Tulsa Public Schools Policy 2206-R2: Procedures for Admission to Magnet Schools
This regulation applies to and is divided into two categories of magnet schools: criteria-based magnet schools and lottery-based magnet schools.
Applicants to criteria-based magnet schools must meet all minimum eligibility requirements for admission. Due to the competitive nature of admission to criteria-based magnet schools, not all eligible applicants are guaranteed admission. Lottery-based magnet schools do not have minimum eligibility requirements, but admission is limited to the number of available seats.
Applications to all magnet schools are completed online according to the deadlines specified and published online by the enrollment office. All applications must be submitted on or before the due date and in accordance with the online application instruction requirements.
Parents may apply for a neighborhood transfer using the process described in 2206-R1 in addition to applying for a magnet school.
If a student receives a waitlist offer for a program, the student will automatically be removed from the waitlists for any programs that were ranked lower than the offered program but will remain on the waitlists for any programs that were ranked higher than the offered program. The superintendent or the superintendent’s designee will identify the waitlist closure date for each enrollment window based on current and projected enrollment, school and District staffing, and budgetary implications.
Late applications will not be considered unless the superintendent or the superintendent’s designee determines that it is necessary, administratively feasible, and there is capacity (available seats) at the school.
To enroll in a magnet middle/high school, the applicant must have successfully completed an elementary program or by a proficiency promotion placement, as appropriate. Applicants to a magnet high school must have successfully completed a middle school/junior high program through eighth grade.
Applications to magnet schools for non-entry years (years later than the initial grade level of the magnet school) will be considered only if the superintendent or the superintendent’s designee determines there is available capacity at the school at the specific grade level. In such cases, the applications will be considered by grade level and are subject to all admission/eligibility/waitlist requirements and processes described herein as well as any appropriate conditions outlined by the superintendent or the superintendent’s designee after consulting with the school’s principal.
Seats will be made available for eligible applicants who are the dependents of employees of the district who are not otherwise admitted through the criteria or lottery processes.
At each school, up to five percent of its entry year’s seats (after retentions, if applicable) may be reserved for admission through the principal’s discretion process.
No individual, whether a District employee, board member or otherwise, may assert pressure or attempt to unduly influence the admission of any student. Any interference with the admission processes must be reported to the superintendent or the superintendent’s designee and may result in the disqualification of the applicant. If a case of fraudulent activity, including but not limited to inaccurate statements regarding residency or falsifying of documents, is proven, the enrollment/transfer application may be deemed ineligible or the transfer and/or any sibling preference gained by the fraudulent activity may be revoked.
Students who wish to leave a magnet school after accepting a magnet transfer may return to the school in their attendance area by contacting the enrollment office. Barring special circumstances determined by the superintendent or the superintendent’s designee, students who accept admission to a magnet school are not eligible for a transfer to another magnet school serving the same grade level.
The admission process for criteria-based schools and lottery-based schools frequently references the quadrant in which the applicant resides or the historical Booker T. Washington School area. The residence of the child’s parent/ legal guardian determines the quadrant provided the child lives at that residence. Specific information regarding these characteristics is as follows:
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Quadrant Definitions |
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Quadrant I |
Quadrant II |
Quadrant III |
Quadrant IV |
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Anderson |
Bell |
Dolores Huerta |
Carnegie |
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Burroughs |
Clinton West |
Cooper |
Eliot |
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Tisdale |
Hamilton |
Disney |
Grissom |
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Celia Clinton |
Eugene Field |
Hoover |
Patrick Henry |
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Emerson |
Unity |
Kerr |
Key |
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Hawthorne |
Kendall-Whittier |
Lewis and Clark |
Lanier |
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John Hope Franklin |
McKinley |
Lindbergh |
Council Oak |
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Whitman |
Owen |
MacArthur |
Marshall |
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Greenwood Leadership Academy |
Robertson |
Mitchell |
McClure |
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Sequoyah |
Peary |
Salk |
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Springdale |
Skelly |
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School-specific admissions processes for both criteria-based and lottery magnet schools are below.
