Choosing Schools 

HISD School Choice Fairs for all Magnet programs will be virtual via MicroSoft Teams this year, 9am - 12 noon.  

• September 19  
• October 3 
• October 17 
• October 31 

All magnet schools are represented at each fair. This is a great way to explore schools when deciding which would be a good fit for your child and determining which you would like to tour. 

HISD Magnet School Tours 

ALL HISD magnet schools will have Virtual tours MicroSoft Teams each Thursday, September 24 - November 5. 

• Elementary and K-8 school virtual tours are at 9:00 a.m. 
• Middle & High School virtual tours are at 1:00p.m. 
  

Applications – available online at hisdchoice.com 

K-12 PHASES 

• Phase 1 (September 19, 2020 – November 6, 2020)​  

All qualified applications submitted during Phase I will be entered either in a lottery or will be eligible for auditions at secondary fine arts programs​. Rankings can be changed up to November 6 

• Phase 2 (November 7, 2020 – February 26, 2021)​  

All qualified in-district applicants will be considered on a space-available and will be placed on the offered list after Phase II closes. ​ (these applications are not part of the lottery) 

• Phase 3 (February 27, 2020 - Onward)​  

All qualified applicants that are currently NOT in HISD or out of district will be considered on a space-available and first-come-first-served basis. Tuition is required for OOD students accepted at SUS and Specialty Schools.   

PreKindergarten - all PK seats are by lottery ONLY. There is no zone for PK. 

• September 19, 2020 – April 30, 2021 - Qualified in-district, TEA Eligible applications and tuition-based applications received will be entered into the lottery.  
• Rankings can be changed up to April 30 
• Notification day for all applications is May 20. Applications received after this date will be offered only by space available and in order of submission. 
• All PK applications must include the birth certificate in the uploaded documents 
• If you qualify for the non-tuition PK program, you must upload requested documentation into the program no later than May 5, 2021. (Note, this is after the deadline of submission!) 
• Tuition based applications will be considered after June 3, 2021. 

Considering your zoned school - Garden Oaks Montessori 

To find your zoned campus, please click here: www.houstonisd.org/findaschool 

Zoned Kinder-5th grade families, 

Due to the very limited space for our campus, we ask that you either complete the online application at https://hisdchoice.com (preferred) or pre-register as soon as possible. We begin taking pre-registrations the second Monday of January through the second Monday of February. Any pre-registrations taken after the February submission date will be put on a wait-list by order of submission.  

Students who are 5 years old on or by September 1 are eligible for Kindergarten.  

Families must confirm they are living within the school zone by providing 2 current utility bills in the family name and parent driver’s license with a matching address. Additionally, the student birth certificate and current report card (for grades 1-5) are needed to begin the process. Please email these documents to Stephanie DuBroff-Acosta at sdubroff@houstonisd.org. Upon receipt, you will receive a reply email with the remaining documents to be completed and returned.  

Non-Zoned families, 

Please apply at www.hisdchoice.com 

**Grades 3-8 must have Montessori experience to be considered in our lottery.  

All PK3 and PK4 applicants are asked to complete the online Magnet application at www.hisdchoice.com. Choose Magnet and Garden Oaks Montessori. If your family qualifies for non-tuition PK, please make certain to upload the requested qualifying documents. If you are not able, please email them to sdubroff@houstonisd.org or stop by the school to submit them in person.  

The following dates for campus virtual tours: 

The Virtual Tour followed by a Question and Answer session on MicroSoft Team will be each Thursday September 24 through November 5, 9:00-10:00am.  

The Additional Q & A sessions are December 10, January 29, February 25, March 26 and April 30, 9:00-10:00am.