Parents and guardians of K-12 Cleveland Metropolitan School District students can begin picking schools for the next academic year on Monday. That’s when the district opens the website that families need to enroll their students for school next year.
Families need to make their choices before the portal closes on Feb. 27. The district will announce student placements the week of March 30.
New CMSD students, eighth graders and students whose schools are closing as part of the district’s recently passed school merger plan all have to make a choice through the website portal.
Students whose schools are closing have a guaranteed spot at what the district calls a “welcoming” school — a school paired with a closing school to take its students. CMSD has already sent a letter to families detailing their student’s placement for next school year.
If students are forced to move schools, they will receive transportation for the next two school years as long as they currently ride the bus to school and choose to attend their assigned welcoming school. Otherwise the standard transportation rules apply.
The district is asking families to confirm, in the portal, that they will accept their guaranteed spot by Feb. 27 to allow it to make decisions around teacher staffing. How many teachers are assigned to a school depends on the number of students enrolled at a school.
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Families who choose not to send their students to the designated welcoming school will receive priority in seeking an alternative choice.
Students at high schools such as John Hay and John Marshall that share the same campus and are merging don’t need to register in the portal.
Students at speciality schools that are changing buildings, such as Tremont Montessori, don’t have to do anything unless they want to attend a different school next year.
Who has to register?
Families that are new to CMSD and enrolling for the first time have to go to the portal. Students who want to change schools for next year, for any reason, will also need to register on the portal.
Current eighth graders also have to choose a high school for next year.
Additionally, students at the following schools affected by the merger plan need to log on to the portal:
K-8 schools
Adlai E. Stevenson
Alfred A. Benesch
Bolton
Charles Dickens
Charles A. Mooney
Euclid Park
Hannah Gibbons
Louisa May Alcott
Miles
Mary Church Terrell
Mary M. Bethune
Mary B. Martin
Stephanie Tubbs Jones
Waverly
Valley View Boys’ Leadership Academy
High schools
Collinwood High School
Campus International High School
MC2STEM High School
New Tech West High School
Facing History New Tech High School
What to know about picking a CMSD school
CMSD is an open enrollment district, so students can attend almost any school in the city. Some schools have admissions requirements, though. For example, the recently consolidated John Hay High School requires students to achieve a certain grade point average and test scores.
Applicants to schools without admissions criteria are assigned based on a lottery that tries to match them with their top choice schools. Students receive priority at the schools their siblings currently attend.
The district recommends that students wanting to change schools pick at least three new choices. Families can rank up to five schools in the portal.
Need help making a choice?
Parents and students can learn about the district’s options from a few different sources. The district’s website shows a complete list of schools which are also rated by the state.
CMSD will hold two school fairs for students where families can register in person. One will be held on the East Side at John Adams High School on Jan. 31, and the other on the West Side at Max Hayes High School on Feb. 7.
Parents and guardians can get help picking schools by contacting the CMSD enrollment office at (216) 838-3675 or by visiting the district’s offices at 1111 Superior Ave. East in downtown.
The district is also offering assistance through “choice navigators” to families affected by the merger. They can be reached here.