Latest eChoices Updates! New Category Added!

Posted on October 5, 2019 by gomama

The eChoices application period is now open. Visit echoices.lausd.net.

Application period: Oct 1 – Nov 15, 2019 before 11:59p.

Now with SIX different programs, from ONE common app! Yes, you could ostensibly win a school in each category. Apply NOW for next fall!

Heads up my Valley and Westside families, Affiliated Charter Schools (Canyon, Palisades, Carpenter, Colfax, Dixie, etc) – and their non-resident waitlist lotteries – are now moved onto the eChoices Oct/Nov app!!

New! Verification of Eligibility for SAS Kindergarten form.
New! Verification of Eligibility for Grades 1-12 form.
(Incoming Kinders, you no longer need both forms.)

If you need help curating a list of potential schools or with your strategy, or are confused by all of this, we can always set up a phone or in-home consultation. Happy to help!

Best of luck in the lotteries!

eChoices Deadline This Friday, Nov 9 at 5p!

Posted on November 7, 2018 by gomama

5 LAUSD Programs, 1 Application.

~~Due by 5p this Friday, November 9, 2018.~~

New Deadline: Friday, November 16, 2018.

Go to: echoices.lausd.net or apply.lausd.net

If you are considering Magnets, Dual Language programs, SAS/Schools For Advanced Studies programs (no, it’s not due in March anymore), PWT/Permits With Transportation, and the newly coined programs called Admission Criteria Schools for next fall, then get those applications in NOW!

You can go up and edit your application as many times as you like between now and 5p on Friday, but whatever is listed on your application at the deadline is what will be submitted.

Your Verification of Eligibility Forms and Kindergarten Readiness Checklist Forms for Gifted/SAS Programs also need to be RECEIVED by 5p ~~this~~ next Friday.

Should you miss this deadline and submit a late application in February, Magnet folks will forfeit the opportunity to collect any waitlist points. You will also run the risk of not getting into the more competitive programs. Just get it in on time.

Got questions? If you need a last-minute consult to review your app or strategy, I have a block of 30 min phone consultations available between 9a and 4p through Friday afternoon. You can grab your call with me here: https://gomamaguide.com/store/phone-consultations/

I turn into a pumpkin Friday at 5:01p.

❤

Get Your Magnet App In By Tomorrow!

Posted on November 9, 2016 by gomama

Hey Guys,

Don’t forget to get that Magnet application in by tomorrow, Thursday, November 8th BEFORE 5p!*

For a list of new Magnet options for 2017, click HERE.

To get straight to the application, click HERE.

Need help? Let’s talk. click HERE.

*Must be a resident of LAUSD. Child must turn 5 by September 1st in order to apply to Kindergarten. There are no TK magnet programs. This is the app with the (weighted) “point system.” Good luck in the lottery!

New Webinars! Mastering MAGNETS: Everything You Need to Know, Mon NOV 2 & 9, 7p

Posted on October 30, 2015 by gomama

New! Join one of my upcoming live and interactive webinars and learn from the comfort of your own home. No sitter, no driving, no parking required. Just the straight info you need without the hassle of LA traffic!

Presented by Tanya Anton, creator of GoMamaGuide.com

Points have you clueless? Didn’t know you were supposed to be applying?

Introducing…
Mastering MAGNETS: Everything You Need to Know (Those Points!)

In this 60 min webinar you’ll learn all about the LAUSD Magnet system:

Magnet schools – what are they?
How (and when*) to apply…to get in, to NOT get in, *to get points!
That darn “Point System” demystified. Let’s break it all down.
Step-by-step instructions on the online app: I’ll walk you through it
Common mistakes to avoid
How to maximize your options for next year (and beyond!)
Recommended for LAUSD parents of incoming K-12th graders

TWO LIVE SESSIONS with Q&A! Both before the 2016-17 Magnet Deadline.
Got Questions? You’ll be able to ASK ME LIVE!

~~Mon, Nov 2, 2015 7p~~
Mon, Nov 9, 2015 7p

~~$30~~ $25

Can’t make the live event? No worries. Participants will receive a special link to the replay which will be viewable for an additional 3 days afterward.

The 2016-17 Magnet Application Highlights

Posted on October 27, 2015 by gomama

The 2016-17 Magnet Application Highlights
by Tanya Anton | GoMamamGuide.com

Hey LAUSD Residents: With just under three weeks left, it’s time to get your Magnet applications in!

What’s a Magnet?

