According to the Student Integration Services offices, Magnet acceptances will go out March 16. Please feel free to post the magnet acceptances or rejections in the comments.
Please include
School
Grade
Point total
Child’s gender
Child’s race
This information helps parents read through the tea leaves in future years to determine how many points it will take for a particular situation. Also if you’re happy or you’re disappointed, let us know so we can cheer or commiserate together.
Good luck!
Ask A Magnet Yenta 
Thank you for letting us know, Magnet Angel! It is good to know the date. Last year no was notification email sent, we had to login to parent portal and check.
We were notified on Friday that our white son is on the waitlist for Walter Reed IHP. Anyone know how many children typically make it into the IHP from the waitlist? I’ve heard at a minimum 10 but I’d appreciate if anyone can offer more information. For instance, does anyone have a child who was accepted into the IHP from the waitlist? And if so what number on waitlist were you?
They may be able to tell you how many if you call. We were one family who went elsewhere, so that was definitely a spot that opened up.
Magnet angel, remind me where you went? Thanks.
From what I’m hearing a lot of families decide to go to The Science Academy instead. Where did your child go?
I’m not sure it’s as relevant at this point as my daughter is in 11th grade. We toured both the Science Academy and the PA Academy and applied magnet to Lawrence. In the end, she got everything she wanted by going PA at Millikan and taking their honors courses. She’s now at Van Nuys and a great many of her friends in HS attended Walter Reed, so it’s clear that really great kids do well at both schools. The Science Academy is moving next year and it will go 6-12 so that may change some of this discussion but Walter Reed and Millikan create really nice, scholarly, creative kids.
6th grade, white, female
Not accepted at IHP at Reed, was accepted at PA academy and got a charter seat at Millikan, waiting to hear about magnet I guess next week. Still applying to SAS programs at Reed (Humanities) and Millikan, to ensure honors classes if she decides to attend there.
Glad to hear honors classes at Millikan are good. DD is interested in French, their French club is also a draw for us.
Good luck with all your choices!
Hi Magnet Angel. This Friday March 16, do you know what time the lottery results will be ready? Should we login to the Parent Portal to check or there will be emails sent to us? Thank you!
I’d log into the portal every few hours until they post. But I’m Type A that way. 🙂
How many points did you have?
How many magnet points did you have?
I didn’t realize they posted online! Is the parent portal the same one we used to apply? Thank you!
Yep! Good luck.
I was getting antsy and checking the website every couple of minutes, so I called the Student Integration Services office. I was told the notices for on-time magnet applications aren’t expected to go out until next week. Maybe they got behind . . .
Thanks for the headsup. They really, REALLY like to send them out the day of Spring Break so that people have a week to process it and the schools are all off, but they did say this week for 2018. So thank you for the information.
I saw on Taft high school website that the results will come on March 19: https://taftcharterhssteammagnet.weebly.com/2018-2019-enrollment.html
I was told by a school counselor March 19th would be the date and just called Student Integration and was told next week as well.
Trying to get into Kennedy High School Gifted Medical Magnet and wondering how many points would be enough for this school. If any parents know please share…
As it’s a new magnet, the first few years it’s hard to tell how many points it will take. Few people even know about it yet.
Even if you don’t get in, find out where you are on the waitlist because it’s likely they will get through their waitlist.
Millikan is also stating that parental notification is expected “beginning on March 19:” https://www.millikanmiddleschool.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=231258&type=d&pREC_ID=528335
Sounds like everyone can just enjoy the weekend. 😀
Does anyone know if you get offered a spot how long you have to accept it?
The letters went out this morning so you can read yourself. I believe it’s been 2 weeks or so in the past.
I have not received the email yet, but my child’s letter is available on my echoices account this morning.
Open Magnet, 1st grade, white girl, 11 points, and yay!
Congrats!
Magnet letters are in! Check e-choices site for notification letters.
Wonderland
3rd grade
8pts
Boy
Mixed/Hispanic
Meant to say – ACCEPTED! 🙂
Congrats!!
