1. Take a tour of the schools in which you are interested. Learn more about schools to assess if the school is going to be the right fit for your child’s needs and your family. All HISD Elementary magnet schools will host tours every Thursday morning at 9:00.

Herod tours are listed on the calendar on our Homepage! 

2. Complete GT Testing. If your student is entering Kindergarten for the 2024-2025 school year and is applying to a Vanguard Magnet campus or currently in grades K-12 and is interested in gifted and talented identification or attending a school that requires gifted and talented identification for admissions, you may do so now! Please visit the Gifted & Talented webpage to complete an online testing request form.  To ensure families have all the information they need before the application and lottery process closes, you MUST request testing for your child no later than December 8, 2023.  Please note that parents of second grade students or students who have previously been identified as gifted and talented do not need to request additional testing.  

3. Complete the Magnet application. You can complete your application online. Be certain that all required documents are attached to the application or uploaded when you submit it. The 2023-2024 application window is TBD.

• For Kindergarten applications a birth certificate is required ONLY if your child is not currently enrolled in an HISD Pre-K program.  
• For applications in grades 1-5: A teacher recommendation must be requested by all students. Non-HISD students and students new to HISD must also submit a copy of last year's final report card and contact the GT Coordinator at their zoned HISD campus to schedule testing. Students attending HISD for the entire year last year will not need to submit a report card. Current HISD students will be tested at their current HISD campus. 

4. Rank your schools.  Rank the programs you apply to in priority order, from first choice to last choice. You may apply to a maximum of 10 programs, with no more than 5 Magnet programs.  It is very important that you think carefully about your ranking, because if your child is accepted to a program, any lower-ranked choice will be automatically dropped. 

4. Wait, wait and wait some more!  Once GT testing is completed, it takes 6-8 weeks for the results to return and processing to be completed. 

5. Intent to attend deadline. Students may accept only one Magnet program for the next school year.  Families will have two weeks to accept an offered seat at a Magnet program by submitting proof of residency and signing a Magnet Entrance Agreement. Failure to provide proof of residency will forfeit any transfer offer.