A simple, 5 minute online application is required each year for all students who wish to attend a KIPP SoCal school. Applications can be submitted online, by calling 323-647-8898, or by visiting one of our schools and submitting a paper application. Applications for School Year 2025-26 can be submitted anytime between October 3, 2024 at 8am, and September 30th, 2025; however, to have the best chance of being accepted and to be eligible for the lottery, you must submit your application prior to February 7, 2025 at 4 pm.

Lottery Admissions

KIPP SoCal Public Schools are open to all, and there are no requirements to apply. In order to ensure our process is fair, our application only requests the bare minimum information required to hold a public lottery: student age/grade, contact information, and schools interested in. 

If the number of applications exceeds the number of available seats in any given grade, we will host a public, random lottery in order to determine which students are accepted. We do give priority to certain categories of students, as detailed below. 

Standard School Priority

1. Siblings of currently enrolled students living within School District boundaries
2. Siblings of currently enrolled students living outside School District boundaries
3. Children of KIPP SoCal Employees living within School District boundaries
4. Children of KIPP SoCal Employees living outside School District boundaries
5. All other applicants living within School District boundaries
6. All other applicants living outside School District boundaries

Middle School Feeder Priority

1. Siblings of currently enrolled students living within School District boundaries
2. Siblings of currently enrolled students living outside School District boundaries
3. Children of KIPP SoCal Employees living within School District boundaries
4. Children of KIPP SoCal Employees living outside School District boundaries
5. Students of the KIPP elementary feeder school living within School District
6. Students of the KIPP elementary feeder school living outside School District
7. All other applicants living within School District boundaries
8. All other applicants living outside School District boundaries

Waitlists are dynamic! If a student is called off any of our waitlists and accepts the space, and if that student has a sibling on the waitlist, the sibling is moved to the top of the waitlist with other siblings in the order of their general lottery number. We put siblings ahead of any non-sibling waitlisted student.

For students waitlisted during the lottery, student names will be added to a waitlist in order of the lottery number they received. Any applications received after the open enrollment deadline of February 7, 2025 will be added to the waitlist in order of submission date & time. 

Yes! In fact, if you are somewhat flexible in geography, we recommend that you apply to multiple KIPP schools to maximize your chances of being accepted in a public lottery if needed. You can view this map to see what schools are in the immediate vicinity of your home address.

For applicants to KIPP Comienza, KIPP Empower, KIPP Promesa, & KIPP Ignite:

• Waitlists are dynamic! If a student is called off any of our waitlists and accepts the space, and if that student has a sibling on the waitlist, the sibling is moved to the top of the waitlist with other siblings in the order of their general lottery number. This puts siblings ahead of any non-sibling waitlist students.
• What should I expect? School Mint keeps track of where your student is on the waitlist. To see the status of your child, log into your account here. Be aware that your student’s position on the waitlist may be affected by other students who accept a position and also have siblings on the waitlist. As explained above, waitlist siblings of accepted students are moved ahead of non-sibling waitlist students.
• What if I applied after the application deadline? Applications received after February 7, 2025, will be placed on the waitlist in the order in which they are received.

For applicants to all other KIPP Schools:

• Waitlists are never reordered. Therefore, the only way your number will change is if the students above you are accepted, in which case your number will be lowered. (Ex. If your student is #10 on the waitlist after the lottery, but then 3 students are accepted, your waitlist # should move to #7.)
• What should I expect? School Mint keeps track of where your student is on the waitlist. To see the status of your child, log into your account here.
• What if I applied after the application deadline? Applications received after February 7, 2025 will be placed on the waitlist in the order in which they are received.

Contact us! 

• Please fill out a Quick Application instead at kippsocal.org/apply
• Enrollment Line: 323-647-8898 or enrollment@kippsocal.org

Any students - current KIPP students - are welcome to apply to all of our schools. Therefore, if you would like to move to a different KIPP school in future, you would follow the same application and enrollment process as stated above for the school of your choice. Due to the lottery, however, we cannot guarantee admission in a different KIPP school. We also encourage you to first talk to your current School Leader to discuss options, as they may be able to further support you through the transition to a new school.

All applications received by February 7, 2025 will be placed in a lottery. If the number of children interested in a specific grade exceeds the number of seats available for that grade, names will be drawn through lotteries in late February 2025. Applications that are not selected in the lottery will be placed on a waiting list for that school year. If spaces become available, they will be filled from the applications on the waiting list. Applications received after the deadline of February 7, 2025 will be either accepted immediately or added to the waitlist in order of submission date depending on each school’s capacity.

We will email & text families immediately after the lottery to notify them of their status (accepted or waitlisted). We will also mail all families a letter sharing the results of the lottery within one week of the lottery. Families are not required to attend the lottery.