Register for Boston Public Schools

Welcome to Boston Public Schools (BPS) Registration

These pages are for parents and guardians who wish to register their children for school and BPS families who are ready to move on to their next school. BPS Registration, Transfers, and Changes of Address happen at Family Resource Centers (FRC) in Dorchester, Roxbury, and Hyde Park and a part-time satellite office in East Boston. We hope you find our webpages to be helpful and informative.

The Boston School Committee recently approved a new “Home-Based” student assignment policy that will go into effect for the 2014-15 school year. Please note that current students don’t have to change schools. Sibling preference remains a priority, and younger siblings of current students will be able to select the school that their older sibling already attends. In the new policy, families will have access to all schools in their walk zone, all citywide schools, and potentially additional schools to ensure access to high quality schools. You can explore the school choices for an elementary student under the Home-Based model by clicking here. To learn more about this new model and the process that led up to it, please visit www.bostonschoolchoice.org.

Please continue to monitor these Registration pages to learn more about how to choose and sign up for a Boston Public School.

Latest News from Registration and Assignment
Sign up for email updates from Welcome Services

Where we are in the BPS Registration Cycle:

• Registration for School Year 2012-2013 is on-going; please register as soon as possible
• Wait lists for School Year 2012-2013 have now expired; please visit an FRC to request a transfer for School Year 2013-2014
• All FRCs are open and assisting families

New to Boston Public Schools?

BPS serves Boston families with a broad array of schools for learners from pre-kindergarten through adult education. Our registration process allows families to apply for schools of their choosing. Under Boston's current assignment policy*, the school district is divided into three geographic "zones" - East, North, and West. A family's school choices for elementary and middle school depend on which (assignment) zone they live in based on their home address. BPS high schools are citywide, meaning that students entering high school may apply for any of our high schools regardless of where they live.

Ours is a "controlled choice" process involving "priorities" for registrants who live close to certain schools ("walk zone priority"), registrants who already have a sibling in a BPS school ("sibling priority"), and students moving on from a BPS Early Education or Early Learning Center (EEC/ELC) to Grade 2 or 3 at another BPS school. To read more about priorities and our assignment policy, please see the Student Assignment Policy page.

*BPS is in the midst of a citywide effort to improve school choice and assignment. Please visit BostonSchoolChoice.org to learn more.

The BPS Registration Process: Step-by-Step
Resources for Choosing Schools
Required Documents for BPS Registration
Online Pre-Registration
 

Currently enrolled in BPS?

Family Resource Centers can help BPS families request a transfer to another BPS school during the school year or for the next school year. BPS students who are finishing the highest grade at their current school will receive an Application for Assignment Form from their school to choose new schools for the next phase of their education with BPS.

Resources for Choosing Schools
Advanced Work Class
Exam Schools
Transition Support
 

Our Family Resource Centers are available to answer your questions and to assist you by phone and in-person:

•  Centers are open on school days, 8:30a.m. to 5:00p.m, except Wednesdays
•  Wednesday hours: 12:00p.m. to 7:00p.m.
•  Centers are closed on federal, state, and city holidays

Winter 2013:

• All Centers are open and assisting families. However, please note that only the West Zone office at 515 Hyde Park Avenue in Roslindale will be open during February School Vacation; Tuesday-Friday February 19-22. All offices are closed on Monday, February 18 for President's Day.

East Boston Satellite Registration Center
312 Border St, East Boston (south side of Umana Academy)
617-635-9597
Help available in English and Spanish

School Year 2012-2013

• Open Tuesdays, 8:30a.m. - 5:00p.m.
   

Looking for a Charter School?

BPS offers In-District Charter, Innovation, and Pilot School Choices to Boston Families. If you are looking for other Charter Schools in the metro Boston area that are not operated by Boston Public Schools, please visit the following websites:

Massachusetts Charter Public School Association
MA Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education - MA Charter Schools

Latest News from Registration and Assignment

• Boston Public Schools are working to improve school choice and student assignment. To learn more about this ongoing process or to share your thoughts, please click here.
   
• The Boston School Committee has approved a transition that would transform the Marshall to UP Academy Charter School of Dorchester beginning in the fall of 2013. All current Marshall students would be able to remain in the new school, and incoming students would participate in a lottery process that is in addition to the BPS school choice system. This proposal is awaiting approval by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Supporting families with BPS Registration is a part of the mission of the Office of Welcome Services. Our office includes Countdown to Kindergarten, the Family Resource Centers, and Transition Support for middle school and high school.