Chicago Public Schools District 299 Calendar 2026-2027

Chicago Public Schools gives every city address a guaranteed public-school route. Each address is assigned a neighborhood elementary school and a neighborhood high school, and a family can enroll directly in those neighborhood programs after proving residency. The basic address-based seat does not require a GoCPS application.

GoCPS manages the optional layer. Families use it to apply to elementary magnet, magnet-cluster, open-enrollment, dual-language, and other choice programs, as well as to high-school choice and selective-enrollment programs. Offers depend on the rules, priorities, eligibility requirements, and available seats attached to each program.

The distinction between a school building and a program inside that building is essential. A neighborhood campus may contain its guaranteed neighborhood program alongside one or more application programs. Living in the attendance area secures the neighborhood route, but it does not automatically place a child in every specialized program housed there. A family may also apply to programs at schools outside the assigned neighborhood.

Prekindergarten requires another check: attending a school’s pre-K classroom generally does not establish a guaranteed kindergarten seat outside the child’s assigned neighborhood route unless CPS states a specific exception. Families planning across grade levels should identify the guaranteed school first, then evaluate each optional program by its own admissions and transportation conditions. CPS is one district, yet students can move through it by many separate enrollment pathways.