Hi Friend,

Happy February Vacation Week! Even though it's vacay for students, we still have plenty of school registration information to get out to families for the rest of this month.

Message of the Week: Don't Miss These 2 Lottery Deadlines

There are two key school lottery applications coming up with the same deadline, so make sure your families mark their calendars for Saturday, Feb. 29: both the Charter Lottery Application and METCO Winter Lottery Applications are due online. Both provide free, public school options for Boston students: Commonwealth charter schools within Boston and 33 METCO Partner districts outside of the city.

For links to school profiles and a map of all 16 Commonwealth charter schools in Boston, check out our How to Apply to Charter Schools resource guide.

For information about the METCO Lottery - including its two new lottery cycles and updated application process - our How to Apply to METCO resource guide has you covered.

We recommend families apply for both of these free, public options, even if they end up changing their mind later. At Boston School Finder, we like to remind families that you can always turn down a seat you receive, but you can't turn down a seat you don't have.

BPS Kindergarten Registration Is Now Open

The next round of BPS Priority Registration is open. The key entry point here is for students who will be age 5 by September 1, 2020, as they can now begin registering for grade K2 for the fall. Click here to review our How to Register for BPS resource guide.

Priority Registration for K2 and all other grades closes on Friday, Apr. 3.

I Work with a Family Who Missed the First BPS Registration Round: Now What?

Even though Priority Registration for grades K0, K1, 6, 7, and 9 closed at the end of January, that doesn't mean that families can't still registers for these grades. What is does mean is that their school choices may be more limited—but families who missed the first round of Priority Registration can and still should register for BPS.

In fact, we advise families who missed this deadline to register as soon as they can so they have access to the greatest amount of schools.

School Registration Support During February Vacation

Your families can meet our Parent Ambassadors and get school registration support at the following days and locations this week:

Tuesday, Feb. 18 | 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM      
Martha Eliot Health Center

Wednesday, Feb. 19 | 3:00 - 6:00 PM      
BCYF Curtis Hall Community Center

Thursday, Feb. 20 | 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM      
Children's Winter Festival @ Boston Common

Thursday, Feb. 20 | 2:00 - 3:30 PM      
BCYF Quincy Community Center     

Thursday, Feb. 20 | 5:00 - 7:00 PM  
Martha Eliot Health Center 

Next week, be on the lookout for more information tuition-free private school options for your families. Until then, have a great rest of February vacation!

Warmly,
Latoya Gayle, Executive Director
Boston School Finder