My notification letters were up on the echoices dashboard this morning!
The letters are out:
16 points
White girl
Cleveland magnet
Accepted! 😁
Oh – 9th grade.
Thank you! And congrats!
Girl
Hispanic
Kennedy Medical Magnet
9th grade
8 points
Waitlisted ☹️
After the deadline, and other students declining their spots, there will be room. You can find out where you are on the wait list at that time. Good luck.
I am 13th on the waitlist.
As a reminder to other applicants, please be aware that magnet offices have limited staff. Contacting them today to find out where a student is on the wait list is not necessarily a good use of their time. Please be respectful of the students who currently attend. If you wait until after the acceptance deadline you may find you are already accepted, especially given that other types of schools have given their first round of acceptances and so there will be folks who do not accept their immediate placement.
Do magnets accept kids from the waitlist often? I am 13th and unsure if that is good place to be for this school.
It depends on the school, the grade level, and how many students overall they were admitting. 13th in a class of 500 is probably good. 13 in a class of 60 is less so.
LACES, 6th grade, white girl, 16 points. (happy and relieved). I got the results by logging in, but haven’t gotten an email.
Assuming that means you were accepted?
Yes. Accepted
Cleveland Humanities Magnet
9th Grade
16 Points
Twin Boys
Hispanic
Wait-listed 😦
It’s still early. Hang in there.
Wow, thanks for letting us know! I was not expecting that the notifications letters will be sent on Sunday! White girl, Welby Way 1st grade, 4 points – Accepted! Yay! I was looking for an option to accept, but don’t see it working yet. Should it be working tomorrow?
Van Nuys Performing Arts Magnet
9th Grade
0 Points (applied with a late application)
Twin Boys
Hispanic
Accepted
Good Morning
Open charter
Kinder and 2 grade (tired to get her into open for 1st)
African American
4 points
waitlisted…🙄
Millikan Performing Arts Magnet
6th grade
12 points
Boy
White
Waitlisted
We have already been accepted to the cinematic arts program at Millikan and have a seat at the school via the charter lottery, however we want the bus option as well that the magnet would provide.
Accepted at Science Academy
6th grade
16 points
Male
White
Future applicants FYI – I put LACES as a second choice in case the eligibility test didn’t go well. It’s one way to hedge your bets a little and not leave yourself open to possibly losing everything (if you’re open to either school).
Also accepted at Walter Reed IHP
Highest possible 4th grade SBAC scores
“Glowing” teacher recs
All 4’s on final 4th grade report card, 3’s in science, music & art on first report card for 5th grade (rest 4’s)
We also bought 6th grade level math workbooks for him to go through on his own before he had to sit for the assessment tests so he’d have some familiarity.
He’ll be going to Reed IHP and we are thrilled – and so relieved this process is almost over. Good luck everyone!
Thank you so much for providing details about your son’s application. I have a few questions for you if you don’t mind. Where is your son attending for elementary? I see that your son worked on 6th math workbooks outside class. That’s good to know.
I notice that half of the topics covered in the science assessment for Science Academy will not be covered in elementary because it’s not part of the NGSS K-5. Did your son also study science outside what was required at school?
Are teacher recommendations/report cards required in Walter Reed IHP? Why did your son choose Reed IHP over Science Academy if it’s not too personal to share?
Do you have any tips on how I can help my kids pass the assessment?
You’re welcome !
And my son is at a G/HA/HG magnet elementary school now (though I’d rather not say which one). We did buy a science workbook too, but he didn’t look at it much, to be honest. I think a basic understanding of the science topics on the list provided by The Science Academy is really helpful for that test.
And yes, Reed IHP requires report cards, SBAC test scores, teacher recs and proof of any high achieving/gifted/highly gifted designation along with an application that has a few write in responses.
I think familiarity with math concepts through 6th grade and into 7th was most helpful on both tests. Best of luck to you!
Thank you for your reply and congratulations to your son!
Hi. congratulations to your son. I was wondering why you chose Walter Reed over the Science Academy? Was your son adequetely prepared coming from a G/HA/HG for the testing? How many points did you have?
