Questions and Answers

We are limited in how many out of area and out of district (open enrollment) placements we can do at community schools (non-magnets). If you request an out of area school for your student, and they are added to the school's waitlist, they may be offered a spot during spring or summer, or even during September, but only if there are enough openings after in-area students are placed. 

We are limited in how many out of area and out of district (open enrollment) placements we can do at community schools (non-magnets). If you request an out of area school for your student, and they are added to the school's list, they could be offered a spot during spring or summer, or even during September, if there are enough openings after in-area students are placed. 

If your student does not get placed at your top requested school and you believe there is information we should know that might change this outcome, such as a health, mental health or safety concern, please communicate with the Student Enrollment team.

Yes! Research has shown that magnet-themed integrative learning has a positive impact on overall academic performance.

Yes, PSEO is offered to students at all our magnet high schools. 

All students are welcome to request any magnet and will go through the lottery, or be added to the waitlist once the school is at capacity. 

To enter a Spanish Dual Language school past 1st grade, students will be required to pass an Spanish language evaluation to ensure that they have the language skills to be academically successful in all subjects.

We recommend that you put the school you want the most as your first choice. You are less likely to get a magnet placement that is listed as a second or third choice. If you are also considering your community school, it is important to list it as one of your choices so we know that you want that school if we are not able to place at one of your top choices.

All of the magnet schools in MPS offer citywide transportation. Any student who lives within the city of Minneapolis but not in the school's walk zone will be eligible for bussing.

Students who live outside the city but have a childcare address inside the city can receive transportation.

All our elementary magnets have a middle school pathway option where they will be automatically assigned.

• High Five Students attending magnet schools are automatically enrolled at that school for kindergarten.
• Fifth graders at Bethune Arts, Hall STEM and Marcy  Arts pathway to Franklin STEAM Middle School
• Fifth graders at Spanish Dual Language elementary schools (Emerson, Green Central and Las Estrellas) pathway to Andersen Dual Language Middle School
• Sixth graders at Seward Montessori (Pre-K - 6) are assigned to the community middle school based on their address for 7th grade.

For High Five and Three School programs, age-appropriate students who live in the requested school’s attendance area and meet one or more of the eligibility criteria below are prioritized.

Children must:

• Turn age 4 by Sept. 1 (for High Five)

• Turn age 3 by Sept. 1 (for Three School)
  

• AND meet one of the following eligibility criteria:

• Qualify for educational benefits (based on family income).

• Be experiencing housing instability.

• Qualify for special education services (speech-only services are not considered for priority placement).

• Be identified, through health and developmental screenings, with a potential risk factor that may influence learning.

Having a home language other than English is not a qualifying criteria for eligibility.

For more information, visit the Early Childhood Preschool Programs webpage.

High Five is offered at many MPS community and magnet schools, and is for children who will turn four by Sept. 1, 2024. Three School, offered at two MPS school locations, is for children who will turn three by Sept. 1, 2024.

To learn more about eligibility and locations, visit the Early Childhood Department website. Placement in either of these preschool programs can be requested at the ExploreMPS.org request site.

All High Five students currently enrolled in their community school based on their home address, OR a magnet will be automatically assigned to that school's kindergarten.

Any High Five students enrolled in an out-of-area community school will be automatically assigned to their own attendance area community school based on their home address. 

Parents interested in requesting kindergarten at a school other than the one their child will be automatically assigned to must submit a school request.

MPS Offers Three School for children who will turn three by Sept. 1. This program is available at Lyndale Community School and Mona Moede Early Learning Center.

Community Education also offers early childhood programming.

If you are concerned that your child is not developmentally or academically ready, please contact Early Childhood or ECSE (Early Childhood Special Education) for guidance. If your child is too young for one of the preschool programs, please reach out to Early Childhood for ideas and guidance finding age-appropriate preschool or childcare.

Children who turn five after Sept. 1 through Oct. 31, 2025 are eligible for consideration for Early Admission to Kindergarten.

For more information about high school options and services, visit these MPS webpages:

• Counseling and Guidance
• Graduation Requirements
  
• Career and Technical Education
• Dual Credit Options (PSEO)
  

Your student is guaranteed a spot at the community high school for your attendance area. Other options include:

• FAIR School of the Arts, citywide magnet
• Roosevelt Spanish Dual Language*, citywide magnet
• MPS Alternatives and Contract Alternatives
• Heritage STEM Academy, citywide program

We are able to place only a small number of out-of-area students at community elementary, middle and high schools. 

All students completing 8th grade at an MPS 6-8 middle school or K-8 magnet will be assigned automatically to their community high school based on their home address. If they do not live in the attendance area of the community middle school they are currently attending, they will not pathway to that school’s pathway high school but to their community high school.

