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Tacoma Public Schools explains enrollment process and closed‑school placements
Summary
Enrollment director Erica Flatimus reviewed online registration, Synergy auto‑assignment, documentation requirements, exceptions for preschool and special placements, and confirmed Stadium High, Hunt Middle and Baker Middle are closed to new transfers; McKinney‑Vento students retain rapid enrollment rights.
Erica Flatimus, the district’s enrollment director, told the board how Tacoma Public Schools handles applications, assignments and capacity constraints, and named specific schools that are currently closed to new transfers.
Flatimus explained that families create a ParentView account and submit the online registration form; the district’s student information system (Synergy) generally auto‑assigns a child to the neighborhood school using the family’s physical address. She listed important exceptions to automatic assignment: schools without boundaries (for example, Tacoma Online and some specialty programs), preschool and transition‑to‑kindergarten placements, maritime and skills centers, and students requiring placement under an IEP or 504 plan.
On capacity management, Flatimus said the superintendent’s cabinet reviews enrollment, scheduling and building capacity before a decision to close a school to transfers. She named Stadium High School, Hunt Middle School and Baker Middle School as currently closed to new enrollment transfers; students who apply to a closed school will be temporarily placed at a nearby overflow school with transportation provided, and will return to the neighborhood school the following year unless they graduate or transfer.
Flatimus also described documentation requirements (two forms of address verification, birth certificates for early grades, immunization records, custody documents where applicable) and noted rapid enrollment protections for students identified under the McKinney‑Vento Act or as unaccompanied youth; those students can enroll quickly while staff verifies documentation.
"As soon as the parent inputs the physical address of the student, it automatically pops up to their neighborhood school," Flatimus said, summarizing the auto‑assignment feature. She emphasized registrar and principal roles in troubleshooting placement when schedules or graduation requirements complicate placement.
Why it matters: The district’s capacity choices affect family planning, transportation, and how well a student’s schedule and graduation requirements can be met. Flatimus urged families to start enrollment early and described the district’s communication channels and rapid‑enrollment protections for vulnerable students.
What's next: Enrollment materials remain available on the district website; staff said they will revisit choice enrollment methods in a future presentation and will continue to manage closed‑school placements through the cabinet review process.
