergarten spot at that school for the student.

Students already enrolled in the Somerville Public Schools who submit a timely school-transfer application will be given priority before other newly enrolled students. The Enrollment Office accepts applications of students who are actually physically residing in the city.

Waiting Lists for K - 8 Students

Every effort will be made to accommodate parents' preferences within the system of priorities, educational seating capacity, and the district's fairness guidelines. Parents and guardians of students who are not assigned to a first choice school may request that their child be placed on a waiting list for that school by completing a "Wait List Request Form" available at the Enrollment Office. The Enrollment Office will inform you when a space becomes available. Assignments from the waiting list will be made in accordance with the "Controlled Choice" fairness preferences indicated.

The waiting list for all schools expires November 1st. Any parent still interested in transferring a student to their first choice school after the expiration date should contact the Enrollment Office. If a parent is dissatisfied with the student assignment and does not wish to continue at that school during the next school year, a request for a transfer can be made by contacting the Enrollment Office in April.

No more than one transfer will be allowed during any school year.

Assignments Based on Services

Students who are placed in schools based on programming appropriate for their needs are not part of the lottery process. School placement depends on their programmatic needs and where that program is located. These students include students receiving special education services and/or receiving English language services. Placement in special education programs is determined by the IEP team meetings. Placement in an SEI program is determined by the WIDA language assessment. These programs include:

• AIM - Capuano Early Childhood Center
• SEEK - Kennedy School
• SKIP - Kennedy School
• Life Skills - Kennedy School
• SEI 1 - Argenziano, Healey, Winter Hill

School Choice Data for School Year 2024-2025

This chart shows the number of families who selected each school as their first choice, during the period 1/4/2024 to 2/24/2024 for the school year 2024-2025. Please do not make school choice decisions based on this data. Instead, please contact the Enrollment Office with any questions about choosing schools.

School Choice Data for School Year 2023-2024

This chart shows the number of families who selected each school as their first choice for school year 2023 between 1/4/2023 and 2/24/2023. Please do not make school choice decisions based on this data. Instead, please contact the Enrollment Office with any questions about choosing schools.