The Syracuse City School District highly recommends that children who turn 5 on or before December 1st attend kindergarten. If you enroll your child in kindergarten and then decide to withdraw them from school, you must do so by December 1st or the child will be required to continue to attend school.
If you withdraw your child by December 1st or elect never to enroll your child, you can choose to wait and send them to school the following September even if they turn 6 years old. Enroll your child now and get an early start to a great future!
Students who are currently enrolled (active) in a Syracuse City School District or an affiliated Pre-Kindergarten program do not have to re-register for Kindergarten. They will “roll up” to Kindergarten and be assigned to their home school (the school zoned for the student’s home address), based on seat availability. Parents will receive a letter in the mail, which confirms their child's home school assignment for Kindergarten.
Students Withdrawn from Pre-K
If your child was withdrawn from a Syracuse City School District or affiliated Agency Pre-K Program during the school year, you will be required to re-register the student for kindergarten in September.
Missed the Deadline?
If you register your child after the open enrollment deadline of March 31, 2024, the District reserves the right to place your child outside of their home school or quadrant. Your child will be assigned where there are seats available for kindergarteners. The Department of Student Registration will contact you with the final placement.
Delaware, LeMoyne, Seymour, & Syracuse Latin (East) Neighborhoods
Students who are entering Pre-K and Kindergarten and who reside in the Delaware, Lemoyne or Seymour neighborhoods will be assigned to a school within the quadrant, based on parent/guardian request, completion of a kindergarten selection form and seat availability. Students entering Kindergarten who reside in the Syracuse Latin neighborhood will also be assigned to a different school within the quadrant. Pre-K programming is available to families who reside in the Syracuse Latin Neighborhood and request to send their children to Syracuse Latin for Pre-K. Those students will not be eligible to remain enrolled in Syracuse Latin for Kindergarten unless they apply during the school choice application period and are selected to enroll through the testing and lottery process.
School Assignment Lottery Process
Students entering kindergarten are both projected (which means automatically assigned if they are currently enrolled in PreK4 Program and will be entering kindergarten in the fall) and assigned during the open enrollment process (students who are not currently enrolled in PreK4 Program) and deemed eligible to enroll in an elementary school if it is their homeschool. They are also eligible to request a transfer to a different school if they will be joining a sibling, or the school is located within their quadrant. If during the open enrollment and transfer process there are more students deemed eligible to enroll in a school than there are seats available, the District will conduct a lottery using our electronic lottery system to ensure a fair and equitable placement process. The lottery system will automatically rank each student by giving them a number on the accepted list or the waitlist. This is based on the total number of seats available in each school. Parents/guardians are contacted and required to confirm or decline acceptance of their seat if they are included in the lottery.
School Transfer Request Opportunities
If you are interested in submitting a school transfer request, and meet the transfer criteria outlined in the Pre-K - 8 School Transfer Program, you will be eligible to submit an onlline transfer request during the period of February 1 - April 5. Please note that submission of a transfer request does not guarantee a transfer. Transfers are honored based on the transfer criteria and space availability. If there are more students who meet the criteria for a specific school and grade level than there are seats available, the Syracuse City School District will conduct a lottery using our electronic lottery system. Students who are entered into the lottery, but not selected will be placed on a waitlist. The Department of Student Registration will contact the parent or guardian if or when a seat becomes available in the school of choice.