CRITERIA-BASED MAGNET SCHOOLS
The District has criteria-based magnet schools for eligible applicants at the middle school (grades 6-8) and high school levels. To be an “eligible applicant/student,” the student must meet all of the school’s minimum eligibility requirements. While meeting the minimum eligibility requirements allows a student to be considered for admission, it does not guarantee admission. Eligible applicants are ranked ordered by their criteria scores (and by quadrant, if applicable) and selected based upon their rank order except for applicants admitted through the principal or superintendent discretion process and, if applicable, eligible applicants with preferential admission status.
Principal Discretion Process
The following requirements apply to any applicant, including non-entry year, admitted through this process:
a. Applicants must meet the minimum eligibility requirements and must have demonstrated talents, interests, and other qualities that show their admission will bring credit to the school. There is also the possibility of enrolling a student through a separate discretion process. Each school principal may enroll students at the magnet school whose assessment scores do not sufficiently demonstrate their ability to be successful at the criteria-based magnet school due to special circumstances beyond the student’s control. In such cases, the process is initiated by the recommendation of the TPS student’s current principal and the principal’s supervisor, or the principal of the school the student is applying to. The principal must be presented with alternate measures demonstrating the student’s academic abilities in lieu of the state or nationally normed assessment scores.
b. Out of district students: The principal discretion process is the only means by which admission is allowed for out-of-district applicants unless there are no in-district students on any waitlist.
At each criteria-based magnet, in addition to the principal discretion process described above, there is also the possibility of enrolling a student through a superintendent discretion process. Specifically, the district’s superintendent may enroll up to five TPS students at the magnet school whose assessment scores do not sufficiently demonstrate their ability to be successful at the criteria-based magnet school due to special circumstances beyond the student’s control. In such cases, the process is initiated by the recommendation of the TPS student’s current principal and the principal’s supervisor, or the principal of the school the student is applying to. The superintendent must be presented with alternate measures demonstrating the student’s academic abilities in lieu of the state or nationally normed assessment scores. The superintendent will appoint a five-person committee to review such applicants.
I. Criteria-Based Magnet Schools: Carver Middle School, the Magnet Program at Edison Middle School, Booker T. Washington High School, the Magnet Program at Edison High School, and the Tulsa Engineering Academy Magnet Program at Memorial High School
A. Minimum Eligibility Requirements at the Time of Application
Test Scores
35th percentile or above on both the reading and mathematics components of a standardized academic assessment. The test must be the relevant state assessment, or a nationally normed assessment administered by the school during the Spring semester of the preceding school year or during the Fall/Winter/Spring of the current school year. The highest scores from these test windows will be used. Applicants not attending Tulsa Public Schools shall submit the relevant state assessment or a nationally normed assessment administered during the same time period.
GPA
Minimum of a 2.5 on a 4.00 scale for the first semester of the application year plus both semesters of the school year immediately preceding the application year. Students who do not have the required GPA may be able to qualify for admission based solely on their assessments if the requirements below are met. Pass/fail courses will not be included in the GPA calculation. Elective courses for 5th grade applicants will not be included in the GPA calculation.
Behavior
Any out-of-school suspension or alternative placement for disciplinary reasons during the application year or the second semester of the prior school year will be reviewed by the school’s application committee to determine if the student will be eligible to proceed through the application process. All suspensions or alternative placements occurring after placement, but prior to the start of the school year, will be reviewed by the accepting school’s selection committee. The offer may be rescinded based on the decision of the committee. School records as well as any documentation provided by the parent will be considered.
Assessment Criteria in the Event GPA Requirement is not Met
Students who do not meet the requirements relating to GPA may nonetheless qualify for admission if they have the following assessment scores. Please note that requirements other than GPA are still applicable for eligibility purposes.
High School: A score of 300 or higher (proficient) on both the ELA and Math OSTP 7th grade assessments or the 65th percentile or higher on both the reading and math MAP assessments administered by the school during the Spring semester of the preceding school year or during the Fall/Winter/Spring of the current school year.
Students who qualify based solely on their assessment scores will be ranked behind students who qualify based on assessment scores and GPA.
If a homeschooled student has attended any public or private school during the last three years preceding the application year, the student’s behavior and academic records must be submitted for review by the school’s committee.
