FAQ
This page is based on the most frequently asked questions about SAISD’s Choice Schools and Programs. As we continue transforming our district, one of our principal strategies is ensuring that each child is placed in a best-fit school that best serves their aspirations and interests, no matter their academic abilities or where they live. All students entering grades Pre-K–12 are welcome to apply, and they don’t have to live within SAISD boundaries.
There are several ways to accept a Choice offer:
- BY PHONE: Call the SAISD Enrollment Office at (210) 554-2660 or the Choice School you are accepting for (see school directory here).
- EMAIL/TEXT: Send a message by email to enroll@saisd.net or by text to (210) 309-3259.
- ONLINE: Log in to Avela, the online application portal, to accept the offer for your one desired school.
Notifications of offers made from waitlists are sent by email and/or text message and will include an acceptance deadline. Offers from waitlists typically have 2 business days to accept. Offers not accepted by the deadline are rescinded and then offered to the next applicant on the waitlist.
NEXT STEP: Register (enroll) in your Avela account.
Yes. Each applicant may select up to eight (8) Choice Schools or Programs on their application and will be asked to rank each selection in order of preference. The lottery will try to give each applicant one offer only to the school that they ranked the highest, are eligible to attend, and that has available seats.
If you apply for more than one school/program during the application window, you may receive an offer to your first-choice school or to a lower-ranked choice. Your application will be placed on the waitlist for any school(s) that you ranked higher, but not for schools that you ranked lower.
For example, Adriana selects the schools below for her application and ranks them in this order:
#1 (her highest-ranked preference) – Scorpion School
#2 – Armadillo School
#3 – Rattlesnake School
#4 – Coyote School
#5 (her lowest-rank preference) – Lizard School
The lottery is able to offer her a seat at her third-ranked choice, Rattlesnake School. As a result:
- Her application will be placed on the waitlist for her #1 and #2 choices (Scorpion, Armadillo) because she indicated that she preferred those schools more than the school that gave her an offer. This means that if a seat becomes available at either of those schools at any time, she may receive an offer from the waitlist.
BUT
- Her application will not be placed on the waitlist for her #4 and #5 choices (Coyote, Lizard) because she indicated that she preferred the school that gave her an offer more than these schools. This means that she is no longer eligible for a seat offer at these schools. If she decides later that she is still interested in these schools or others, she may submit a new application to be added to the end of the waitlist.
For more details, see the question: How do waitlists work?
SAISD uses student demographic information and where the student resides to determine which level of priority they receive in the lottery.
The District has determined the following priority groups:
- Enrolled in an SAISD school designated by TEA as a Comprehensive and Targeted Support school (CTSS),
- Siblings of students enrolled at or receiving a lottery offer for the same school/program.
- Children of full-time SAISD employees
- All other applicants
Within each priority group, applicants are further prioritized by their random lottery number assigned by the computerized system, as well as where they reside and their economic status, in this order:
a) students living within the attendance zone (for Choice Programs)
b) students living within SAISD who are economically disadvantaged
c) students living within SAISD who are not economically disadvantaged
d) out-of-district economically disadvantaged students
e) out-of-district students who are not economically disadvantaged
An applicant’s lottery number and priority group do not change.
For more information, watch our video Important Notices (2025-26).
Starting in the 2025-26 school year, all Choice Schools that have Kinder will also have traditional* Pre-K4. Four year olds are always prioritized for seats in the lottery. Any additional seats are then offered to 3 year olds.
Age requirements for Pre-K:
- For Pre-K4, student must be 4 years old by September 1st of that school year.
- For Pre-K3, student must be 3 years old by September 1st of that school year.
Turning 3 or 4 later in the school year does not make the student eligible to enroll later; they will need to wait until the following school year to enroll.
These Choice schools offer Pre-K for 4 year olds only:
- Advanced Learning Academy
- Bonham Academy
- Woodlawn Academy
- YWLA Primary
Lottery priorities for Choice Schools apply to Pre-K seats after age and qualifications.
For more information, see the question What is the priority structure?
* Head Start is different than traditional Pre-K. If you would like to participate in Head Start, you will need to submit a separate Head Start application. See details and apply for Head Start on SAISD’s Early Childhood page here.
