A new online application process and computer-generated lottery have been completed and nearly 50,000 notifications of the Houston Independent School District magnet programs including Vanguard placements for 2014-2015 will be sent to families by email (after 5 p.m.) and postal service Friday.
If parents applied online, they will be notified by email on March 28. If they applied with a paper application, letters reporting the status of their child’s application will be mailed on March 28. Parents will receive a notification from each school to which they applied
“The district has received 16,747 more applications this year than last, with the majority of those received through the new online application system,” said Dr. Lupita Hinojosa, HISD’s School Services Officer. “The increase in applications this year demonstrates the success of our multi-faceted outreach efforts, the online magnet application process, and the excellent theme-based and Vanguard magnet programs we have available at HISD.”
Parents must notify their magnet school of choice of their intention to enroll their child by Friday, April 11. Even if multiple acceptances are received, only one school may be chosen. If a child is not accepted into a requested magnet program, the parent may meet with the school’s magnet coordinator to discuss why their child did not meet the requirements to be considered for that program.
For parents who did not receive a school selection or were waitlisted, a school choice event will be held on Saturday, April 26 at Northwest Mall featuring schools that have available space for students. If parents missed the December application deadline, it is not too late. Applications will be accepted until Friday, Aug. 22, three days before school begins on Aug. 25. However, students will only be considered on a space-available basis.
Have questions about the selection and notification process? Check out the answers to the most frequently asked questions. Parents may also submit questions via email to magnetonlineapplicationhelp@houstonisd.org. We’ll also have a hotline open from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, March 28 and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, March 31 for you to call — the phone number for that is 713-556-6947.
Notification emails will be sent out after 5 p.m.
How do I submit the magnet application?
You can submit an online application or pick up a paper application at a school. You can find the online application and a list of schools that have space available on this page: http://www.houstonisd.org/Page/75079. Good luck!
Are the emails sents already? Is it 5:00 PM central time?
My son said a few of his friends have already received notification. Way before 5pm, before noon even. Why were they not all mailed at the same time?
Some emails were sent ahead of the time they should have been. We’re working to determine how this occurred.
Will it come by email or do we have to go through the HISD account?
If you applied online, you will receive an email. You will receive emails from each school to which you applied.
I’m confused because we received a general response that my son did not meet the selection criteria for HISD Magnet Programs??? It didn’t mention a specific program. All of the programs that we applied for were lottery-based, so there is no way that he was not qualified. We submitted all of our paperwork and all applications were completed. I would understand if he was not selected in a lottery, but it says not qualified and that is not correct.
I’m very concerned about the integrity of the process at this point.
We are aware of this issue and we have a team working to get it corrected. We apologize for the error.
When will we get the letter From Mail? My friend got his but i havent recieved mine
Emails are being sent out around 5 p.m.
The Vanguard test results will be sent via the US Postal Service.
I aplied for reagan high school on a paper aplication and yet i still havent gotten any Mail From the postal service.
Paper applications will receive a response via the US Postal Service. Notifications were mailed today, so you should receive it in the next few days. Good luck!
My child got call backs in two areas at HSPVA. The acceptance does not indicate in which area she qualified. Is there a way to find out?
Please call HSPVA directly.
My son hasn’t recieved any responses from the middle schools yet. We completed all paperwork through the website and turned in all paperwork. Should I be concerned?
If you applied by the deadline and have not received any notifications, get in touch with the Office of School Choice by calling 713-556-6947, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday or emailing magnetonlineapplicationhelp@houstonisd.org.
Have not received email notifications and I am trying to receive a new password but I have not gotten any response. Is there something wrong.
Please call the Office of School Choice at 713-556-6974 and someone can troubleshoot.
What does it mean when a school is coded as “Submitted and Qualified,” but there is no lottery status listed?
Please call the Office of School Choice at 713-556-6974 and someone can investigate this for you.
I received my child’s notification via email. The notice says that we need to print and sign the entrance agreement, but no agreement was attached. Where do I find the entrance agreement, so that we can follow procedures and return form by deadline?
Thanks
The agreement should have been attached to the email you received. If it was not, please contact the magnet coordinator at the school of your choice for a copy.
If I accept my seat to a school can i still be on the waiting list for another school?
Yes
when is the latest that we will receive the letter from the school that we applied to
Letters for paper applications were mailed out on Friday, so it could take a few days for you to receive it. If you don’t get it in a reasonable amount of time (maybe by Tuesday or Wednesday), please call the Office of School Choice at 713-556-6947.
Hello, I only received notification emails for 3 out f the 6 schools that I applied to in November. Is it normal to receive them randomly through a course of a few days? If not what should I do? Please advise. Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter.
