For those who haven't folded their hands yet, here are the latest kindergarten waitpools, sorted by the ratio of waitpool applicants to kindergarten seats. The number of spots are my best guess. For the language programs, I assumed a ratio of 9 English to 13 target language spots.
Some interesting findings here, especially with the language immersion waitpools. If you only put "English" on your application, Alice Fong Yu now looks like your best bet for Cantonese immersion. If you put any language other than English as a home language on your application, AFY is your worst bet of any program in the city.
2013-14 WAITPOOL LISTS, as of 7/19/2013
No waitpool/possible openings: Carmichael, Carver, Cobb, Drew, El Dorado, Guadalupe, Harte, Lau, Malcolm X, Muir, Parker, Redding, Sheridan, Tenderloin, Webster.
FB= Tagalog, JB=Japanese
* For Alice Fong Yu, CE refers to students who only listed English as a home language on their application. Students who listed any language other than English on the application are considered "CT."
Cantonese spots
CN=passed the Cantonese proficiency test.
No wait pool but no openings or Garfield for applicants who passed the Cantonese proficiency test, so some English spots may open up.
Mandarin spots
Harte, Revere and Webster have no wait pool for Spanish proficient spots, so more English spots may open up. For those considering Harte, a glowing parent review is at: http://phile.com/user/SweetMedicine
Spanish proficient spots
This suggests that if you have the fortitude to hold out until Sept 6, the last day to get in off the wait pool and 14 days after school starts, your chances would be higher at say, Lilienthal than at Alice Fong Yu. McKinley and Lakeshore were mentioned in the report as two schools that had a high number of students not showing up on the first day of school.
Source: SFUSD First Annual Report on Student Assignment for the 2011-12 School Year, 3/5/2012
Some interesting findings here, especially with the language immersion waitpools. If you only put "English" on your application, Alice Fong Yu now looks like your best bet for Cantonese immersion. If you put any language other than English as a home language on your application, AFY is your worst bet of any program in the city.
2013-14 WAITPOOL LISTS, as of 7/19/2013
General Education
No waitpool/possible openings: Carmichael, Carver, Cobb, Drew, El Dorado, Guadalupe, Harte, Lau, Malcolm X, Muir, Parker, Redding, Sheridan, Tenderloin, Webster.
| School | Prg | Wait Pool | Kindergarten Capacity | Waitpool as a % of K Spots |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VIS VALLEY | GE | 1 | 66 | 2% |
| LAKESHORE | GE | 2 | 88 | 2% |
| MCCOPPIN | GE | 1 | 44 | 2% |
| LONGFELLOW | GE | 3 | 88 | 3% |
| CHAVEZ | GE | 2 | 44 | 5% |
| MILK | GE | 2 | 44 | 5% |
| ORTEGA | GE | 2 | 44 | 5% |
| PARKS | GE | 2 | 44 | 5% |
| YICK WO | GE | 2 | 44 | 5% |
| CLEVELAND | GE | 1 | 22 | 5% |
| SANCHEZ | GE | 1 | 22 | 5% |
| SPRING VALLEY | GE | 1 | 22 | 5% |
| LAFAYETTE | GE | 6 | 88 | 7% |
| FLYNN | GE | 3 | 44 | 7% |
| HILLCREST | GE | 3 | 44 | 7% |
| SF COMMUNITY | GE | 3 | 33 | 9% |
| GARFIELD | GE | 2 | 22 | 9% |
| MOSCONE | GE | 2 | 22 | 9% |
| STARR KING | GE | 2 | 22 | 9% |
| ULLOA | GE | 7 | 66 | 11% |
| FEINSTEIN | GE | 11 | 87 | 13% |
| BRYANT | GE | 3 | 22 | 14% |
| CHIN | GE | 3 | 22 | 14% |
| SERRA | GE | 3 | 22 | 14% |
| SUTRO | GE | 3 | 22 | 14% |
| JEFFERSON | GE | 12 | 85 | 14% |
| KEY | GE | 13 | 88 | 15% |
| GLEN PARK | GE | 7 | 44 | 16% |
| STEVENSON | GE | 15 | 88 | 17% |
| ALAMO | GE | 15 | 86 | 17% |
| SUNNYSIDE | GE | 12 | 66 | 18% |
| WEST PORTAL | GE | 13 | 66 | 20% |
| MCKINLEY | GE | 14 | 66 | 21% |
| SLOAT | GE | 14 | 66 | 21% |
| SHERMAN | GE | 15 | 66 | 23% |
| TAYLOR | GE | 10 | 44 | 23% |
| MONROE | GE | 5 | 22 | 23% |
| SUNSET | GE | 16 | 65 | 25% |
| MONTESSORI | GE | 6 | 22 | 27% |
| REVERE | GE | 6 | 22 | 27% |
| NEW TRADITIONS | GE | 13 | 44 | 30% |
| MIRALOMA | GE | 18 | 59 | 31% |
| LAWTON | GE | 21 | 64 | 33% |
| LILIENTHAL | GE | 21 | 64 | 33% |