Yes. Applicants will receive a maximum of one offer from the lottery, and it is possible for applicants to receive no offers from the lottery. You will remain on the waitlist for any schools you ranked higher. Accepting a seat offer does not affect your waitlist status for any other school.
Applicants will only be removed from a waitlist upon request. You can check the current status of your application anytime by logging into your Avela account. For more details, please see the question: What does it mean when I rank the schools I’m applying for in my application?
The application window for the 2026-27 school year is November 3, 2025–January 30, 2026. Families can still submit an application for the 2025-26 school year and be added to the waitlist.
- Applications received after the January 30th, 2026, deadline will not be included in the lottery. Instead, they will be placed on the waitlist in the order they were submitted.
- All students who were not enrolled in their preferred Choice School/Program during the previous year, must submit an application for the new school year to be considered for a seat.
- Students who are enrolled in their preferred Choice School/Program do not need to re-apply for the new school year.
All applicants are encouraged to rank up to eight (8) schools/programs on their application. Carefully consider your order of preference, as this information is used in the lottery and impacts waitlists. You may update the rank order of your selected schools until the application deadline.
Always rank your schools by listing them in the order you prefer them, even if you are applying to very high-demand schools. Your random lottery number and priority group for that school do not change whether you rank your schools first, last, or even if many other students also rank that school. You should always list schools by their true preference. Whether you select the maximum number of choices or fewer, this will not affect your chance of getting an offer to one of your top-ranked schools.
We cannot promise that every applicant will receive an offer to their number one school choice. If you DO receive an offer to your number one choice, you will NOT be placed on a waitlist for your other school choices. This is why it is important to consider your school options and rank them in order of your preference when you apply. If you do NOT receive an offer to your number one choice, you WILL be placed on a waitlist for your higher-ranked schools only.
Families may still apply for any Choice School or Magnet Program after the close of the application window. Applications submitted after the application deadline are added to a waitlist. Any additional offers are made according to waitlist number, per seat availability. Offers from waitlists begin on the date shown in the timeline and continue through the first several weeks of the new school year, per seat availability.
After waitlist offers begin per the timeline, a list of seats still available by grade may be published on our Resources page here.
After accepting a seat offer, your next step is to complete the registration process, which also takes place in Avela. Once you accept your seat offer, you should receive a confirmation message with steps to complete your registration.
Registration for the next school year opens in the spring and takes place in the Avela platform. Stay tuned to the SAISD website and our social media for more information.
Can’t register right away? Your child’s seat at their Choice School is still secure. You will need to complete their registration no later than the First Day of School in the fall. Learn more about the registration process and required documents at https://www.saisd.net/oaes
For registration questions or assistance, contact the Enrollment Office at (210) 554-2660 or enroll@saisd.net
You will need to submit a new application when the the application window opens for the following school year.
All students who want to attend a Choice School or Magnet Program that they are not already enrolled in must submit a new application each year. Students who are on a waitlist for the current school year will not be eligible for a seat for the upcoming school year unless they submit a new application for that school year. They will remain on the waitlist for the current school year in the event that a current-year seat would become available.
The District does not hold seats for specific student types any longer. Starting with the 2025-26 enrollment cycle, the district utilizes a priority framework to ensure equity and access for historically disadvantaged students.
All Choice Schools & Programs will strive to ensure that economically disadvantaged students make up at least 50% of total enrollment. For more information, please contact the Office of Access & Enrollment Services.
If you submit an application during the application window:
Your application status will remain “Submitted” until lotteries take place The next notification you can expect about your application will be once the lottery has been conducted for available seats at each school. If your application receives an offer through the lottery, you will receive an email and/or text notification. This message will tell you which child, school, and grade level the offer is for, as well as the deadline to accept the offer.
If you submit an application after the application window has closed:
Your application will be added to a waitlist for the school(s) you have applied for. The earliest you could expect to receive a notification about your application status would be the date the timeline indicates for waitlist offers to begin. After that date, offers from waitlists will continue throughout the spring, summer, and into the first weeks of the new school year – as long as seats are available. You will not be notified if your application moves up on the waitlist. If you would like an occasional update on your waitlist number for any school, please contact that school or the SAISD Enrollment Office (210-554-2660).
