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Dear School District of Philadelphia Families,

The 2022-2023 School Selection application opens today at 4:00 P.M.! The school selection process allows students in pre-kindergarten through 11th grade to apply to attend the school of their choice, even if that school is outside their neighborhood or catchment area.

This past year, in alignment with our commitment toward antiracism and equity, as outlined in the Board of Education’s Goals and Guardrails, the school selection process underwent an initial equity review during which we collected feedback from various stakeholders including parents and families. The purpose of this ongoing review is to help the District better understand where inequities exist within the process in an effort to make it unbiased and accessible to all families, especially our most marginalized. As a result of the initial review, we are implementing several important changes to this year’s process including:

• School selection will move to a computerized lottery system to support greater access for students who meet the qualifications,
• Zip code preference will be applied at select criteria-based schools for students who meet the minimum qualifications,
• School selection and wait lists will be managed centrally,
• Letters of recommendation and interviews are no longer required for eligibility or admission,
• The online application will be available in 9 different languages.

In addition, last year we determined that PSSA scores would not be used as a criteria for admission in this year’s process.

While we will continue to look critically at our school selection process, it is our hope that this year’s changes will be a catalyst for long-term improvements to school selection, providing greater opportunity for all students to attend the school of their choice.

The school selection application will close on November 21st at 11:59 P.M., so submit your application today! To learn more about the process or how to apply using our online system Smart Choice, please visit www.philasd.org/findyourfit. If you have further questions about the school selection process, email schoolselect@philasd.org.

We hope to see your child in the school of their choice next year!

Sincerely,

William R. Hite, Jr., Ed.D.