Please email Kathy Sampson if you have any questions.
Effective for students entering Grades Preschool-5 during the 2024-2025 school year: In the absence of a genuine hardship, students will not be allowed to transfer from one CPS elementary school to another, and students in Grades Preschool-5 can be on only one waitlist once they are assigned to a CPS school, except as provided below.
Students who were on previously established waitlists as of December 22, 2023 will remain mostly unaffected by the changes throughout their elementary school careers; however, starting in school year 2024-2025, all students in grades Preschool-5 can only transfer once between CPS schools throughout their CPS academic career, students must transfer by October 15, and all families must submit a renewal to remain on waitlists by November 15.
Grade Preschool:
Parents or caretakers of students assigned to a CPS elementary school through the Cambridge Preschool Program may request a transfer to a different, single CPS school subject to seat availability from the point of assignment until October 15 of the student’s Kindergarten year for students who begin their CPS career in preschool.
Grade K:
Parents or caretakers of students who registered for Kindergarten as of February 1, 2024 may request a transfer to a different, single CPS school subject to seat availability from the point of assignment until October 15 of the student’s first-grade year.
Students who participate in January K Lotteries after January 2024: If your child is assigned to your first choice, they will not be on a waitlist. If your child is assigned to your second choice, they will automatically be placed onto the waitlist of your first choice. If your child is assigned to your third-choice school or none of your choices, you will need to select one school on whose waitlist you want them to remain. Once your child has been assigned to a CPS school, they can only be on one waitlist.
Grades 1-4:
Parents or caretakers of students entering CPS at first through fourth grade may request a transfer to a different, single CPS school subject to seat availability from the point of assignment through October 15 of the second school year in which the student is enrolled in the assigned school.
Grade 5:
Parents or caretakers of students entering CPS at fifth grade may request a transfer to a different, single CPS school subject to seat availability from the point of assignment until October 15 of their fifth-grade year. There are no transfers between fifth and sixth grade and no waitlists for upper schools.
How many times may my child transfer between schools?
Students may transfer once in their academic career with CPS.
What is the process for requesting a transfer?
Please send an e-mail requesting a transfer to Kathy Sampson.
How long can my child be on a waitlist?
Students joining CPS as of the school year 2024-2025 can remain on a waitlist for two years from the point of assignment until October 15 of the second school year.
How are waitlists ordered? Are assignments made in the order of the waitlist?
In general, and except for students who participate in the January Kindergarten Lotteries, waitlist positions are ordered by the date of a transfer request or the completion of a registration; however, a seat must be available in your student’s assignment category (Free/Reduced Lunch or Paid Lunch for all schools, and, additionally, Bilingual or Non-Bilingual for the Immersion Programs) to be offered a transfer. Additional rules apply to immersion programs, hardship appeals, and other special situations. To learn more, please see the Controlled Choice and the Immersion Programs sections of our website.
Can waitlist positions change?
Yes. An individual student’s position on the waitlist may be affected by students entering the waitlist as a group, who are given priority ahead of students who are already on the waitlist in the following circumstances:
1) Students who are mainstreaming to a general education classroom from a Preschool-5 Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) Program or Office of Student Services (OSS) classroom will be automatically placed at the top of the waitlist for the building in which their program is located, ahead of all others in their grade level.
2) Students who are granted a Hardship are placed behind mainstreaming students but ahead of all other students. If multiple families have been granted hardships, they are ordered by the date that the hardship was granted.
What happens when a seat becomes available?
Seats are offered to the first student on the waitlist who meets the assignment criteria. Families have 48 hours to respond to the transfer offer, which is e-mailed to the e-mail address(es) in your child’s record. The e-mail will contain the time and date by when you must respond to accept a transfer.
What happens if I miss the e-mail?
If you do not respond by the date and time indicated in the communication, your child will be removed from the waitlist and we will offer the seat to the next family on the waitlist. You are responsible for making sure that your current contact information is on file with the Student Registration Center.
If I am offered a transfer but I’m not sure I still want to have my child change schools, may I decline it without losing my child’s place on the waiting list?
You may “defer” a transfer request up to two times during the school year and still maintain your child’s position on the waiting list. Parents/guardians may not defer during the summer months. If you don’t accept a transfer offer, your child will be removed from the waitlist, although you may re-submit a transfer request at a later date.
Can my child be on a waitlist if he or she is not attending Cambridge Public Schools?
You must be a resident of Cambridge to keep your child on a CPS waitlist. Students who live in Cambridge but are homeschooled or attend a private, charter, or parochial school may be on a CPS waitlist for grades 1-5. Children in grades Preschool-K may not be on a CPS waitlist if they do not attend a CPS school.
How can I remove my child from a waitlist?
Please e-mail [email protected] or [email protected] to request removal from any waitlist.