New Student Enrollment

Welcome to LCMSD! See below for information on how to enroll new K - 8th grade students for the 2025-26 school year.

For all student enrollment and transfer inquiries, contact:

Edith Valencia | Student Services Specialists

evalencia@lcmschools.org | (415) 927-6960 x3200

crayons and school supplies

School Enrollment Procedures & Placement Information

    LCMSD Enrollment Instructions

    LCMSD accepts students in Kindergarten through 8th grade within the Larkspur-Corte Madera School District boundaries. Before enrolling, check your home address against the LCMSD Boundary Street Listing to ensure your address is within the district boundaries. You can also check your property tax statement. If your address does not appear on this list, you are not in the LCMSD boundaries.

    Only current District residents who have verified their residency through the accepted forms of proof required by the District may enroll.

    Please note that district boundaries do not always coincide with municipal boundaries.

    Note: LCMSD is not offering Transitional Kindergarten (TK) during the 2025-2026 school year. See "Information about Transitional Kindergarten" below for more information.

    Elementary School Placement Process

    School Placement Criteria

    Parents have the opportunity to state a preference for a particular elementary school during the online enrollment process. The District office determines final placement based on the following prioritized criteria:

    1. Enrollments are prioritized based on enrollment dates. See "Enrollment windows and Parent Notification Timeline" below for enrollment rounds and notification dates.
    2. Siblings of currently enrolled students will be enrolled in the same school if they choose; however, this placement may not always be at your school of choice. The currently enrolled sibling must be in attendance at the requested school when enrolling your new student.
    3. Addresses within The Cove School or Neil Cummins Neighborhood Parameters (per AR 5111.1). Key Codes for streets within the Neighborhood Parameters are shown as (NC) for Neil Cummins and (TCS) for The Cove School on the List of Streets Within District Boundaries.
    4. Facility capacity and class size.

    Notification of elementary student placement will be according to the registration window and round notification timelines (see details below). Waitlist requests will be reviewed at each round of notification, and placements will be made accordingly. Notification will only be provided when space is available. If you are not notified, you will remain on the waitlist. See "School Waitlist & Lottery" below.

    Enrollment Rounds and Parent Notification Timeline

    The district prioritizes school placement based on enrollment date. The earlier you register, the better your chances of getting your school preference.

    Here are the enrollment rounds and notification dates:

    Round 1

    Enrollment Window: December 1 - January 31

    Placement Notification: February 13

    Round 2

    Enrollment Window: February 1 - April 30

    Placement Notification: May 15

    Round 3

    Enrollment Window: May 1 - July 31

    Placement Notification: August 5

    Enrollments after July 31: Notification will be as soon as possible, prior to the first day of school in August.

    *Final waitlist adjustments will be made by the 10th day of the start of the new school year.

    School Waitlist & Lottery

    Parents identify their school of preference during the online enrollment process. At that time, they also indicate if they would like to be placed on a waitlist if their school of preference is not available. Should the school of choice not be available at the time of placement, students will be placed on a waitlist.

    • Round 1 Only: Siblings and students living the neighborhood attendance parameters will be automatically placed at their school of residence. All others will be placed in the lottery.
    • Waitlisted students will be placed via public lottery for each enrollment round, following the district prioritized criteria shown in "School Placement Process" above per AR 5111.1
    • It is the District’s desire to keep siblings together whenever possible. If one child has a space at the school of choice and the other child(ren) do not, parents have a choice. They may choose to stay at the school where there is space for all siblings to attend, or they may choose to accept the opening for the child at the school of choice and remain on the waitlist for the other child(ren).
    • When you are notified that space for your child is available at your school of preference, you will have 72 hours to respond to the District with your decision.
    • If you decide not to accept the space or do not respond within 72 hours, the District will move down the list in order of priority to the next student on the waitlist.

    For more information about attendance areas and lottery procedures, see Administrative Regulation 5111.1 District Residency.

    Kindergarten Eligibility 2025-26

    Transitional Kindergarten will not be offered for the 2024-2025 or 2025-2026 school year.

    Birthdates for Kindergarten Enrollment (2025-26)

    • Students born on or before September 1, 2020 (students turning 5 years old on or before September 1, 2025)

    Holding Students Back

    • Children eligible for Kindergarten are not required to enroll, as Kindergarten is not mandatory.
    • However, parents and guardians must enroll their children in school once they reach the age of six (EC Section 48200). It is a school-based decision, with parental input, whether the six-year-old student will be enrolled in Kindergarten or first grade. For first grade enrollment, California law requires a child to be six years old on or before September 1 to be legally eligible for first grade (EC Section 48010).

    Kindergarten Class Sizes

    • Our goal is to remain at an average of 24 students per classroom.
    Information About Transitional Kindergarten (TK)

    The Larkspur-Corte Madera School District is not offering Transitional Kindergarten (TK) during the 2025-26 or 2026-27 school years.

    Immunization Requirements

    By California State law, a child may not be admitted to school without proof of current immunizations.

    For more information about which immunizations are required for school, please refer to the Parents' Guide to Immunizations Required for School Entry or Guia Para Padres Sobre Los Requistos de Vacunation Para Entrar a la Escuela.

    School Tours for 2026-27
    Elementary School Transfers (within district)

    This form is intended ONLY for students currently attending the Larkspur-Corte Madera School District who wish to transfer to another elementary school within the district.

    Students who currently reside in the Larkspur-Corte Madera School District may apply for an Open Enrollment transfer to attend another elementary school in the district. LCMSD will accept Intradistrict Transfer requests annually from January 1 to March 31 for the following school year. All completed forms will be logged in the order in which they are received and parents will be notified if the request can or cannot be accommodated according to the school placement process shown above. Requests submitted at other times of the year will only be considered if there are crisis situations that require immediate transfer.