Community Magnet And Charter
White Girl
4 grade
12 points
wait listed.
I have a question if I may …previous years we were getting letter saying
” I am sorry to inform you that your child was not selected for Magnet placement. Your child’s name is being placed on the Waiting List……”
This year the letter reads differently:
Thank you for submitting a 2018-2019 Choices application. This correspondence is to inform you of your child’s Choices program offering(s). Your child’s name is being placed on the
Waiting List for the school listed above with the following Magnet priority point.
Is this the same denial letter as in previous year ? Thanks
It says waiting list and specified this is for magnet, so I assume they’ve tried to reword it for clarity given that people have applied to more than one program. Hopefully someone who applied to magnet and dual language will respond.
I applied for Community, Balboa and Welby Way. It says we were wailisted for Community. Does that mean he did not get into Balboa or Welby either? It said he was eligible for all 3. Is there anything we can do now to get into either Balboa or Welby? I did not understand that if I put Community as my first choice he cant be on the other waitlists as well.
You are only on the wait list for your first choice. I’m personally not a fan of the 2nd or 3rd choice options unless they are all equal for your child.
Once all the spots for Community were filled, and your child had not been selected, your application was checked at Balboa and then Welby. Given that those schools would have wait lists with families who chose them first, your application is put on the wait list for Community.
You can only be on one wait list.
Melrose Magnet
Kinder
4
Male
Hispanic
Wait listed
FYI – I called Melrose and was told they could not tell me what page my son was on. They did say if there were 10 pages, then he’s like page 5. I was having a hard time reaching them earlier this week so I called Student Integration Services who also wouldn’t tell me where he was but they did tell me their list was 17 pages and he wasn’t close. Based on this, I’m guessing he’s somewhere in the middle of 17. Melrose and SIS both encouraged me to try again next year so doesn’t sound like they don’t have too much hope for him! Bummer 😦
Thank you for waiting to contact them. I’m sorry they were less than forthcoming. At this point, you have a right to know where you stand in order to make other plans. Do you have back up plans?
Our home-school is Micheltorena. Micheltorena was also my home-school but I attended only magnets (Open School and LACES) because it wasn’t the greatest in 90’s. I’ve read such great things about it now so I’m becoming much more open to it and excited at the possibility. If anyone has any feedback on Micheltorena, I would love to hear it!
WAITLISTED at The Science Academy (Both passed the Assessment Test)
Grades 9 (4 pts PHBAO)
Grade 6 (12 pts MATRICULATION)
Asian Males
FYI – We are new at LAUSD. This is our first year. Both boys were originally enrolled at our residence/home schools but the younger one transferred (second semester) to a Magnet Elem School in order to collect the 12 Matriculation Points. This is a great tip to those who are new at LAUSD. There are Magnet schools that have OPEN Enrollment (eChoice has the list). As long as there is room, your kiddos can go to a Magnet school with open enrollment. Older boy is happy at his residence school so we kept him there but ended up collecting only 4 points (PHBAO). His school has a Magnet Program but he could not be moved from the Residence Program to the Magnet Program. Had he been in Magnet, then he would have collected 12 matriculation points + 4 PHBAO pts.
BTW – We requested for a referral for Highly Gifted identification in September 2017 and both schools approved and submitted the referrals but the boys are still waiting to be tested (IQ test) by the Psychologist. It is now March and I’m afraid they will not be tested at all before the school year ends. And even if they get tested next month or in May, we may not know the result until the next school year.
Thanks Rita, while it is a possibility to move a child to a magnet in the second semester, it’s a rare kid who’s willing to leave friends behind right before 5th grade graduation. Glad it worked for your son.
Science Academy STEM
Male, white
6th grade
12 points
Accepted
Community Magnet
Girl, white
1st Grade
4 points
Waitlisted (which is fine, we’re going for wait list points)
Re: my son, he was accepted to Walter Reed IHP, Science Academy and Math Academy. I know it’s a good problem to have, but we’re struggling a bit with Science Academy vs. IHP. Anyone have any strong feelings for either one?