For more information, see the question How do waitlists work?
The District does not hold seats for specific student types any longer. Starting with the 2025-26 enrollment cycle, in-district students receive priority over out of district students within the priority structure.
Waitlist Creation
- Waitlists are generated every year, and new waitlist numbers are assigned. They do not carry over from one year to the next.
- For applications submitted during the application window, waitlists are initially generated by the system when the lottery is conducted. After applications are sorted according to the lottery priority structure and their randomized lottery number, the applications at the top receive offers for available seats.
- Applications that do not receive an offer through the lottery are placed on waitlists in the following way:
- If an applicant DOES receive an offer to their highest-ranked school, they will NOT be placed on a waitlist for their other school choices.
- If an applicant does NOT receive an offer to their highest-ranked school, they WILL be placed on the waitlist for their higher-ranked schools.
For example, if Jamal applies to 3 schools and receives an offer for the school he ranked as his #2 preference, then his application would remain on the waitlist for the school he ranked as his #1 preference, but not for the school he ranked as #3. Applications submitted after the application window closes (the application deadline) are added to the end of the lottery-generated waitlist according to the date and time stamp of their submission.
Offers from Waitlists
- Offers from waitlists typically begin 2-3 weeks after the lottery.
- Offers from waitlists continue throughout the spring, summer, and into the first weeks of the new school year – as long as seats are available.
- You will be notified if you receive a seat offer from the waitlist. The message will tell you which child and school/program the offer is for, as well as the deadline to accept the offer.
- You will not be notified if you move up on the waitlist. If you would like an occasional update on your waitlist number for any school, please contact that school or the SAISD Enrollment Office (210-554-2660).
For more details, see the question: Can I apply to more than one school?
Find the schools/programs you are interested in below. Then, read the description above that section to determine if you need to submit an application for that school/program.
If you’re still not sure if you need to apply for a particular Choice School or Program? Contact the SAISD Enrollment Office – we’re happy to help!
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Choice Schools
The Choice Schools below have an attendance zone. You do have to apply to these schools if you live outside its attendance zone. You do not have to apply if you live in their attendance zone. Simply complete registration for the school when registration opens for the new school year.
Choice Schools with an attendance zone:
- Ball Elementary
- Beacon Hill Primary
- Bonham Academy
- Bowden Academy
- Briscoe Elementary
- Burbank High School: General Pathway
- Cameron Elementary
- Cotton Academy
- Davis Middle School: College Prep
- Democracy Prep at the Stewart Campus
- Fenwick Academy
- Graebner Elementary
- Harris Middle School
- Jefferson High School: General Pathway
- Ogden Elementary
- Poe STEM Dual Language Middle School
- Rogers Middle School: College Prep
- Tafolla Middle School: College Prep
- Woodlawn Academy
- Woodlawn Hills Elementary
The Choice Schools below have no attendance zone. All students must submit an application for these schools, regardless of address.
Choice Schools without an attendance zone:
- Advanced Learning Academy
- CAST Imagine Middle School
- CAST Med High School
- CAST Tech High School
- Fox Tech High School
- Irving Dual Language Academy
- Phoenix Middle College
- Rodriguez Montessori Elementary
- St. Philip’s Early College High School
- Steele Montessori Academy
- Travis Early College High School
- Twain Dual Language Academy
- YMLA (Young Men’s Leadership Academy)
- YWLA Primary (Young Women’s Leadership Academy, PK-5)
- YWLA Secondary (Young Women’s Leadership Academy, 6-12)
Choice Programs within Schools
The Choice Programs below are within the school. All students must submit an application for any of these Choice Programs, regardless of address. Students who live within the school’s attendance zone will be given priority for available seats.
