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Office of School Choice & Enrollment
Preferences

Neighborhood and Sibling Preference

Click here to find your attendance zone and neighborhood preference schools

In many schools, New Haven offers preference to students who live within the attendance zone of the school called Neighborhood Preference. All Neighborhood schools and some Magnet and Charter schools have attendance zones.

Schools that offer neighborhood preference include:

  • Barnard

  • Beecher

  • Brennan-Rogers

  • John C. Daniels

  • Davis Street

  • East Rock Community

  • Edgewood

  • King/Robinson

  • John S. Martinez

  • Mauro-Sheridan

  • Ross Woodward

  • Troup

  • Bishop Woods

  • Roberto Clemente

  • Clinton Avenue

  • Fair Haven

  • Hill Central

  • Lincoln-Bassett

  • Nathan Hale

  • Truman

  • Wexler-Grant

  • Worthington Hooker

  • Betsy Ross

  • Hillhouse

  • Wilbur Cross

New Haven is also committed to giving priority to families wishing to have their children enrolled together in school. This is called Sibling Preference, and it applies when a student applicant has a sibling already enrolled at the school of choice. All New Haven Public Schools of Choice with the exception of ACES Educational Center for the Arts (ECA), offer Sibling Preference.

1. Neighborhood & Sibling

Applicant has sibling in the school and lives in the school’s attendance zone.

2. Neighborhood Only

Applicant does not have a sibling in the school, but lives in the school’s attendance zone.

3. Sibling Only

Applicant has sibling in the school and the siblings share the same address.

4. Siblings Applying Together

If siblings want to be placed in the same school and choose the same schools in the same order, they may check the “Siblings Applying Together” box on the application. If one sibling is placed, then the other sibling will be placed if a seat is available. If a seat is not available, the system will attempt to place the other sibling in one of their other choices. If the sibling is not placed, he/she will be placed on the waitlist with a sibling apply preference. 

5. No Preference

Applicant does not have a sibling in the school and lives outside the school’s attendance zone

Note: Preferences are applied at the choice level (1st through 6th) of the selected school.

Once a student is placed in a school, the placement is for the entire school year (August 2025 to June 2026). Mid-year transfers will only be considered for extenuating circumstances and require the approval of the Office of the Superintendent.

Due to seat limitations, there is no guarantee that your child will be placed in a school you selected. 

In the case where a family has two or more children applying to schools at the same time (i.e., in the same lottery), these siblings must be listed on the same application form in order to receive sibling preference. The siblings should use the same application form even if they are not applying to the same schools. Assignment of these multi-child applications will follow the priority sequences listed below, so that if one sibling is admitted, the other siblings will be given preference for seats available at that point of the lottery.