Thanks as always, Magnet Angel!
Can I ask why you’ve decided against Math Academy? We’re deciding between Math Academy and Science Academy, so if you have any insight, I’m all ears!
Of course- we felt that the level of instruction and accelerated learning at Science was more rigorous than at Math, and as between the two of those, we liked that Science went through 12th. We did not love the lack of electives and hyper-focus on math/science at Science, but we feel that that issue is solved at IHP (rigorous in all areas plus good electives). I think they’re all excellent programs, though.
Wow! Congratulations to your son. I hope my family will have the same problem eventually!
Community Magnet
Female, Hispanic
4 points
Waitlisted
I am really dissapointed and hope that we manage to get in off the waitlist.
Grade level?
Oops! Kindergarten.
Thomas Starr King Gifted Arts/Tech Magnet
Girl
White
6th grade
16 points
Accepted!
She was also accepted at GALA which we’re also happy about, but it’s far-ish for us and are trying to find out about carpools. King is much much closer, but then we have to go through this whole thing again for 9th grade! (GALA goes through high school). For high school I liked what I saw of Marshall gifted magnet but when I talked with their coordinator he said that after he accepts all the kids with 19 points (12 matriculation or waitlist, 4 PHBAO, 3 sibling) then he only has enough spaces to offer HALF of the 16 point kids a spot. Yikes! Anyone know how much movement there is on the Marshall gifted wait list? I’m weighing the high school uncertainty against the hassle of driving my daughter to mid-city every day for the next 7 years 😉
My daughter is at GALA and loves it, and I love that I don’t have to go through magnet madness for high school. There are carpools coming from all over the city; what area of LA would you be coming from? I can check our school directory and see how many families are in that area.
Glad to hear your daughter loves GALA — I’ve heard such good things about it. We’re in Atwater Village and I’ve heard there’s a carpool from Silver Lake area. We’ve always lived close to school so this whole carpool thing seems daunting to us! Thanks so much for checking 🙂
According to the directory, there are currently several families in each of those neighborhoods, and I’m sure there will be more girls from those areas starting in the fall, so don’t let the transportation piece hold you back. Good luck with whatever you decide!
That’s such a relief to hear — thanks for checking!
We have a few years before middle school but I’m also interested in GALA. Are there many kids coming from the westside? We are in Mar Vista. Thank you!!!
Tracey, somehow I can’t reply to your comment below, but there are several families in Mar Vista and Palms. GALA students come from over 70 different zip codes, so to anyone reading this, odds are pretty good that there is at least one student in your area!
Science Academy STEM
Female, white
6th grade
12 points
Accepted
Also accepted to Millikan Math Academy.
Applied but not accepted at Reed IHP.
Good luck with your options.
Thanks! We’re pretty thrilled with our options. The fact that the Science Academy now goes to 12th grade is pretty compelling… but Millikan offers more electives, and (we’re guessing) a more well-rounded school experience. We’re going to chat with some families about their experiences at both schools and make our decision from there.
Thanks so much for this site!
We loved Millikan, but the principal retires this year. Science Academy is scheduled to add a year each year, but they are moving and there will be growing pains. Keep an open mind on both, because they will be different than what any of us experienced when there.
Where is your daughter going for elementary? I notice that half of the topics covered in the science assessment will not be covered in elementary because it’s not part of the NGSS K-5. Did you daughter study science/math outside what was required at school? Do you have any tips on how I can help my kids pass the assessment?
She goes to Balboa Gifted Magnet in Northridge. We purchased some 6th grade math and science books and she did some math tutoring (once a week for about 2 months). And as far as science goes, the Science Academy provided a list of topics that would be on the test – there’s a lot, btw… so she didn’t memorize any of the science, but by the time she took the test she was fairly familiar with the topics.
Thank you so much for your reply and congratulations to your daughter!