Applicants without assessment scores will have an opportunity to take a standardized academic assessment during scheduled assessment dates offered by the district.
B. Additional Admission Information
Sibling Preference
No preference provided.
Special Conditions for Carver Middle School only
Any eligible applicant residing in the historical Booker T. Washington School area will have admission priority (admission preference) over other eligible applicants.
Approximately 60% of the entering sixth grade class shall be composed of eligible applicants who reside in Quadrants I and II. The balance (40%) shall be selected from eligible applicants who reside in Quadrants III and IV. After exercising all due diligence in attempting to fill all admission slots, the school may fill the balance of vacant admission slots with eligible applicants from other quadrants in the order of their waiting list placement. The date on which such filling from other quadrants will occur, if at all, will be determined by the superintendent or the superintendent’s designee in consultation with the school’s principal.
Special Conditions for Booker T. Washington High School only
Any eligible applicant residing in the historical Booker T. Washington School area and any eligible applicant from Carver Middle School will have admission priority over all other students. (Note that, as described above, the principal discretion process and its conditions are the only method by which an out- of-district applicant may be admitted, even if the out-of-district applicant attends Carver.)
Approximately 60% of the entering ninth grade class shall be composed of eligible applicants who reside in Quadrants I and II. The balance (40%) shall be selected from eligible applicants who reside in Quadrants III and IV. After exercising all due diligence in attempting to fill all admission slots, the school may fill the balance of vacant admission slots with eligible applicants from other quadrants in the order of their waiting list placement.
The date on which such filling from other quadrants will occur, if at all, will be determined by the superintendent or the superintendent’s designee in consultation with the school’s principal.
Special Conditions for the Magnet Program at Edison High School only
Eligible students attending the Edison Middle School magnet program shall have preferential admission status to Edison High School magnet program.
GENERAL PROCEDURES IN THE ADMISSION OF STUDENTS TO ALL CRITERIA-BASED MAGNET SCHOOLS
The superintendent or the superintendent’s designee will identify the number of students who may be enrolled per grade level prior to the beginning of the application window, as possible. Selection review committees will process the criteria-based magnet school applications. These committees will be comprised of three teachers and a single administrator from each of the criteria magnet schools. The principals of the criteria-based magnet schools will determine the individuals who will represent their schools. The superintendent or the superintendent's designee will also serve on each committee as a central office representative. Neither the central office nor the building administrators are voting members. The committee’s responsibilities include:
- process the applications with the assistance of an electronic matching tool, which the committee will ensure accurately reflects the requirements, selection criteria, and processes described in this regulation
- ensure priorities were adhered to and properly documented
- review behavior data for submitted applications and make the final determinations of eligibility
- review any appeals submitted by parents and make the final determination of eligibility score incoming data from out of district transcripts
III. LOTTERY-BASED MAGNET SCHOOLS
The lottery selection process is designed to ensure that students from all areas of the district have equitable access to the district’s magnet programs. The order of the lottery results will determine the order on any waitlist.
Principal Discretion Process:
The following requirements apply to any applicant, including non-entry year, admitted through this process:
Applicants must have demonstrated talents, interests, and other qualities that show their admission will bring credit to the school.
Each principal will appoint a committee to review such applicants. Each committee shall be composed of one teacher from each core department, one teacher from an elective department and one administrator. Additional committee members may be assigned at the principal’s discretion.
Out of district students: The principal discretion process is the only means by which admission is allowed for out-of-district applicants unless there are no in-district students on any waitlist.
Elementary Lottery-Based Magnets
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Name |
Program Type |
Special Notes |
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Eisenhower |
Full Language Immersion |
Serves K-5 Students must be five years old on or before September 1. Students are enrolled in either Spanish immersion or French immersion. |
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Zarrow |
Full Language Immersion |
Serves K-5 Students must be five years old on or before September 1. Students are enrolled in Spanish immersion. |
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Felicitas Mendez International School |
Two-Way Immersion |
Serves PK-5 Students must be four years old on or before September 1. There are two lotteries per quadrant: one for English speaking students and one for Spanish speaking students. Students achieve literacy in both Spanish and English in an immersion setting comprised of 50% English speakers and 50% Spanish speakers. |
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Mayo |
Mixed Grade Demonstration Academy |
Serves PK-5 Students must be four years old on or before September 1. |
General Conditions of Elementary Lottery-Based Magnets:
These magnet schools base admissions on the results of a random lottery conducted by quadrant. The lottery selection process is designed to ensure that students from all areas of the district have equitable access to the district’s elementary magnet programs. The order of the quadrant-based lottery results will determine the order on any waiting list.
