Hoover School maintains a lottery pool from which new students are drawn. In order for a new student (including siblings of current Hoover students) to be assigned to a Hoover class, her or his name must be in the lottery. Placement in the lottery is by application only.

On the application, parents are asked to sign an agreement in support of the Hoover goals and philosophy. The appropriate form can be obtained from the Hoover School office. Applications will be accepted from any family eligible for enrollment in the Palo Alto Unified School District.

The Hoover Lottery System

Hoover School offers a lottery system for families interested in admission. Applications will be accepted from those who reside in the Palo Alto Unified School District area.

In order for your child to be included in the lottery, you must complete a Lottery Application.

The application can be obtained from the Hoover School office. You must bring with you PAUSD approved proof of residence: rent/lease agreement, mortgage statement, or property tax bill. There is no preference given to proximity of residence to Hoover. Applications are accepted for the current or following academic year only. Applications must be renewed every year to be kept on file.

Kindergarten Applicants

Openings for kindergarten are filled by random selection from the kindergarten list of lottery applicants. We begin offering the following year's kindergarten spaces in February after PAUSD kindergarten registration has begun. You must have registered for your neighborhood school even if your first choice is Hoover.

Higher Grade Applicants

Vacancies

Our procedure for filling vacancies at Hoover is to offer the vacancy to siblings first. Only siblings of current Hoover students are eligible. You must have filled out a lottery application for siblings for them to be considered. Once those children are accommodated, names are drawn from the lottery to fill the remaining spaces. We fill a vacancy whenever one is created by a child leaving Hoover or if a parent declines an offered vacancy at Hoover. Thus a parent may be offered a space for a child at any time during the school year. If you are offered a spot and refuse, your name will be removed from the lottery list.

Note: The timeline for filling vacancies is actually quite long because a number of applicants have either moved from Palo Alto or have changed their mind regarding Hoover since the time they applied.. We work most of the spring filling and confirming the kindergarten spaces for the following school year. We sometimes receive declines in late August and have to fill a vacancy just before school starts, so don't be discouraged if you don't hear from Hoover by June.

If you have any other questions call the Hoover School office at (650) 320-8106.