For what it’s worth, we got the “Everything You Need to Know to Ace [Science/Math] in one Big Fat Notebook” series for our son to prepare for the Science Academy exam (you can find them on amazon). We pushed him pretty hard for about six weeks to at least have a familiarity with most of the topics in the science book, and had a tutor for the Math Academy exam who helped him prepare for the math portion of the test (but no separate science tutor)- and he passed. FYI the test is apparently about 2/3 math and 1/3 science.
COMMUNITY CHARTER ES (Liberal Arts)
Waitlisted
Kinder
4 points PHBAO
White Girl
My daughter is actually white/asian. The magnet coordinator told us to choose race based on the percentage make-up of the school that we want to or don’t want to get in.
I chose Community Charter because it’s hard to get in there. We’re trying to accumulate points so that my youngest can join her older sibling in the gifted magnet which starts in 2nd grade.
Here’s hoping she doesn’t get in.
Thank you for the well wishes and thank you for running this website. This really helps a lot of families like mine who’s trying to navigate the LAUSD system.
My pleasure. It’s a labor of love and I appreciate those who provide the intel for future applicants.
Accidentally posted this on the ’17-’18 post, but I meant to write on this thread instead.
Academy for Enriched Sciences in Encino
Caucasian female, 1st grade
8 points going in…
…Wait-listed. 😦
It’s still early. Did they give you a point total that was a likely cutoff?
King Middle School Gifted Arts/Tech Magnet
6th grade
8 waitlist points plus 4 PHBAO points = 12 points
White boy
Update – we got our Magnet points for Millikan as expected:
Millikan Performing Arts magnet
entering 6th grade female
White
16 points
Accepted
I can give up our charter seat, moving other families up the list. My DD is still holding out for Reed Humanities SAS program, but we won’t find out about that until after the acceptance deadline for this seat. It’s hard because we are in a private school and not in a feeder school, so we didn’t hear in March. She didn’t get into IHP at Reed.
Also:
Community Charter
entering 3rd grade male
white
4 points
Wait listed
Thank you. As we’ve discussed in previous threads, it’s ok to hold one in hand and wait for a later deadline at the desired school. But releasing additional seats beyond one acceptance is not only kind, but it allows everyone else to make better decisions…sooner.
SOCES
4th Grade
White Girl
11 points.
Happy!
Oops forgot to add ACCEPTED
Safe bet with “Happy” but thanks for the clarification.
LACES
White boy
6th grade
16 points
Accepted!
Also accepted at Millikan Math
Not accepted at Walter Reed IHP
Currently attending a magnet gifted elementary
Community Magnet
White Girl
1st Grade
Waitlisted, hoping not to get in and accumulate points
One more note, son is HGA
Congrats on getting into LACES. It seems like it’s tough to get into Reed even with a HG designation. Did he review for the test or just rely on school provided lessons?
neither of my kids accepted 😦
2nd grade, Kester, 4pts
5th grade, SOCES, 8pts
both white girls
It’s really disheartening to get rejected year after year. Congrats, your kid is GATE! But we won’t ever let them into a GATE magnet!
There are SAS programs throughout the Valley., Hannah. What is your home school?
Unfortunately, you’re not likely to get into SOCES until next year, and the plus side is that your younger child will likely have enough points for SOCES when she reaches 4th grade. Keep in mind SOCES is not a gifted magnet, though.
Thank you for replying. Yes, I realize SOCES is not specifically gifted, but it has accelerated classes and a seemingly great community.
I’ve looked into SAS schools, but they all seem to be a poor trade-off for the pretty good school we already have (Chandler). They are farther from home and have very low test scores. I’m not sure what the whole SAS thing really gets us. The thing is, our neighborhood school is not bad, but nothing is done for gifted students except for clustering them in 3-5 grade. That was fine when my daughter was in 2nd and 3rd with only 21 kids in her class, but now in 4th she has 38!!!! Very little differentiation or personalized attention is possible with so many students. The philosophy seems to be to just load them up with homework, which only serves to limit the time for enrichment after school. You’re right that we will, I hope, have more options for my second (and third) daughters, but I feel bad for my firstborn and frustrated that there’s a great gifted program a mile away that I can’t get into.