Choice Programs within a school:
- Brackenridge Early College High School
- Brackenridge High School: Media & Film Institute
- Burbank High School: IB Diploma Programme
- Burbank High School: Agriculture Magnet
- Edison High School: Health Professions/Firefighting
- Edison High School: P-TECH School of Business
- Highlands High School: P-TECH
- Jefferson High School: IB Diploma Programme
- Lanier High School: Automotive Technology
- Lanier High School: P-TECH
- Sam Houston High School: P-TECH
Choice Schools & Magnet Programs use the lottery process to offer available seats. All grade levels with available seats hold a lottery to determine which applicants receive a seat offer. At the time of the lottery, available seats are offered from the pool of applicants who submitted an application by the application deadline. After the lottery, additional available seats are offered to applicants on waitlists, per waitlist order.
One of SAISD’s Choice Schools, YWLA Secondary (Young Women’s Leadership Academy, grades 6-12), first reviews applications through a holistic, rubric-based selection process to determine which applicants will move forward to the lottery process to be considered for available seats. To allow time for this selection process, the deadline to submit an application for this school is earlier than the general deadline. Learn more about YWLA Secondary here.
Choice Schools and Programs use bus routes available through a “hub” system, in which many SAISD schools throughout the District serve as pick-up and drop-off locations.
One bus picks up students from their stop in the morning and transports them to a central location. There, they transfer to a second bus that takes them to their Choice school. In the afternoon, students board the bus at their Choice school and again transfer buses to be dropped off at their original location.
- In-district and out-of-district students may ride the bus to and from any of the stops provided.
- There is no cost to ride these buses.
- Using the Choice bus routes is not required.
- Routes for High Schools are separate from the routes for Elementary Schools, Middle Schools, and Academies.
Learn more and see current schedules on our Transportation page.
For more information, visit SAISD’s Transportation department page here.
The lottery is a blind, randomized, computerized process conducted at the district level. The District utilizes a priority framework to ensure equity and access for historically disadvantaged students.
Once submitted, each application is tagged with its corresponding demographic factors. Then, the online platform conducts the lottery according to programmed lottery parameters. The District’s Enrollment Office determines lottery guidelines for each campus.
The lottery determines placement for each applicant by considering the following factors:
- the schools/programs selected,
- the way the applicant ranked their school preferences in the application,
- the number of seats available at each school/program for that grade,
- the applicant’s priority level for that school/program, and
- the applicant’s random lottery number.
Applicants are considered in order of priority group and random lottery number. They may receive an offer for their highest-ranked school that has space. If the applicant is not matched to their first choice, the system keeps them on the waitlist of higher-ranked schools.
To see this in action, watch our video How the Lottery works.
For more information, see the question What is the priority structure?
The Extended Day Program (after-school care and enrichment) is provided at most Choice Schools and Programs for grades kindergarten and above. Parents should check with each school to determine the type of program provided, grade levels served, as well as cost (where applicable).
After-school programming for Pre-K students may be available at certain campuses.
Sign-up for after-school Extended Day Program is available online after the beginning of the school year.
For more information, please visit SAISD’s Extended Day Program page here.
In general, students living inside SAISD boundaries receive priority for seats. For Choice Programs within a school, in-district students living within that school’s attendance zone will receive priority for seats ahead of other in-district students.
For example: The Media & Film Institute is a Choice Program within Brackenridge High School. All students wishing to participate in this program must apply, even if they live within Brackenridge’s attendance zone. During the lottery, these attendance-zone students will receive priority for seats, followed by students who live outside the school’s attendance zone.
Watch our video How the Lottery works (2025-26).
For more details, please see the question: What is the priority structure?
Students who enroll in Choice Schools and Programs outside of their home school according to their address of residence, but who live within SAISD boundaries, are eligible for varsity athletics if the student enters at the first opportunity. First opportunity is defined as the entry point the student could have entered the Choice School or Program. For example, for a Choice School or Program that begins at 9th grade, the 9th-grade year is considered the first opportunity. Out-of-district students are not eligible for varsity athletics for their first year.
Students will be eligible to participate in varsity athletics for the upcoming school year if they accept their seat offer by the last day of school according to the District Instructional Calendar. Students who accept a seat offer after the last day of school will not be eligible to participate in varsity athletic competitions for one calendar year. For example, a student who resides within SAISD boundaries and accepts a seat offer on April 30 is still eligible to participate in varsity athletic competitions for the upcoming academic year. However, a student who accepts an offer on August 1 will not be eligible to participate in varsity athletic competitions for one year.
