A Choice For All Students

A Choice For All Students

Frequently Asked Questions

Will my student receive their first choice?

The only reason a Newark student would not get into his or her first choice would be if the school does not have enough seats for all applicants. When a student does not receive his or her first choice, the matching process will move down the student’s list of schools in order to place the student in his or her highest-ranked school with available seats. Students applying to a magnet or specialized school program must meet the application requirements specific to that school.

How many families get into their top choice, or any of their top 3 choices?

Last year, 82% of Kindergarten families got their first choice. 94% of Kindergarten families got one of their top 3 choices.

Can my student be matched to a school that isn’t listed on his/her application?

In rare cases, if a student needs a new school (e.g. 8th grade) and only lists one or two schools, the student may be matched to their neighborhood school if the number of applicants exceeds the number of seats at their ranked schools. Applicants are never matched to a charter school unless they list it on their application.

I would like my children to attend the same school as their sibling. What should I do?

With the exception of magnets, applicants who have a sibling currently attending the school receives the highest priority at the school. Siblings who are applying at the same time receive priority to be matched together. If one of the students is matched to a school, his/her sibling(s) will be given preference to be matched to the same school. If your children require Special Education services, we may not be able to match them together due to their IEP program requirements.

How does the neighborhood preference work?

Seats in these schools are prioritized for siblings first. All remaining seats are prioritized for students who live within the neighborhood.

How does the magnet school matching process work?

All 6 district magnet schools have admission criteria. These schools rank all applicants using different criteria including standardized test scores, grades, and attendance. Some may also require an audition or an interview.All students can apply for admission into a magnet school.Sibling priority does not apply to magnet schools.Please review the magnet criteria information listed on the school’s information page.

I have been matched to a school, what is the next step?

Log into SchoolMint and register! Click on the register button next to the school to which you were matched.  Students matched to district schools should complete their registration by May 15th. Students matched to district schools will be able to complete the following required forms online: Registration Form, Health Questionnaire, Network Acceptable Use Policy and the Media Consent Form. You will also be able to update any required documents that are part of your registration documents. Completing these forms now will expedite the registration process. If your child is matched to a charter school click on the “Register” button in SchoolMint, to have the opportunity to confirm your match. Your student’s charter school will contact you regarding the next steps for registration.

Who do I contact if I am having trouble logging into my SchoolMint account?

  • Please call 855-957-3535. A SchoolMint representative will be available to assist you with resetting your password if needed.
  • You can also reach out to your child’s current or matched school for assistance.

Why don’t I see my original school selections on my student dashboard?

While you can contact any NBOE school to obtain support in completing the registration packet, it is strongly recommended that you call the school to which your child was matched. Click here for the Newark Board of Education School Directory. A member of the office staff at each school will be able to provide guidance to complete the online registration packet.

Why are there so many cancelled or withdrawn entries on my student profile?

You will only see schools that are in accepted or waitlisted status on your dashboard. Student’s unmatched choices to Newark Enrolls district schools will not appear on your child’s dashboard. This is due to 1) the lottery offer optimizer, 2) the need to match back or place a student in their neighborhood school because they were not matched to any of the schools they applied to in the lottery,  or 3) the lack of a waitlist at your selected schools.

Offer Optimizer
In the enrollment lottery, the Offer Optimizer ensures that applicants receive a single offer to their highest ranked available school. Specifically, once a student is matched, all lower-ranked applications are cancelled. This includes your lower ranked schools with a waitlist.

Match Backs or Neighborhood School Placement
This issue is also frequently seen when a student had to be “matched back” to their current school or had to be “placed” in the closest neighborhood school with available seats because they did not receive a match at any of the schools to which they applied. Linking the student to the correct school required the creation of a new record to cancel the highest ranked (but unmatched) district location.

Waitlists
Newark Enrolls Charter schools and PreK Head-Start Schools are required to maintain wait lists. This year, Newark Magnet and Specialized High Schools will maintain a waitlist for students that meet the admission criteria! This means that students’ unmatched choices for these locations will show as "Waitlist". District elementary and comprehensive high schools do not maintain waitlists, those applications were cancelled if a student was in waitlisted status at the school after the lottery was run. The waitlisted status at higher ranked, but unmatched charter, Head-Start or magnet schools was maintained and can be verified on the student's profile.

Why didn’t I get any of my options?

Being matched to the school of your choice via the lottery is not guaranteed. It is possible that the final assignment was to none of the options selected. Some programs have far more applicants than seats available, reducing the chances of being matched to a school of your choice.

Why did I get matched to a school that I did not apply to?

Please see the above. Current students who did not get matched to one of the schools to which they applied during open enrollment were either matched back to their current school if their school has the next grade level or placed in the closest neighborhood school with available seats if they were in a terminal grade. Students new to Newark Board of Education who did not get matched to one of the schools in their application are matched to a neighborhood school. The match back or local placement school represents the rules of the Newark Enrolls of the universal enrollment system.

Why didn’t I get matched at all?

During the lottery process, we prioritized matching Newark students to Newark schools first. If you are not a Newark city resident and you were unmatched through the lottery process, there was no neighborhood school to match back or location in which to place you.  If you applied to a charter school in Newark, you are on the waitlist and schools will be in touch with you directly if there is space.

I didn’t get the school I wanted, is there an appeal process?

Requests for the magnet school appeals should be directed to the magnet school principal. The principal will review the request based on the school entrance criteria and contact the family with a decision. If the principal would like to admit your child and the school is operating a waitlist, your child will be placed on the waitlist.  

All other reassignment requests will be processed as a transfer.  Transfers are available for one of the following reasons:

  1. A safety transfer
  2. Travel hardship 
  3. Special program needs of the student (e.x: Special Education and bilingual programs)


Families seeking a transfer will need to complete a short form within SchoolMint to verify their transfer eligibility based on the aforementioned categories. Families may reach out to their current Newark Enrolls school if there are general questions about their transfer eligibility criteria.  The form will be available in SchoolMint on May 3rd and families can reach out to their current or matched school to request the form.

Please note that completing registration at your child’s current match is strongly recommended even when requesting an appeal. Completed registration forms will carry over if the appeal is granted.  

Completed registration forms are transferable between Newark Enrolls district schools. Transfer applications will be reviewed by Newark Enrolls Enrollment Coordinators and the Enrollment Senior Manager, who will coordinate as needed with the Office of Special Education or Office of Bilingual Education staff.  Parents will be contacted directly by Newark Enrolls with a decision.

What if I am new to the district and I missed the open enrollment window?  How do I enroll for SY2021/22?

The enrollment portal will re-open for new families to Newark and those who did not apply in the open enrollment window on May 3, 2021.  If you apply to a charter, your child will be automatically placed on the waitlist for that school.

I am new to Newark.  How do I choose a school?

Begin by entering your address and your child’s grade into Newark Enrolls SchoolFinder. On May 3rd, you will be able to submit your application for consideration in SchoolMint for the 2021-2022 School Year. 

Magnet Schools

For admissions criteria and auditions information for each Magnet School, please click on the links below.

Specialized Schools

For admissions criteria and auditions information for each Specialized School, please click on the links below.

Career & Technical Education Schools

For admissions criteria and auditions information for each Career and Technical Education (CTE) program please click on the links below.