Magnet programs are court-ordered voluntary integration programs that provide a diverse, enriched, theme-based educational environment for lucky lottery winners. With 210 magnet programs throughout LAUSD, there are lots of specialized school opportunities to apply to, with transportation provided if you qualify.

Additionally, since it’s based on a weighted lottery system, there are those confounded POINTS! If you’ve picked up one of my guidebooks or attended one of my talks, you should be well-versed in the ins and outs of magnet point collection and selection strategy: How to get in. How NOT to get in. How to maximize your options for future years.

(Confused? Don’t panic, I’ll walk you through it! Either by phone or my new step-by-step webinar!)

In any case, between Oct 1st and Friday, November 13th, 2015 BEFORE 5p, LAUSD residents can apply online to the Magnet programs of their choosing for the following year. Visit echoices.lausd.net to apply. It’s paperless. It’s easy. And it’s free.

The Basics:

– Must be an LAUSD resident to be eligible. Falsified applications will be disqualified and removed from the program.

– No longer accepting late applications. But you can amend your online app up until the Nov 13th 5pm deadline.

– First round of Notification letters will go out by the end of March and will be sent via email if applied online. After that, additional admissions opportunities will be offered in the order of the wait list until all seats are full.

– If you “Don’t Answer” the call/email it’s still considered a pass – and you lose all accumulated wait list points.

– Students MAY be contacted with an opening up until the 4th week of school.(This DOES happen. The late notification.) Waitlist points will finalize after the 4th week of school if you haven’t gotten an offer.

So, let’s get those Magnet apps in!

The Highlights:

– You can select UP TO 3 MAGNET Choices on the application. Points will only attach to your 1st choice. (Optional 2nd and 3rd choices will be entered with 0 points.) If you aren’t selected in any of your choices during the initial automated lottery, you are placed back on the waitlist of only your 1st choice.

– You are not required to select 3 choices. If accepted to ANY magnet program at any point and turn it down, you will lose ALL accumulated waitlist points.

– Only submit ONE application per child. (Check with other parent to make sure you didn’t both apply.) Must be applying for the correct and appropriate grade for 2016. State Law governs age eligibility: 5 by Sept 1st for Kinder, 6 by Sept 1st for 1st Grade.

– You may change your selection(s) every year. The points follow the child.

– Student info (address, telephone, grade) MUST MATCH info at child’s current LAUSD school. Any changes of address must be made at your child’s LAUSD school of attendance before the application deadline to be considered for the assignment of priority points. It’s the Parents’/Guardians’ responsibility to verify student info.

– Twins are treated as individuals and require separate apps. There is a space to enter sibling info on each app. If only one gets in, sibling points will apply the following year.

– If currently attending a Magnet and wish to stay there…DO NOTHING! If you apply elsewhere and are selected into another magnet, you will be unceremoniously dropped from your current magnet program and auto-enrolled in the new one. (This has happened to folks trying to collect points while attending a magnet program. No! That’s what Matriculation points are for.)

– Gifted/High Ability and Highly Gifted applicants must provide verification AHEAD of the Nov 13 deadline. See: echoices.lausd.net/Magnet/GiftedCriteria.

If this seems overwhelming or you want to discuss strategy or how the points work, please contact me for a consultation. Or sign up for one of my upcoming Magnet Webinars HERE. I’m happy to help. Magnets are just one of many public school options.
– Tanya Anton | gomama@mac.com

Help! Which (Confusing) Magnet Selector Do I Choose?

Posted on October 12, 2015 by gomama

Hey guys, I’ve been getting this Magnet question A LOT so let me share this loud and wide:

When you log into your parent account to submit your eChoices application, next to each child there is a pull-down menu.

Select “Magnet/PWT” and “Apply” and it will take you to the actual application.

If, however, you select “Magnet Space Available” – you will be applying for programs that are currently under-enrolled and have space THIS YEAR RIGHT NOW, so don’t select that option unless that’s your end goal, or you could be accepted like, immediately.

Once you are on the actual 2016-17 Magnet application you can finish filling out your choices.

Remember, you can submit your Magnet application and then go back and amend it as often as you like up until the Friday, November 13th 5pm deadline.

Um, does LAUSD deliberately make this process more difficult than it needs to be?
I mean, aren’t there like 500-gazillion parents putting in a Magnet app and only a small percentage who even qualify for, let alone know what PWT is? And BTW that Core Waiver/PSMCP has also been phased out unless you’re already on one. But I digress…

Ok, glad we cleared that up.