Thanks for your question. It helped us form a new FAQ: https://blogs.houstonisd.org/news/2014/03/31/have-a-question-about-magnet-notifications-we-have-answers-here/
Here’s the answer to your question:
If you applied by the deadline and have not received any notifications, contact the Office of School Choice at 713-556-6947, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday or via email at magnetonlineapplicationhelp@houstonisd.org.
How is a child rendered not qualified? All of my daughter’s paperwork was turned in the day magnet began accepting applications and yet I received her not qualified letter in the mail yesterday so this means the lottery and determinations were pre done before yesterday. I even emailed the school and they are not responding so ehere do I file a complaint? It’s apparent that the integrity and fairness of this lottery and this new online system is compromised and is allowing other students to get accepted who may not have been as punctual and prepared with their enrollment forms and documents as others.
Thank you for your question. It helped us form a new FAQ: https://blogs.houstonisd.org/news/2014/03/31/have-a-question-about-magnet-notifications-we-have-answers-here/
Here is the answer to yours:
Each school has its own set of qualifications, and in the letter/email that you received, there is a section detailing what the qualifications are for the school to which you applied. If that portion of the letter is missing, contact the magnet coordinator from the school for which you applied. You may meet with the school’s magnet coordinator to discuss why your child did not meet the requirements to be considered for the program.
If you are not satisfied with the application process or the results, please contact the magnet coordinator at the school to which you applied.
Hello. I haven’t receive any email from four high schools that I applied to, It’s already Saturday, March 29, 2014. I also went to HISD website and log in. Those 4 schools that I applied, one school (Lamar) says not qualified, and the rest says, submitted and qualified, what does that means? I’m confused because it doesn’t say whether my son is accepted or in the waitlist. Please email me back as soon as you can because we’re worried. Thanks.
Please call the Office of School Choice at 713-556-6947 and someone can look into your situation.
I applied to a certain High School that was my main choiceand they said I was not accepted, is there any chance I could get accepted?
If you were placed on a wait list, there is a chance that you could get in. If you were not accepted and not placed on a wait list, you will not be accepted.
HISD
I have received notices from every school that I have applied to except one. When will they notify me?
If you applied by the deadline and have not received any notifications, contact the Office of School Choice at 713-556-6947, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday or via email at magnetonlineapplicationhelp@houstonisd.org.
Posting again since my first posted question is not here.
We applied to 3 magnet schools. We were accepted at one, wait listed at one, and the 3rd simply says not qualified. No other information, no email or USPS communication from the school that lists as “not qualified”.
Why have we received zero communication from the 3rd school? We were qualified for 3rd school scholastically but did have to audition. I have no problem if my child did not make it in based on the audition but having no information is frustrating.
Why didn’t it say, submitted qualified but did not pass audition. It just leaves you wondering if there was a problem with the application or the audition. Based on the experience we had with the scheduling of the audition at the 3rd school, I wonder if there is some administrative issues.
Can you please give us some information??
Please call the Office of School Choice at 713-556-6947. Someone in that department can give you more details about your specific situation.
i applied to bellaire under a different account and i dont know the email i applied under so how will i get my notification? please help
Please call the Office of School Choice at 713-556-6947 and someone there can help.
I applied for the magnet program for two school but i recived a notfication saying that i have not met the magnet program requirement so will i get still accepted in any highschool magnet program or either any highschool ?
Please call the Office of School Choice at 713-556-6947.
We were accepted to a magnet kinder and have a high place on the wait list for our preferred school. If we accept the kinder place, do we lose our place on the wait list for our preferred school?
Accepting a space at one school will not remove you from another school’s waiting list. Please notify the first school that you have accepted an invitation to another program and complete the required form/documentation.
I did not receive any email, but the status is showing that it’s “submitted and qualified.” Does that mean my child is accepted to the school of choice? I applied online.
All notifications have been sent to those who applied by the deadline of Dec. 20, 2013. If you applied by the deadline and have not received any notifications, contact the Office of School Choice at 713-556-6947, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday or via email at magnetonlineapplicationhelp@houstonisd.org.
how will the wait lists be handled?
Will people who applied online get notification of wait list movement online, will the number update automatically in the portal?
Do people get knocked from their second and third choices once they’ve accepted a placement?
Thanks for your question. It helped us create a list of FAQs: https://blogs.houstonisd.org/news/2014/03/31/have-a-question-about-magnet-notifications-we-have-answers-here/
If you were placed on a waitlist, you may accept another school without a negative impact on the waitlist order on other schools. You will receive a notification each time your status changes on each school’s waitlist. For example, if you are on the waitlist for three schools, you will receive three separate notifications each time your order changes on the waitlist. You may also log in to the HISD School Choice Parent Dashboard at (Houstonisdschoolchoiceapplication.com) to check the status of the waitlist.
Please call the Office of School Choice at 713-556-6947 or the school directly to determine how the lottery situation works there.
