Westside Guide to Middle School:
Know Your Public Options
by Tanya Anton 

CONTENTS

Note 2
Contents 3
Preface 5
Overview: Yikes, Middle School! 6

1
Let’s Start At the Beginning: Some General Info
Why would I consider a public Middle School? 7
What do I need to know in order to get started? 8
What is Parent Radar and where do I get some? 9
Where am I? (aka: What’s my assigned school?) 9
When does Middle School start? 11
Feed me Seymour! What’s my feeder pattern? 11
Do I have to go to my feeder Middle School? 12
What is Open Enrollment? 12
What do I need in order to enroll? 13
What if I am opposed to immunizations? Will I be denied enrollment? 13

2
The Search Begins
How do I choose a school? 14
Who am I and what am I into? 14
What do I look for while choosing a school? 15
What are my priorities? 15
What makes a good Middle School? 16

3
Magnets: One Choice
What is a Magnet school? 17
How do I apply to a Magnet school? 17
How many Magnets can I apply to? 18
Do Magnets come with Transpo? 18
What if we have Twins? 18
What if we are inter-racial, which ethnicity do we check? 18
What is this “Point System” all about? 18
How do I find out if my school is either PHBAO or Overcrowded? 19
What are the requirements for applying to a Gifted Magnet? 19
When should I start collecting points for Middle School? 20
When do I find out if we got in? 20
What if I am waitlisted? 20
Are Magnet schools that much better than regular schools? 21
Magnet Recap 21
What if I have no points? 21
PWT – Permits With Transportation 21

4
Charters: Another Choice
What exactly is a charter school? 23
What’s the difference between an “Independent Charter” and an “Affiliated Charter?” 23
Do I have to live in the LAUSD district to apply to a charter? 23
How do I apply to a charter? 24
Do Charters provide transportation? 24
How many charters can I apply to? 24
When do I find out if we got into our chosen charter? 24
Are Charter schools that much better than other schools? 24

5
Pilots: The New Autonomy
What is a Pilot School? 25
What is the difference between a Pilot and a Charter? 25
How do I apply to a Pilot School? 25

6
GATE: Your Gateway to other options:
What is GATE and how do we qualify? 26
How can I have my child identified? 26
What are the testing requirements of GATE? 26
What are some of the options available to GATE students? 26
Bonus Q: Why are there so many damn acronyms in the school system? 26

7
Schools with an Identity Crisis
What if a school is both a Magnet and a Charter? 27
What if a school is both a Magnet and an SAS school? 27
What if a school is a Neighborhood school, a Magnet and a
Charter school? 27

8
Permits
What is a permit and how do I get one? 28
How do intra-district permits work and how do I apply? 28
What types of outgoing inter-district permit requests does LAUSD accept? 29
How do I apply for an inter-district permit to leave LAUSD? 30
When do I apply for a permit? 31
Can my permit be revoked? 31
How does SMMUSD prioritize their permit requests? 31
List of Permit Offices for LAUSD, SMMUSD, and CCUSD 32

9
Waitlists: The Inter-Dynamic Game
What if I am waitlisted? 33
When will I know what’s what? 33
Norm Day: what’s this? 34

10
The Big T: Transition (From 5th to 6th)
Help! Going from Big Fish in a Small Pond to Small Fry in a Big Sea! 35
Matriculation Matters: Grades count! 35
Multiple Personalities: Can’t we all just get along? 35
Essential Survival Skills: What I need to succeed 35

11
Handy Bonus Materials:
Recap: Breakdown My Middle School Options 36
Application Timeline 37
Contact List of Westside Public Middle Schools 38
Resources/Links 40

© 2014 by Tanya Anton