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Applying to an Elementary School

The application period for JCPS elementary schools for the 2012-13 school year is Wed., Feb. 1, through Thurs., Mar. 1, 2012. Who should apply during this period?

  • Students who will enter kindergarten
  • Older students who are entering a Jefferson County public school for the first time
  • Older students who want to apply to a magnet school or a magnet or optional program (Click here for basic information on these schools and programs.)

To enroll as a kindergarten student, a child must be 5 years old on or before October 1. To enter first grade, a child must be 6 years old on or before October 1 and the child must have completed an accredited kindergarten program.

How to Apply

1. Choose a school.
Students may apply to the school that serves their address, to other schools in their elementary cluster, to magnet schools, and to even more schools by applying to their magnet or optional programs. Information on all schools and programs is available in the Choices guidebook. It’s available here as a PDF file. To find out which school serves your child’s home address, use the online SchoolFinder or call the JCPS Demographics Office at (502) 485-3050.

2. Fill out an application.
The form will be available at JCPS elementary schools during the application period.

3. Submit your application.
You can complete an application at the school that serves your child’s address—or take the form home, complete it, and return it to the school. If you’re applying to an elementary magnet school or a magnet or optional program, you’ll also need to mail the pink copy of the application form to the JCPS Optional, Magnet, and Advance Programs Office (the address is on the form) or take it to the office yourself. Either way, the office must receive the application by 5 p.m. on Thurs., Mar. 1, 2012.

Confirmation and Acceptance
If you apply to a magnet school or a magnet or optional program, you should receive a postcard confirming that JCPS is processing your application form. If you don’t get the postcard within three weeks, call the JCPS Optional, Magnet, and Advance Programs Office at (502) 485-3323.

After you submit your application, some schools ask for additional information, such as a student work sample or test score, a copy of a report card or progress report, and a checklist completed by a teacher or child-care provider. If a school asks you for additional information, please reply promptly and send the information directly to the school. Don’t send any additional information to the Optional, Magnet, and Advance Programs Office. Students will be assigned to a school for the next school year before the end of the current one.

Please note:

Students are assigned to schools based on school and program capacity, the needs of the student, the assignment of the student’s siblings, parental preference, the student’s resides school, and the district’s diversity guideline. Every effort to accommodate parental preference will be made; however, the district cannot guarantee placement in any specific school, including the school that serves the student’s address.

  • Schools don’t keep waiting lists.
  • Applications to the traditional schools and the Brown School will be randomly selected for available openings.
  • Don’t submit more than one application. If you do, the second one will cancel the first, which could jeopardize acceptance into a school or program.
  • Submitting false information will void an application.

Need more information on the application process?
Click here for more information for students who are new to the district.
Click here for elementary Options and Magnet codes

More information also is available from the Elementary Student Assignment Office at (502) 485-3802, the Parent Assistance Center at (502) 485-6250 or (502) 485-6771, and the Optional, Magnet, and Advance Programs Office at (502) 485-3323.