I didn’t received the mail yet, Is it something wrong?
At this time, all notifications have been sent to those who applied by the deadline of Dec. 20, 2013. If you applied by the deadline and have not received any notifications, contact the Office of School Choice at 713-556-6947, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday or via email at magnetonlineapplicationhelp@houstonisd.org. If you applied via paper applications, those notifications were mailed on Friday and you should receive them in the next few days.
Hello, we applied to West University Elementary. We did not receive an email and on our Dashboard it states Submitted IN PROCESSING. Is this correct? Do schools choose at different times? thank you.
At this time, all notifications have been sent to those who applied by the deadline of Dec. 20, 2013. If you applied by the deadline and have not received any notifications, contact the Office of School Choice at 713-556-6947, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday or via email at magnetonlineapplicationhelp@houstonisd.org.
Will the parent dashboard be continuously updated to show the student’s current spot in the waiting list for each school as the order changes (once people start accepting or declining offered spots)? Or do I need to regularly contact each individual school to find out where I am on the list? Please let me know.
You will receive a notification each time your status changes on each school’s waitlist. For example, if you are on the waitlist for three schools, you will receive three separate notifications each time your order changes on the waitlist. You may also log in to the HISD School Choice Parent Dashboard at (Houstonisdschoolchoiceapplication.com) to check the status of the waitlist.
Why has my child’s magnet school waitlist number changed?
If you are applying to an entry grade level (PK, K, 6, or 9) and received an email from HISD’s online application system giving you a number on the wait list, the number is incorrect. It is the wait list number that was generated BEFORE sibling preferences were applied. This means that if your child has a sibling attending the same school for which your other child has been waitlisted (and that was designated on your application), your number will be smaller (toward the top of the wait list). If your child has no sibling attending, your wait list number will be larger (further down the wait list). A correction has been made on the School Choice dashboard, and you will receive an automated message once the number displayed is corrected.
Okay thanks for the fast reply 🙂
The waitlist keeps increasing. How is that possible. The emails I received said my daughter was on waitlist 84 for one school and waitlist 58 for anohter. But when I checked the status today, the waitlist is 90 and 61. Can some one please explain the discrepancy?
If you are applying to an entry grade level (PK, K, 6, or 9) and received an email from HISD’s online application system giving you a number on the wait list, the number is incorrect. It is the wait list number that was generated BEFORE sibling preferences were applied. This means that if your child has a sibling attending the same school for which your other child has been waitlisted (and that was designated on your application), your number will be smaller (toward the top of the wait list). If your child has no sibling attending, your wait list number will be larger (further down the wait list). A correction has been made on the School Choice dashboard, and you will receive an automated message once the number displayed is corrected.
If you need more assistance, please contact the Office of School Choice by calling 713-556-6974.
Please call the Office of School Choice at 713-556-6947 and someone can look into this for you.
If you are applying to an entry grade level (PK, K, 6, or 9) and received an email from HISD’s online application system giving you a number on the wait list, the number is incorrect. It is the wait list number that was generated BEFORE sibling preferences were applied. This means that if your child has a sibling attending the same school for which your other child has been waitlisted (and that was designated on your application), your number will be smaller (toward the top of the wait list). If your child has no sibling attending, your wait list number will be larger (further down the wait list). A correction has been made on the School Choice dashboard, and you will receive an automated message once the number displayed is corrected.
If you need more help, please contact the Office of School Choice by calling 713-556-6974.
So, my daughter was assigned an initial waitlist number of 3.
After what I gather was the sibling preference lottery re-assignment, she was given the waitlist number 11.
Now, she has a waitlist number of 12.
Can you please advise why these continue to change in a negative manner?
After the sibling policy is implemented at your school, you should receive an email from the Office of School Choice with your waitlist number. If you believe that number is incorrect, please contact the school’s magnet coordinator or call the Office of School Choice at 713-556-6974.
Hi, i received my magnet high school applications online and it said I was “submitted and qualified” but I was put in the lottery placement, I’m confused, what does this mean?
It means your application was received and you are qualified to go to that school, but you are on a waiting list, based on the number you were randomly assigned for that campus.
My daughter Umang Jangid, applied to TH Rogers for 3rd grade. She also appeared for CogAT at TH Rogers and gave the test. The results is saying “Submitted and Pending Testing”. I don’t know what is pending!! Can someone please help?
Yes. Please visit this page for an explanation: http://www.houstonisd.org/Page/126029. Please visit the magnet status page for additional information: http://www.houstonisd.org/magnetstatus.
What does “submitted , in processing”mean?
For applications submitted after December 18, 2015, this simply means that your application is being processed by our system. No further action by you is required. If you are missing any documentation, you will be contacted. For applications submitted October 1- December 18, 2015 (Phase1), in processing could mean the application was not completed or you live outside the HISD boundary.