Students who are open-enrolled (non Minneapolis residents) will be assigned automatically to the high school that serves the attendance area in which their middle school is located.

There is one middle to high school magnet pathway. Students in the English/Spanish Dual Language program at Andersen are automatically pathwayed to the Dual Language program at Roosevelt High School.

A Go-To-Card is a prepaid Metro Transit bus fare card for students. Students can use their Go-To Cards for unlimited rides on city buses and light rail to and from school. Cards can also be used after school hours for other student activities. Students requiring special needs busing will still be eligible for district transportation.

The following are citywide schools and programs:

• FAIR High School for the Arts
• Heritage Academy
• Minneapolis Academy and Career Center (MAAC)
• MPS Online School
• Roosevelt Spanish Dual Language
• South All Nations program (at South High School)

The Minneapolis Public Schools district is divided into attendance areas, each having its own community school elementary, 6-8 and 9-12 school. All students living inside a community school’s attendance area boundaries are eligible to attend that school with district provided transportation, unless they live inside the school's designated walk zone. Transportation is provided via a school bus, or a Go To Pass for high school students. Some community schools have a theme or academic focus area, but they are designed to have general appeal and provide excellent quality instruction across all content areas.

Magnet schools are ‘citywide’ because they are a request option for students throughout the city of Minneapolis, and any Minneapolis resident student placed there who lives outside the school’s walk zone is eligible for bus transportation.

Magnets are also different in that they offer a specific theme such as Arts, STEM or STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math), English-Spanish Dual Language instruction, Global Studies and Humanities, or Montessori. This additional focus on a specific subject or style of teaching (such as in Montessori) is embedded across all content areas to provide high quality instruction using the magnet focus as a teaching and curriculum theme.

Placement in magnets is based on the magnet placement priorities of the Comprehensive District Design approved by the MPS School Board in June 2019.

Priorities include (in order of weight):

A. Students who live within a half-mile radius of the school;

B. Students with siblings already attending the school who will continue to be enrolled at the same school;

C. Students who do or do not qualify for Educational Benefits, depending on the school’s projected balance of students who qualify for Educational Benefits; and

D. Students who are experiencing homelessness.

If you do not request your community school, we will not know that you are interested in having your child attend there. Placement is guaranteed for all community school requests received by the first lottery due date.

When you complete your school request form (online or paper request), you will have the option to include up to three schools. We strongly recommend that you list your community school as one of your choices. The following guidance may be helpful:

• If you are only interested in your community school and you are requesting before the February due date, you do not need to list any other schools. (Please be sure to confirm that the school you are requesting is the correct community school for your child’s home address).
• If you decide that one of the magnet options is your most desired school for your child, you should indicate that as your first choice. If you second choice is your community school, you should indicate that as your #2 choice and you do not need to list a third choice.
• If there are two magnet schools you are interested in more than your community school, you should list them as your #1 and #2 choices and you should list your community school as your third choice.

No, all requests submitted by the lottery due date are considered "on time." We encourage you to use the time before the due date to take advantage of all opportunities to learn more about your school options:

• ExploreMPS.org website school descriptions
• Explore Now MPS schools guidebook
• Take school tours and attend open houses
• Attend the Minneapolis School Finder Fair in January

Yes.

All children living in the same household are considered siblings. To qualify for sibling preference, the older or younger sibling must be currently enrolled (and still enrolled during the year for which the request is submitted) in a school. Sibling preference does not apply to students enrolled in citywide special education or pre-kindergarten programs.

Siblings living in separate households are also eligible for sibling preference.

Placements for all students with F1 and J1 visas are centrally managed and individual schools cannot guarantee enrollment. Interested J1 agencies must begin the enrollment process with the Enrollment Department.

J1 Visas

J-1 Visas are for high school age Foreign Exchange students enrolling through a registered International Exchange Organization. They may enroll in U.S. public schools for a maximum of 12 Months. J1 students are welcome to participate in graduation events but cannot receive a diploma.

Exchange Agencies are required to be registered with the Minnesota Secretary of State's office and to follow CSIET recommendations and be on CSIETs Advisory List of approved organizations. This is for the protection and well-being of students and host families.

Placement of students enrolling in MPS with a J1 visa are subject to the attendance area boundaries of the host family. For example, if the host family's address is in the Henry High attendance area, Henry would be the school of enrollment offered to the exchange student.

Important Application Windows & Deadlines

• The application window for J1 enrollment for Semester/Term One and Full Year is from April 1-May 30.

• The application window for J1 enrollment for Second Semester/Term only is Sept. 15-Nov. 15.