Unless otherwise allowed by the superintendent or the superintendent’s designee after consulting with the school principal:
- Applications are accepted for the entry year only, except applications for later years may be considered by the district’s transfer office in coordination with the principal if seats become available in the relevant quadrant and, if applicable, students are entering from another language immersion program or have comparable language skills.
- Applications will not be accepted for kindergarten entry from retained kindergarten students at other schools unless the superintendent or the superintendent’s designee determines in consultation with the relevant school leaders and the parents that the retained kindergarten student (of another school) would be best served by the magnet school.
- If required by the school’s principal, students attending an immersion school will take a language acquisition assessment to determine if they need language supports upon admission to the school.
- After exercising all due diligence to fill all admission slots in a quadrant through the lottery and its waiting list, the school may fill the balance of a quadrant’s slots with eligible applicants from other quadrants in the order of their waiting list placement. The time at which such filling from other quadrants will occur, if at all, will be determined by the superintendent or the superintendent’s designee in consultation with the school’s principal.
Sibling Enrollment Preferences and Guarantees in Elementary Magnets:
To foster increased opportunities for family engagement and involvement with the school community, the District will make every effort to provide younger siblings the opportunity to attend the same magnet school that their older sibling is attending. As soon as feasible in the fall, each school will report to the enrollment center the number and ages of younger siblings by family and quadrant so that the school may plan appropriately. To ensure that the District has strong forecast numbers for enrollment and school planning purposes, it is especially important that families provide the District with at least two years notice, as possible, of a student who might apply to the elementary magnet as a younger sibling. Families who do not provide the District with timely younger sibling information may be at risk of forfeiting a sibling preference they would otherwise have. Each year, the District will inform all prospective elementary magnet applicants of the number of younger siblings by quadrant who might apply for enrollment at the magnet school. There is no sibling admission preference for older siblings. Sibling preference for students who do not live the District boundary does not apply, but every effort will be made to place these students if space is available.
A sibling is defined as children who reside at the same address or have a legal document that specifies a split residence and who share at least one common biological or legal parent whether through natural or adoptive means, including biological siblings that share parents; half siblings that share a single parent; step siblings that share a parent or parents through marriage; children who share a parent or parents through adoption or guardianship; and foster children awaiting permanent placement.
- Families with an older sibling who attended the school during the 2017-2018 school year: To honor previous commitments made to elementary magnet families, the younger siblings in these families are assured enrollment into the relevant magnet school, regardless of quadrant, if—during the year in which the younger sibling will be enrolled—the older sibling will still be a student at the school.
- Families who did not have a student at the school during the 2017-2018 school year: To promote family engagement with the school community, applicants who are younger siblings of students attending the school will have enrollment preference for remaining seats in their quadrant over non-siblings in their quadrant if—during the year in which the younger sibling will be enrolled— the older sibling will still be a student at the school.
- Note: While the District will make every effort to provide younger siblings the opportunity to attend the same magnet school that their older sibling is attending, these younger sibling’s enrollment will depend on there being enough seats within the student’s quadrant at the time of the younger sibling's application (after placing any younger sibling of a student who attended the school during the 2017-2018 school year). In the event there are insufficient slots in the quadrant, a quadrant-based lottery for these siblings will determine their order on the waitlist, and those siblings will be admitted prior to non-siblings in their quadrant.