| ARGONNE | GE | 24 | 66 | 36% |
| GRATTAN | GE | 24 | 66 | 36% |
| ROOFTOP | GE | 26 | 65 | 40% |
| ALVARADO | GE | 19 | 44 | 43% |
| PEABODY | GE | 19 | 43 | 44% |
| CLARENDON | GE | 23 | 44 | 52% |
FLES (Foreign Language in Elementary School)
| School | Prg | Wait Pool as of 7/19/2013 | Kindergarten capacity | Waitpool as a % of K Spots |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LONGFELLOW FB | FB | None | 22 | - |
| CARMICHAEL FB | FB | None | 22? | - |
| PARKS JBBP | JB | 4 | 44 | 9% |
| CLARENDON JBBP | JB | 16 | 44 | 36% |
Cantonese Immersion
English spots| School | Program | Wait Pool | Allocated K Spots | Waitpool as a % of K Spots |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YU | CE - monolingual English* | 13 | 44 of 66? | 30% |
| GARFIELD | CE | 3 | 9 of 22 | 33% |
| WEST PORTAL | CE | 7 | 13 of 33 | 54% |
| CHINESE IMMERSION | CE | 15 | 27 of 66 | 56% |
| YU | CT-not monolingual English | 23 | 22 of 66? | 105% |
Cantonese spots
| School | Program | Wait Pool | Allocated K Spots | Waitpool as a % of K Spots |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GARFIELD | CN | None | 13 of 22 | - |
| CHINESE IMMERSION | CN | 3 | 39 of 66 | 8% |
| WEST PORTAL | CN | 10 | 20 of 33? | 50% |
No wait pool but no openings or Garfield for applicants who passed the Cantonese proficiency test, so some English spots may open up.
Mandarin Immersion
English spots| School | Program | Wait Pool | Allocated K Spots | Waitpool as a % of K Spots |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORTEGA | ME | 9 | 9 of 22 | 100% |
| STARR KING | ME | 6 | 18 of 22 | 33% |
Mandarin spots
| School | Program | Wait Pool | Allocated K Spots | Waitpool as a % of K Spots |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| STARR KING | MN | 1 | 26 of 44 | 4% |
| ORTEGA | MN | 2 | 13 of 22 | 15% |
Korean Immersion
| School | Program | Wait Pool | Allocated K Spots | Waitpool as a % of K Spots |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LILIENTHAL | English | 1 | 9 of 22 | 11% |
| LILIENTHAL | Korean | 3 | 13 of 22 | 23% |
Spanish Immersion
English spots| School | Program | Wait Pool | Allocated K Spots | Waitpool as a % of K Spots |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FLYNN | SE | 2 | 18 of 44 | 9% |
| HARTE | SE | 1 | 9 of 22 | 9% |
| MARSHALL | SE | 3 | 18 of 44 | 17% |
| MONROE | SE | 3 | 18 of 44 | 17% |
| REVERE | SE | 4 | 18 of 44 | 22% |
| WEBSTER | SE | 5 | 18 of 44 | 28% |
| BUENA VISTA/MANN | SE | 12 | 27 of 66 | 44% |
| FAIRMOUNT | SE | 14 | 27 of 66 | 52% |
| ALVARADO | SE | 15 | 18 of 44 | 83% |
Spanish proficient spots
| School | Program | Wait Pool | Allocated K Spots | Waitpool as a % of K Spots |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| REVERE | SN | None | 26 of 44 | - |
| WEBSTER | SN | None | 26 of 44 | - |
| HARTE | SN | None | 13 of 22 | - |
| FLYNN | SN | 2 | 26 of 44 | 8% |
| BUENA VISTA/MANN | SN | 5 | 39 of 66 | 13% |
| MARSHALL | SN | 4 | 26 of 44 | 15% |
| MONROE | SN | 6 | 26 of 44 | 23% |
| FAIRMOUNT | SN | 14 | 39 of 66 | 36% |
| ALVARADO | SN | 11 | 26 of 44 | 42% |
Never Say Die Strategies
Applicants who of "Other" ethnicity are the most likely to opt out of their kindergarten assignment (35%), although there are not many of them. White kindergarten applicants are the next most likely to opt out of public school assignment (25%), followed by non-Chinese Asians (17%), then Latinos and African Americans (13%). Chinese applicants are the least likely (11%), Of the kindergarteners who registered for a spot and did not show up on the first day of school, 40% were white.This suggests that if you have the fortitude to hold out until Sept 6, the last day to get in off the wait pool and 14 days after school starts, your chances would be higher at say, Lilienthal than at Alice Fong Yu. McKinley and Lakeshore were mentioned in the report as two schools that had a high number of students not showing up on the first day of school.
Source: SFUSD First Annual Report on Student Assignment for the 2011-12 School Year, 3/5/2012
