Enrolling back in BUSD after a year away
Our child went to a BUSD elementary school for K & 1st grade. We took a sabbatical year 2023-2024 to live in a different country and are planning to return to Berkeley in the summer and enroll our child in BUSD for 3rd grade. We really want him to be able to go back to his original BUSD elementary school (where he attended K & 1st grade) because he has had a hard time with the transition and has really missed his friends and teachers this year. However, BUSD asks everyone to re-enroll and go through the lottery again. I have a few questions and I'm looking for advice for anyone who has gone through a similar situation below:
1. We have proof of residency for our Berkeley home (since that's still our permanent home/address) but we will return to Berkeley only in the summer. Could we still apply for Round 1 (ends Feb 2nd) even though we technically won't be living in our Berkeley home at that time?
2. How do I make my case to BUSD to put him back in his original elementary school? Has anyone had any luck doing this?
Would also appreciate any other advice from anyone who has been though a similar situation. Thanks so much!
Parent Replies
I can only answer #2 since I had a friend who went through this. You can’t. BUSD will not prioritize you. My friend did not get the same school when they returned … they had to get on the waitlist. The waitlist did eventually open up and their kids were able to return to the original school but it was about a month into the school year. It was a bit disruptive but in the end it worked out for them.
Hi,
1. I think you absolutely can use your permanent address to apply in round 1. They don't need to know you aren't technically living there right now. It is your permanent address and you have the proof you need for the application process.
2. The fact that BUSD schools are under-enrolled is in your favor. If you don't get the placement you want in round 1, keep trying. We moved here in 2017 and got the placement we wanted for our then 3rd grader two weeks into the school year (but before school started for our then 1st grader). It was less than ideal, but it all worked out.
Good luck and enjoy the rest of your sabbatical!
We have done this (and been in the same situation) and also have friends who have done this. They don't care what case you make. They won't prioritize his going back and you will go through the same lottery. You can submit in Feb as long as you still have another bill in your name-you need more than just the house if I recall.
As far as getting him back into the same school, it worked for us but we knew the principal well at the time and are not sure if that played a part. We also called the office very frequently and very nicely to check about the school assignment (we submitted over the summer, not in the usual Feb process). The people in the office are not helpful really but we were both kind and persistent.
Our friends who did the same thing were not as lucky and their child got sent to a totally different school. They worried about the adjustment and got on the waitlist and in the end their child adjusted and they stayed with the new school.
Hi there, we had a similar situation after spending a year abroad and returning summer of 2023. We also had our house in Berkeley and I tried to register both of my children in BUSD in early 2023 while living in the UK. When you complete the forms, they request transcripts from the school they are currently attending. Since you are not physically in Berkeley, they will not register you. They instructed me to register when we returned. I would just do it at the end of the school year. You still just complete it online, so I really didn’t need to physically be here. We were ultimately placed at a different school. Perhaps it will be different for you, but they didn’t seem to care that we had a long history with our former school. Best of luck, it will all work out and your child will have a wealth of experiences no matter where you land. Happy to answer any other questions if you want to contact me directly.
We went through a similar experience with our son a few years ago. He attended Sylvia Mendez for several years, left BUSD for a year, and then came back. When we re-enrolled in BUSD, we were told that we had to go through the lottery again to get a school assignment. After that, we could submit a letter to the district to request to go back to S. Mendez. If there was space in the school and the principal approved, then our request would go through. With the lottery, we were assigned Oxford. I actually had to go to Oxford to fill out all the school registration forms. Then I wrote a letter to the district to explain why my son would like to go back to S. Mendez. Established friendships was one of the main reasons. In the letter, I also noted that he received good grades on his report cards and his teachers commented positively about his behavior. (Basically, I was trying to show that my son was a good student, which I hope would increase the likelihood of our request being approved.) The whole process was somewhat stressful, but the district got back to us fairly quickly and approved our request within a week. I don't know if the district still follows the same procedure now. Best wishes to you and I hope things will work out for your family.