New HISD School Choice website will guide parents through the acceptance process

The results of approximately 65,000 magnet applications from close to 21,000 HISD students are now available on the Magnet parent dashboard at www.hisdchoice.com.

Parents will also receive an email invited them to log in to their parent dashboard. The notifications will be sent starting at 4 p.m. on Friday, March 27, 2015. (This process will take several hours, so please do not be alarmed if you don’t see an email right away.) In addition, letters will be mailed via the U.S. Postal Service to the address of record on file for each student’s application and should arrive a few days later.

If you have questions that are not answered in the Magnet FAQ, you can call the Office of School Choice at 713-556-6947 from 4 to 6:30 p.m. today (March 27) and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays beginning on Monday, March 30. You may also contact the appropriate school’s magnet coordinator, listed here.

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Parents may access a list of seats currently available at Magnet schools by clicking here (pdf). The list will be updated regularly as seats are filled or become available.

To better understand the ins and outs of magnet submissions and acceptances, HISD has created a new page on the School Choice website called “magnet status,” which explains the meaning of each status category, as well as how and when to respond. This page can be reached using the www.houstonisd.org/magnetstatus URL or by clicking the dropdown menu under the “Applying to Magnet Programs” section on the School Choice website.

For parents and guardians who need help interpreting their magnet status, HISD has created a resource page at www.houstonisd.org/magnetstatus that explains the meaning of each status category, as well as how and when to respond.

When responding to offers from magnet schools, please be aware of the following:

• You must respond to accept or decline an offered seat in a magnet program by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, April 10, 2015.
• You must visit your chosen school: It is not enough to accept an offer online; you must physically visit the school that accepted your child with a signed entrance agreement, proof of residence, and proof of age if you are applying to Pre-K or kindergarten.
• All magnet acceptances for the 2015–2016 school year are conditional upon your student completing the current school year and being promoted to the next grade.
• If your student is placed on a wait list and then offered a seat after April 7, you have three school days to accept the offer, and once you accept that seat, all other offered seats are automatically declined. However, if your student accepts an offered seat and then gets another offer after that, you may still accept the later offer.