Choice School and Language Programs Frequently Asked Questions

No, students attending Puesta del Sol, Jing Mei and Spanish Dual Language Programs will automatically roll-up to the assigned middle school: 

• Mandarin Dual Language students will attend Tillicum Middle School.
• Spanish Dual Language students will attend Highland Middle School.
• Spanish Immersion or ISA students will attend Tillicum Middle School.

*Nonresident students: Current nonresident students must submit a Choice Transfer Request to your resident district in January.

No. Once approved and enrolled, your student may retain enrollment in the Choice School or Language Program unless they withdraw or are withdrawn.

Dual Language students will automatically roll-up to the assigned high school:  

• Mandarin Dual Language students will attend Tillicum Middle School then Newport High School.
• Spanish Dual Language students will attend Highland Middle School then Sammamish High School.

8th grade Spanish Immersion or ISA students will need to choose Newport HS or Sammamish HS: 

• Spanish Immersion or ISA students will attend Tillicum Middle School then Newport or Sammamish high schools.

You will receive an email in December from studentplacement@bsd405.org requesting that you complete a questionnaire with your decision

*Nonresident students: If your student is enrolled in a Choice Program, in January you must submit a Choice Transfer Request to your resident district.

Your student is always guaranteed to return to their home attendance area school. If your student will be withdrawing from the Choice School or Language Program for the next school year, please notify both the school and program and your home school of your transfer plans. If interested, you may apply through Open Transfer for a different school, or incoming 6th grade students may submit Choice School applications for entry level to International School and/or Big Picture School.

*Nonresident students leaving a Choice School or Language Program are not guaranteed continued BSD enrollment. If you are interested in attending a different BSD school please visit the Transfer Into the Bellevue School District webpage.

No, siblings who do not apply will not be admitted. The new sibling must apply to be considered for enrollment. The new sibling will have preference in admission provided that both siblings will attend the school or program together for a minimum of one year.

Choice Schools and Language Programs offer unique learning environments.

• For information on each Choice School and Language Program, please visit the Apply to Choice Schools and Programs webpage.

Entry into these programs is through application and lottery that take place the winter before your student begins kindergarten.

• Mandarin Dual Language Program – Jing Mei Elementary

• Spanish Immersion Program (ISA) – Puesta del Sol Elementary
• Spanish Dual Language Program – Lake Hills Elementary, Sherwood Forest Elementary and Stevenson Elementary
• Arabic Language Program – Ardmore Elementary 
• Hindi Language Program – Ardmore Elementary
• Korean Language Program – Newport Heights Elementary
• Japanese Language Program – location to be determined

Entry into these schools is through application and lottery that take place the winter before your student begins 6th grade.

• International School
• Big Picture School

Admission to these schools for initial entry is during the Choice Schools and Language Program application period for the grades listed:

• Kindergarten entry – Jing Mei Elementary, Puesta del Sol Elementary, Spanish Dual Language Program, Arabic Language Program, Hindi Language Program, Korean Language Program and Japanese Language Program

• 6^th grade entry – International School, Big Picture School

If you’ve missed the application period or if your student is not entry grade level, they may apply to the waitlist.

Choice School and Language Program applications are accepted between December and January.

Choice School and Language Program placement offers and waitlist notifications will be emailed in February.

No. Applicants are not chosen on a first come, first served basis. All applications received during the application period are considered equally and all applicants will be in the lottery. Applicants will be placed on the requested school or language program list by lottery number.

Choice Schools/Programs are only open to residents of the Bellevue School District.* Please note: the student must be physically living within the boundaries of the District at the time of application.

Per Washington State Law and District Policy, the nonresident children of eligible Bellevue School District employees may apply as resident students. 

• The parent/guardian is working for the Bellevue School District, such as a teacher, principal or staff in a support function.
• Receives a paycheck from the Bellevue School District not that the parent/guardian works in the Bellevue community.

Eligible employment status will be verified with Human Resources. Eligible employees of the Bellevue School District are defined as:

• Certificated employees who work .4 FTE or greater.
• Classified employees who work 16 hours or more per week for a minimum of 180 days.

*Applications will be accepted from nonresident students for Puesta del Sol Elementary, Spanish Dual Language Program, Arabic Language Program, Hindi Language Program and Korean Language Program. Priority is given to Bellevue School District resident students.

• Nonresident students may apply during the application period and will be added to the appropriate nonresident grade level waitlist.
• After the close of the entry level application period, the waitlist applications will open for applicants who missed the deadline.
• Applicants will be added to the bottom of the appropriate nonresident grade level waitlist in the order received.

Waitlist applications will be accepted from nonresident students for Bellevue Big Picture School beginning in January. Priority is given to Bellevue School District resident students.

• After the close of the entry level application period, the waitlist applications will open for applicants who missed the deadline.
• Applicants will be added to the bottom of the appropriate nonresident grade level waitlist in the order received.
• Current 5th grade nonresident students may apply to be added to the Bellevue Big Picture School nonresident waitlist. At this time, they will be added to the incoming 6th grade waitlist in the order received.