The test scores for the SAS schools are aggregated. You won’t be able to tell how well the kids who are in SAS class are doing compare to the kids in the non-SAS class. The SAS school that my daughter used to attend clustered their gifted kids into one class. I noticed that the parents in that class were highly engaged in their kids’ education. The teacher also provided some differentiated instruction. In addition, the kids were given material that were more challenging than the other non-SAS classes in the same grade. I did observe the class and met the principal and my daughter’s teacher prior to enrolling. I was impressed with what I saw in terms of academics so even if the building/facilities were a lot more awful than my home school, I took her there anyways and does not regret my decision.
Thank you for that perspective, Asian Geek. I think we’re going to apply for a couple of SAS, since saying no doesn’t mean losing anything, unlike a magnet. I really appreciate your input.
Hannah
38 kids in 4th grade at Chandler. Really? We are starting there in the fall but hoping to get to Kester Magnet for first. Sounds like a lot of kids and not great for them at all
That’s typical in upper grades (38) throughout LAUSD unless the school buys another teacher with extra funds or uses resource/Special Ed teachers creatively to make class size smaller.
Magnet won’t be much different. By middle school, class size is a few kids smaller in magnet as well, but not enough for that to be the whole reason (35-36 to 40 or 42).
Asian Boy
Currently 4th grade
Accepted into Community Magnet for 5th grade
16 points
We already know our son will most likely be going to a charter school (not using points, but he gets in through an older sibling), however we had kept applying through LAUSD Choices just in case, to have another option and to continue accumulating points. Our current school/teaching is mediocre at best, however my son has made a lot of friends at his current school.
Now if we don’t accept Community Magnet for 5th grade we will lose all our points. We are inclined to have my son go to Community for one year, however I do wonder if that will be traumatic for him to have to adjust to a whole new school for one year, then have to do it all over again for middle school. Also, if we do go to Community, he won’t graduate with friends he’s had since kindergarten. However the current teachers at his school are checked out and people at the school tend to view 4th and 5th grade as “wasted years” because of the mediocre/lacking teachers.
Apparently there will be about 10 new incoming 5th graders at Community this year.
Talk to your son. My son would have been ok with it. He always blazed a trail and went to the magnets he wanted to even if his friends were choosing other ones. My daughter would have been miserable.
Your son might be able to stick it out if he believes it’s for the better fit for middle school. They may let him tour it, and they may encourage you to come to Open House this or next month and some school functions to get better acclimated. I like that there are apparent ly 10 5th graders, that’s a nice little posse of new kids.
If you know where you want him to go for middle school and it will take 16 points, then go for it.
This is absolutely a cautionary tale for parents…if you have 16 points and are playing the rejection game, think twice about applying anywhere, for fear of getting in.
What would happen if you have 16 points and does not apply for a year. Do you lose those points?
With regard to folks who have 3 years of wait list points, you’d only lose the oldest year’s points for the wait list.
If you have a 5th grader applying for sixth you would have matriculation or wait list points and you’d want to get in so you’d apply. But some folks have 12 or 16 points going into 4th and 5th grade and are finding themselves getting into the magnets they had applied to hoping for wait list points.
The point totals for the majority of schools have been going down in recent years. It will be interesting to see the final results as they get through the wait lists this year. Did more people apply with the centralized portal? Did the average point totals change? We’ll see.
Thanks; we are very fortunate as we already know that my son will be attending a charter school for which he automatically gets in through his older sibling, and magnet points are not needed. We are not sure if we are going to accept or decline for CMCS yet; it seems disjointing to take my son out for one new year for 5th grade, and then have to make another transition to 6th grade as well. We are undecided though because my son has all his friends at his current school, however the teaching and school culture is disappointing/mediocre.
I agree, t is a cautionary tale for those who need the points; we are in a position where we can decline CMCS and lose all the magnet points and be ok, however, if we didn’t have the charter school option, then we would have no choice.