- Middle School Lottery-Based Magnets
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Name |
Special Notes |
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Thoreau Demonstration Academy |
● Serves grades 6-8 ● Students may apply for entry in 6th , 7th , or 8th grade ● Separate lotteries, by quadrant, are held for each grade level ● Elementary magnet school students (Felicitas Mendez, Eisenhower, Mayo, and Zarrow) and who reside in the district will have priority over non-magnet students if they apply by the deadline. |
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Will Rogers College Middle School |
● Serves grades 6-8 ● Students may apply for entry in 6th, 7th, or 8th grade. ● Separate lotteries, are held for each grade level. ● Elementary applicants attending Kendall-Whittier or Sequoyah and who reside in the district will have priority over non-magnet students if they apply by the deadline. ● Rogers College Middle School students are expected to maintain a 2.0 GPA each year and participate in any interventions deemed necessary by the school (tutoring, summer school, other academic services, etc.). Students who do not maintain these expectations will be placed on probation and possibly removed from the program. |
A. High School Criteria/Lottery-Based Magnets: Rogers College High School
A single lottery for eligible candidates at each grade is used to select students. Eligibility is determined by the criteria described below. All students who graduate from Rogers College High School will graduate with a high school diploma and are expected to have earned college credit, career tech and/or Advanced Placement credits.
Eligible applicants attending Rogers College Middle School will have admission preference to Rogers College High School.
A. Minimum Eligibility Requirements
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Test Scores – Level 1 |
Potential students must have a minimum score of 210 on the reading component of the MAP assessment. For those students who have not taken a MAP reading assessment, they must have a 35th percentile or above on the reading component of a standardized academic assessment. This test must be a current relevant state assessment or a nationally normed assessment. |
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Test Scores – Level 2 |
A committee will review applications who do not meet the cut score of 210 but who score between 200 and 209 on the reading component of the winter MAP assessment. For students who do not have a MAP score, the committee will review students’ applications who score between 25th and 34th percentile on the reading component of a recently administered standardized assessment. For these Level 2 students, the committee will review students' overall GPA, attendance, reading/Lexile score(s), grades in English, science, and social studies, and their reading growth to determine their potential success in Advanced Placement classes. The committee will also review the language acquisition growth and grades of ELD students who show potential for Advanced Placement and who are literate in their home language. Students who have 75% or above in the aforementioned academic classes and who have demonstrated growth in reading will be considered for placement. Students who do not meet criteria but who are accepted will be placed on academic probation to ensure that student understands their responsibility to maintain good grades and utilize tutoring and other academic supports provided for struggling students. Since 2023 is a transition year back to admission standards for admission to Rogers College HS, parents of Rogers’ students who do not meet these standards may petition the committee to reconsider their student. Students who are reconsidered will be placed on probation. |
Students who do not meet minimum scores in the winter/spring may reapply for admission in the spring/summer if space is available.
If space is available, students who are enrolling in 10th, 11th, and 12th grade will be allowed to apply for a transfer to Rogers High School provided they have not used their one transfer limitation and they demonstrate the potential for success in Advanced Placement classes and they meet the eligibility criteria. A selection committee which includes a teacher, counselor, and principal, will screen these students’ applications.
When accepting an offer of admission to Rogers College High School, the student and his or her parent will certify that they understand the following expectations:
- All students are expected to maintain a 2.3 GPA each year.
- All students are expected to participate in any interventions deemed necessary by the school (tutoring, summer school, other academic services, etc.).
- All students will take a college readiness assessment provided by the school when required by the school and must meet the minimum entrance requirements for higher education credit prior to their junior year.
- All students will enroll in post-secondary courses during the 11th and 12th grade years, meaning dual high school/college classes, career tech classes and/or Advanced Placement. Students, who are not eligible to or do not take TCC or Tulsa Tech courses their senior year, will take a fourth year of math and/or science.
- All students who do not maintain these expectations, including the required grades/test scores required for post-secondary course enrollment, will be placed on probation and the transfer may be revoked.
- Rogers is an AP for All School that serves all students, including those in Special Education and ELD courses, in an Inclusion model. Additional support for students will be provided through specialized College Summit classes. Reading intervention courses are also offered for students in grades 9 & 10.
- Parent participation in conferences and school meetings is expected for all students.
- Students are encouraged to participate in at least one extracurricular activity in order to be college and career ready.