If your student turns 5 years old on or before October 31 of the entry year, you may apply for kindergarten entry. If your student is selected in the lottery and is offered placement and you accept, they will retain their spot pending the assessment results. Your student’s actual enrollment will be contingent on whether they qualify through Early Entrance testing.  If your student does not qualify, the placement offer will be rescinded and the spot will be offered to the next student on the waitlist. Being selected via the lottery and offered placement is not a valid reason to appeal the results of the early entrance assessment should your student not pass.

Students who wish to join the waitlists for other grades may submit a Choice School or Language Program waitlist application. New applicants will be added to the bottom of the existing waitlists in the order received for possibly entry in the upcoming school year. Students applying for language programs must meet the grade level language qualifications.

Applications will be accepted through an online via the district’s Apply to Choice Schools and Language Programs webpage. Families who do not have online access may use a kiosk at any school or at the district office. Assistance is available to complete the online application if needed, please contact Student Placement at studentplacement@bsd405.org 

Students who wish to join the waitlist at Big Picture School or International School may submit an online waitlist application and will be added to the bottom of the appropriate grade level waitlist in the order received.

You will receive a confirmation email at the email address provided on the application. When you receive the email confirmation, please review your student’s information for accuracy.

If a correction is needed, please reply to the confirmation email with the information that needs to be corrected.

 Additionally, please be sure to reply to the confirmation email without changing the subject line or creating a new email. We have routing rules established to help us process application emails efficiently.

Please do not respond if no correction is needed.

Tip: When completing your application, please provide the contact information (i.e., name, phone number and email address) of the parent/guardian you want us to contact. If you have multiple email addresses, take special care to provide the email address you check frequently when completing the application. This will be the email we use to contact you with notifications.

If you did not receive a confirmation email, please check your spam, junk and promotion email folders for an email from studentplacement@bsd405.org. If you do not find the confirmation, then contact us with your student’s name and school requested. We will let you know if your application has been received or if you need to resubmit it.

Tip: Please make sure that studentplacement@bsd405.org is in your list of safe emails.

No. Any student with multiple applications to the same school or language program runs the risk of having all submissions discarded and removed from the application process.

Yes. Students may apply to each Choice School or Language Program that is appropriate for your student’s grade level.

No. You may submit one application and indicate which school you prefer.  If your preferred school is no longer available when we get to your student on the list, you will be offered placement at the available school(s) or placed on your preferred school’s waitlist at your request.

After the close of Choice School and Language Program application period, a lottery is held for each school and language program. Applicants will then be placed on a list in the order drawn for by school or language program. Applicants with priority - children of eligible Bellevue School District, employees assigned to the school, those having sibling preference, and those who live in the language school's attendance area - will be moved to the top of each list. Remaining applicants will be chosen for entry by list order. The list of those remaining will become the waitlist.

Notifications will be emailed in February for Choice School and Language Programs.

No. All lotteries are closed to the public.

Notification will be made via email to the email provided on the application. Families will either receive a notification of available placement or an email with your student’s place on the waitlist.

Please add the studentplacement@bsd405.org email address to your list of safe emails so you can receive notifications. 

You will be notified by email of your waitlist number.

• If you are a resident of the Bellevue School District and your student is placed on a waitlist, please plan on attending your attendance area school. 
• If you are a nonresident family, please plan on attending your resident school district. 

There is no need to contact Student Placement to verify waitlist status. If space becomes available, Student Placement will contact families immediately to get students in their schools as soon as possible.

No, siblings who do not apply will not be admitted.

The new sibling must apply to be considered for enrollment. The new sibling will have preference in admission provided that both siblings will attend the school or program together for a minimum of one year.

Possibly, the new sibling must submit an Open Transfer or Transfer Request waitlist application and will be granted second-tier sibling priority when considered for general enrollment at the same school. But enrollment at the same school is not guaranteed.

If you receive a placement offer, you will have one week to respond. Students who are not already enrolled in BSD will be given a date by which they are expected to enroll and provide residency documents or nonresident paperwork, typically enrollment is expected within two weeks.

Once a student has accepted a spot at one Choice School or Language Program, their name will be removed from all other Choice School and Language Program waitlists.

However, the waitlists are very fluid during this time and positions can change quickly depending on the decisions of other applicants.

If you receive an offer for a school or program that is not your first preference and a notification of waitlist position for your preferred school or program that is favorable (i.e., 1-10), we can be flexible and allow you to temporarily accept the offer but still remain on the waitlist of your preferred program for a reasonable but limited amount of time.

The end goal is to place each applicant in their preferred language program to the extent that it is possible while following the guidelines set forth in the procedure.

After the Choice Schools and Language Programs entry application period closes, the waitlists will open the following week for all available grade levels. Students who did not apply during the entry application period will be able to submit a waitlist application and will be added to the bottom of the appropriate waitlist in the order received.

Please indicate the student’s current grade level (e.g., 5th grade for incoming 6th grade students and P-4 for incoming kindergarten students) when applying.

No, Choice School and Language Program waitlist will carry over and roll-up to the new grade level for the next school year. Your student will remain on the waitlist unless you indicate otherwise.

Please do not submit additional applications.

If you have questions, please email studentplacement@bsd405.org with specific information: student name, grade, school, address, etc. along with your specific questions. We will answer your questions as soon as we are able.