I’m interested in hearing about any high school results here. I’m in the (good) position of choosing between 2 schools, one that’s close by but goes through 8th (King), and one that’s kind of far but goes through high school (GALA). Knowing what my daughter’s chances of getting into a magnet high school would be incredibly helpful in the decision-making process.
I should clarify that King is a middle school and GALA starts in middle schools, but I’m looking for info on high schools.
MAGNET RESULTS FOR 3 KIDS:
My daughter (caucasian) was accepted into Millikan Performing Arts Magnet for 6th grade with 12 points. I expected her to get in. So no real surprise there.
My friend’s son (caucasian) was wait listed at Cleveland Humanities Magnet with 12 points for 9th grade. I think this program just keeps getting hotter and hotter.
My son, (caucasian), wait listed at LACES for 8th grade with 8 points. We were told by their magnet coordinator that kids need 16 points to get in, except perhaps in 10th grade. Not sure why the exception for 10th grade. We applied for rejection points so it’s just fine.
Hi,
I’m new to this site, though I’ve poked around here before.
My son was accepted into the Kester Gifted Magnet.
He’s a white boy, going into the 4th grade.
He accrued 4 points prior to this application.
I was very excited that he got in, especially since his current teacher doesn’t think he will be challenged enough next year if he stays where he is. However, one friend gave me pause by asking whether Kester is flexible with regards to creativity in completing assignments, i.e., his current teacher has said that he can write a poem or song to complete an assignment in lieu of writing an essay. Does anyone know how flexible or rigid Kester is, both with regards to assignments and, more generally, in terms of educational philosophy? I took the tour last fall, and the school seemed lovely, but it’s such a big decision. Thank you for any insights!
The magnet program is great. My daughter is completing 5th grade there.
Thank you so much! I appreciate your feedback.
To those whose kids took the intellectual test, how old were your kids when they took the test and whether they were identified as HG/HGA?
Our daughter took it at the end of second grade. Her school was allotted a certain number of tests, and the second-grade teachers recommended who should be tested. We were just informed of the testing date – did not know in advance. I know of at least one other school that was also allotted tests, so I’m not sure if it’s every school or just some schools. LAUSD recommends in general that students don’t take it until second grade at the earliest because their test-taking skills and patience may not be fully developed in first grade, but then that delays getting the designation if you were hoping to get it earlier.
I’ve heard that most kids who take the test later are rarely identified as HG so I am just wondering if there are any parents over here whose kids were tested later were identified as HG/HGA. I’ve got two kids, the one in second grade has already been referred and waiting for testing and another one who’s going to be in kindergarten. I am trying to find out if it’s a good idea to refer my 5-year old during second semester of kindergarten which is the earliest that kids can be referred.
I think later testing shows fewer HG kids for a couple of reasons. First HG kids are very apparent in earliest grades. They’re either reading before kindergarten or they’re doing stuff where the teachers immediately reccommend the testing. Also later on there’s a higher incidence of parents requesting testing just to get kids into Portola or NoHo when there’s not necessarily any indication of giftedness, let alone highly giftedness. The threshholds that must be met in higher grades are more significant (per the same teachers), so very, very few kids that are tested in those later grades are identified.
It’s not necessarily the whole truth, just my perception and what I was told by teachers who’d be writing the recommendation for later testing.
Good luck.
This totally makes sense.
Hello all. I am also new to this site. My oldest son has been accepted into Community Magnet Charter Elementary for the 3rd grade. He is Hispanic/Caucasian and had a total of 16 points. My younger son will be going into the 1st grade next year and is wait-listed. Both of my children currently attend Warner Avenue Elementary.
I would love to receive thoughts from those more well-informed than I am about the differences and comparisons between CMCS and Warner Avenue. I would also deeply appreciate any advice regarding whether there is any chance my younger son could possibly get off the wait list. One additional question for the experts out there – if you accept enrollment is there any way of changing your mind and staying at your current school (for instance, if your child truly has a negative reaction to changing schools that might affect his performance)?
HUGE thanks in advance for any thoughts or guidance.
I’m not sure about the difference between CMCS and Warner, but we went on the tour at CMCS and were impressed with the school culture, environment, and the teachers and students seemed very engaged.