If a student exits a Choice School or Program and returns to their home campus or transfers to another SAISD school, the student is ineligible for varsity athletic competition until the student has been enrolled and regularly attended that school for at least one calendar year.
Yes. Children of full-time SAISD employees is one of the priorities used during the lottery according to the established priority structure, regardless of the parent/guardian’s site of employment. Employee Child priority is given first to those who live within SAISD boundaries, and then to those who do not.
To receive the Employee Child priority, the family must indicate their employee status on the application and submit it by the application deadline. Applications received after the application window closes will be added to the waitlist in order of submission date and will not be eligible for employee priority.
Employee children who are not accepted through the lottery may still be considered for enrollment at the principal’s discretion according to district guidelines.
For more details, please see the question: What is the priority structure?
Each student may apply to a maximum of eight (8) schools/programs for the lottery.
- If you’ve declined a seat offer, then that application is no longer considered active and does not count towards the limit of 8 schools/programs.
- If your application has been withdrawn or canceled, then that application is no longer considered active and does not count towards the limit of 8 schools/programs.
- If an offer has been revoked, then that application is no longer considered active and does not count towards the limit of 8 schools/programs.
Additional schools/programs may be added as long as the total number of active applications is no more than eight (8).
For support on how to add an additional school/program to your application, please contact the SAISD Enrollment Office at (210) 554-2660 or enroll@saisd.net
Yes. Siblings of currently enrolled students and siblings applying for the same school/program and school year receive priority during the lottery according to the established priority structure.
Sibling Enrolled
Siblings of students who are currently enrolled at the school and who will still be enrolled for the new school year will receive sibling priority during the lottery if seats are available for their grade level. If seats are not available for their grade level during the lottery, they will be placed on the waitlist in order of priority group and random lottery number.
Siblings Applying
Siblings applying to enter the same Choice School or Program for the same school year is also one of the priorities used during the lottery according to the established priority structure.
For example:
- If Sibling A is offered a seat through the lottery and Sibling B is not, then Sibling B will receive sibling priority for an offer.
- If seats are not available for Sibling B’s grade level during the lottery, they will instead be placed on the waitlist in order of priority group and random lottery number.
- If both siblings are placed on the waitlist and then Sibling A receives an offer, Sibling B will remain on the waitlist until a seat might become available.
Sibling priority is given only to eligible applicants who submit an application before the application window closes. Siblings who submit an application after the application window closes will not receive sibling priority for offers. Their application will be added to the end of the waitlist in order of submission date. Siblings not accepted through the lottery may still be considered for enrollment at the principal’s discretion according to district guidelines.
For more details, please see the question: What is the priority structure?
Yes, depending on the student’s grade level. Dual Language seats for grades 2 and higher are reserved for students who demonstrate sufficient Spanish proficiency as determined by campus testing. Dual Language seats for grades Pre-K through 1st grade are available for all students, regardless of current language proficiency.
For questions regarding dual language eligibility, language proficiency, or testing, please contact SAISD’s Dual Language, ESL, & Migrant Department at (210) 554-2590.
Families may adjust their contact information as needed until the close of the application window. To update application information, families can log into their account in the application platform or contact the SAISD Enrollment Office. If the address-change request is made late in the application window, it is not guaranteed that the change will be made before the lottery takes place.
If accepted to the Choice School or Program, families must provide proof of residency for their new address during the registration process.
Some high schools offer multiple Choice Programs or multiple pathways within a program. Each counts as one (1) selection out of the maximum eight (8) on the Choice application.
Applicants will be asked to rank each selection according to their preference. Students should rank their first choice as #1 to give them the best chance at an offer for that school/program.
For example, Edison High School offers two pathways within their P-TECH program and two pathways within their Health Magnet:
- Edison High School: P-TECH School of Business – Accounting Technology
- Edison High School: P-TECH School of Business – Business Administration
- Edison High School: Health Magnet – Firefighting
- Edison High School: Health Magnet – Health Professions
For SAISD’s two International Baccalaureate (IB) high schools, Burbank and Jefferson, students can select the General Education pathway to attend the school without participating in the IB Diploma Programme pathway or the Agriculture Magnet (Burbank).