Magnet School Information

2026-27 Lottery Applications Available: September 15, 2025

2026-27 Lottery Applications Due: Thursday, January 15, 2026 at 4 pm

2025-26 Magnet School Wait list: If your child is on a magnet school wait list for the current (2025-26) school year, those wait lists will remain active until December 1, 2025. If a spot opens up for which your child qualifies, you will be contacted by a member of the SPS Central Office Staff. Individual schools do not manage their wait lists.

About the Magnet school program

The magnet school program was created by the Stamford Board of Education to help manage enrollment and balance all schools to the District’s +/- 10 percent integration standard while offering educational choice through unique programs and theme-based instruction. All magnet schools follow the Connecticut State Standards. 

Types of Magnet schools

Stamford Public Schools has 4 intradistrict magnet schools that enroll 100 percent of their students from Stamford, and 3 interdistrict magnet schools that must enroll at least 25 percent of their students from surrounding CT communities.. 

^ Hart, Toquam, and Westover are “Zoned Magnet Schools.” These schools have an assigned attendance area and also admit students from outside the attendance are via the magnet school lottery. Students residing in the assigned attendance area for each school do not need to apply via the lottery. 

*Scofield is an “Intra District-wide Magnet School” and AITE is an “Inter District-wide Magnet School.” There are no assigned attendance areas for Scofield or AITE. All students at these schools are admitted via lottery.  

⁺Rogers International and Strawberry Hill are “Preferred Attendance Area Magnet Schools.” These schools have designated preferred attendance areas for lottery purposes. Students residing in these areas must apply to Rogers and Strawberry Hill via the lottery and are given priority status.  

Rogers International School Preferred Areas 1 and 2. Strawberry Hill Preferred Area 1

Magnet school admission

Magnet school admission is offered through a controlled lottery as outlined in BOE Policy 5117.2 and 5117.2R. The lottery is controlled to balance enrollment to achieve the integration set forth by the Board of Education.

In a controlled lottery, the number of students accepted annually at each school and from each waitlist are dependent upon overall SPS enrollment.

Enrollment numbers are reviewed continuously throughout the lottery process, in order to maintain balance and meet the SPS integration standard. 

lottery dates & deadlines

Per BOE policy, applications open on September 15, applications are due on January 15, and the lottery drawing is on February 15 unless those dates fall on a Saturday, Sunday or school holiday, in which case they will move to the next business day.

The lottery dates and deadlines for 2026-27 are the same for all 7 Magnet Schools: 

Lottery Opens: Monday, September 15, 2025

Applications Due: Thursday, January 15, 2026 at 4 pm

Lottery Drawing: Tuesday, February 17, 2026

Acceptances Due: Tuesday, March 10, 2026

important information

• The magnet school lottery is a district-wide process managed by the Stamford Public Schools Teaching & Learning Department. The individual magnet schools are not involved in the lottery or the wait list process.

• Connecticut State Law states that students must be 5 years old on or before September 1 of the year they begin kindergarten. For the 2026-27 school year, students must be born on or before September 1, 2021 to begin kindergarten.

• Children born between September 2, 2021 and January 1, 2022 will be required to successfully complete an early kindergarten admission assessment to begin kindergarten in Fall 2026. The early kindergarten admission process will begin in early 2026 and is separate from the magnet school lottery application. Click here for more information.

• Specialized programs for students with disabilities are housed at select schools throughout the district. Rogers, Strawberry Hill, and Scofield do not have any specialized programs for students with disabilities. If your child is recommended for a specialized program* for students with disabilities, it may not be at a magnet school.  

• The home address provided on the magnet school lottery application must match the home address provided during registration. Home addresses are subject to verification. Providing an inaccurate home address may result in your magnet school lottery application being disqualified.

* specialized programs include Arbor, Bridge K, CORE, STAR, and TEAM.