I do believe that if you change your mind, the home school has to take you back, unless it is considered an “overcrowded” school.
I am curious if someone is familiar with Welby Way Gifted Magnet program. Do they have a fair amount of homework (not too much), if teachers are good, what kind of atmosphere in classes, and if the program itself is interesting? Any feedback or opinion.
We were waitlisted at Melrose Elementary but just found out we got a spot. Can anyone share their experience there? We are currently in a neighborhood school that we like, but the teacher quality varies and there’s not much hands-on learning, which my kid enjoys. Would love feedback on Melrose from any parents out there!
Melrose Elementary
Grade 2
0 points
Girl
Caucasian
Waitlisted, then accepted
Waitlisted LACES, 7th grade, daughter 16 points mixed race
What are our chances?
Have you found out where you are on the wait list?
All the magnet office at LACES will tell me is that we are on a wait list of about 200 people. Can I ask where we are on the list?
Some schools are better at being transparent than others. Sadly if they decide they won’t share the information there’s not much you can do.
Some schools will tell you specifically that you are on page X. And that there are like 8 kids per page (or there used to be). This allows you to better appreciate if you’re on page one versus page 15 or 25. If they refuse to tell you, you can ask how many students came off the wait list last year and are you within that number for this year….hypothetically. They still may not say.
This is unfortunate, and for those reading, be appreciative and grateful when speaking to the coordinators and schools that are more forthcoming.
Good luck.
School: Science Academy
Grade 6th
Point total 12
Child’s gender Female
Child’s race Caucasian
Did she get in?
Has anyone heard from being waitlisted about getting in?
Wondering about until what date the list gets called if you were on the 1st page?
Called on 4/20/18!
Accepted to Balboa from waitlist
Boy
1st grade
Caucasian
4 points
Melrose Magnet told me to call back after the 30th because that’s when enrollment packets were due and they’d have a better idea of my sons waitlist status. I called back today and found out that there are 30 students ahead of him. Is being #30 on the waitlist a no-chance he’s getting in # or is there some hope for him? Thank you!
Hello – we were waitliisted for Community Magnet for 4th grade with 12 points. Today I got the call from school, saying there is a spot for my daughter. We were applying for points only, so my question is – if we were initially denied, echoice site shows we are waitlisted and School called me directly and they said I need to call the school with the response – if I deny to the school directly, will I loose all my points still? Or only initial decision matter? Please advise and thank you
You will need to call and accept the spot. If you do not, you will lose the accrued points. If you don’t call, they consider it a refusal and you lose the points as well.
thank you – even though on echoice site it still “waitlisted”?
They called you. Once they get your response, you’ll either be accepted or declined. The school will take your answer and update their files, which will update echoices at some point.
Hi,
Would I have a better chance of getting into Balboa Magnet or Welby Way? Do you know how many 4th graders each accepted this year by chance? My son will be going into 4th grade next year and I’m trying to figure out which one to apply to.
Thanks!
Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies
Entering 4th Grade
4 points
White girl
Waitlisted
Any idea how many waitlisted kiddos SOCES typically takes? Thanks!
In some years they get to 0–it’s a challenging grade to leave for, given most kids want to stay with their friends and there are no kids with 12 matriculation points (there are those with 12 waitlist points). Please wait awhile (maybe after Spring Break) and see where they are on the waitlist. Good luck.
Thanks so much!
Balboa Gifted Magnet
Grade 2
4
Female
Black
This process is very new to us. Feeling frustrated and not sure what to do next. Any insight and advice is appreciated.
First off, it’s very early in the process. You might be called all the way into September for a spot. That said, 4 points as a 2nd grader would likely be fairly low down the list. You should talk to your current neighborhood school about differentiation or the possibility of an SAS placement (if there’s one at your school). Then begin to call around for other SAS or magnets that might interest you that still have space. While there are always the magnets that have long wait lists, there are gems in all neighborhoods that appeal to many families and don’t have long waits or crazy point totals.
Thank you for your helpful insight!