Getting assigned to our neighborhood school Emerson

My family is moving to the East Bay from out of state in late May/early June and is considering renting a home zoned to Emerson Elementary in OUSD. Our child will be entering K in the fall. We will arrive far after the lottery is said and done. Assuming we decided Emerson is a school we would be happy to send our child to (which it seems to be, based on what we know so far), is it reasonable to expect our child could attend Emerson since it's our neighborhood school, in spite of our late arrival post-lottery? Or is Emerson "up-and-coming" enough that it might be full by the summer and we could be scrambling/placed elsewhere? Thank you for any information!

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You should be able to get a spot at Emerson with no trouble; as a neighborhood family you will go to the top of the waitlist, and seats often open up there in the late spring/early summer as waitlists at other schools move. As soon as you have a signed lease, call the Student Assignment Center and let them know you'd like to enroll and they should be able to help you. Welcome to Oakland!

Your chances are good. I'm pretty sure Emerson does not fill up.

Just a note that a signed lease is not sufficient. We were turned away with a signed lease and told we could not enroll until the kids had a final year-end report card from their current school.

Hi! We are in the same boat (moving in early May to Emerson zone, w a 5 yo in tow), and I'm wondering if Emerson still has their monthly play dates I read about somewhere. (And Anonymous, feel free to reach out to me when you arrive- I'll be a month ahead of you so full of useful advice lol!)