F1 Visa Information

Who can apply for an F-1 Visa:  

• Foreign students entering in grades 9-12

• Students entering grades 9-12 between the ages of 15 to 20 at the time of enrollment

Who cannot apply: 

• Students entering in grades Pre-K-8 

• Students who already have a diploma in the country of origin

• U.S. citizens or legal residents and Immigrants or refugees residing in the U.S.

Duration of an F-1 Visa

• Maximum stay – One Year

• Minimum stay – One Quarter

F-1 Visas are for International Students. They may enroll in U.S. public schools for a maximum of 12 Months and are required under federal law to pay tuition. 

Please be advised that in recent years students applying for U.S. visas frequently experience extensive delays. Unfortunately MPS has no control over this process, but recommends applying as early as possible to allow ample time for your US Visa to be issued.

Tuition Information: Please contact the P/DSO regarding current tuition requirements. Please note we are only able to accept Cashiers or Certified check drawn on a US-based bank for tuition payment. Unfortunately we are not able to provide refunds and can only return the check un-cashed if the student does not arrive within 15 days from the start of school.

Steps to enrolling an international student obtaining an F-1 Visa:

1) Visit studyinthestates.dhs.gov/students for specific guidance and details from the official US Government website for International Students.

2) After completing steps above, the host parent meets with MPS DSO (US Designated School Official) to Complete the I-20 information form, Submit the tuition payment (required prior to creation of I-20, see below for tuition procedures) and receive an original, signed I-20 from from the District PDSO or DSO

3) Host parent mails the original I-20 form to the student in their home country. The student brings the I-20 to their local U.S. consulate to obtain the F-1 Visa. Please note this stage of the process can be quite long. Please see details on the  website above in step 1.

4) The student submits payment electronically of the I-901 SEVIS fee SEVIS (FMJFee.com) when applying in the home country.

5) Once the host parent knows the student’s arrival date, they can make an appointment with the Enrollment Department. Travel delays are unfortunately very common in this process. We can hold a confirmed students spot up to 15 days after the start of school.

6) Once the student arrives in Minneapolis, the student/host family must contact the Enrollment Office within three business days to schedule a prompt in-person visit to the Enrollment Center with the students passport & visa to officially register through US -SEVIS.  This is a requirement of the US visa process. At this appointment the student will have an English language proficiency assessment and receive a school placement.

Additional F1 Information

• The application window for F1 enrollment for Semester/Term One and Full Year is from March 1-June 15.

• The application window for F1 enrollment for Second Semester/Term only is September 15-November 30.

• Students who meet credit requirements for graduation may receive an MPS High School Diploma.

• If an F1 student will travel outside the U.S. during the school year, the host family and student must bring their 1-20 to the DSO to sign the travel section of the I-20 to approve reentry to the United States.

• F-1 student and their families are responsible for maintaining the student’s legal status. Please visit Study in the States for more information.

B1 Visa Information 

Holders of B-1 and B-2 visas generally cannot enroll into any K-12 public school in the U.S.  All Non-Immigrant Visas are regulated by the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS).

Minor children of adults who are in the U.S. on a B1 visa for work, study or medical care may be enrolled in a public school.

Every magnet school request we receive is entered into our School Enrollment System, which adds up all the priority 'weights' that apply to the request. Resident students with a sibling at the requested school have the highest weight and are prioritized higher, then resident students, then non-resident students with siblings and then non-residents without siblings.

In the placement lottery, we place as many students as possible to fill openings at schools. The students who are are not placed stay in the same priority weight order and remain on the waitlist.

Every community school request we receive is entered into our School Enrollment System, which adds up all the priority 'weights' that apply to the request. In-area students are prioritized  first, out-of-area students with siblings next,  out-of-area students without siblings after that, and non-residents last.

We are limited in how many out of area placements we can do at community schools, so if you request an out of area school for your student, they are likely to be added to a waiting list. During summer, we review several factors to determine whether we can offer any additional out of area placements at any of our community schools.

In the placement lottery, we place as many students as possible to fill openings at schools. The students who are are not placed stay in the same priority weight order and remain on the waitlist.

During spring and summer, openings at schools may be filled by eligible students on waitlists. Waitlists are considered active through the first month of the school year.

Waitlists for High Five, and sibling preference remain active through May 1 of the school year for which the request was submitted.

No, waitlists are only for the requested grade level and school. As an example, if a parent requests a spot in 3rd grade at Apple School but their student doesn’t get in, they would need to submit a new request for Apple School for 4th grade.

Families are welcome to submit a request at any time, but magnet requests received by the first and second lottery due dates are included in the initial and second placement lotteries.

Magnet requests received after the second lottery due date are made based on priorities and openings. If we are not able to honor your magnet request at the time of submission, your child’s name will remain on a waitlist for that school through the end of September of the school year for which you have requested placement, and we will talk with you about other school options for your child.