• PROSPECTIVE FAMILY ORIENTATION DATES

    If you want to apply to our school for the 2025-26 school year, you must attend one of these orientations (unless you are a current parent of an Edison student in TK-5th and the new student is a sibling).  All orientations are bilingual.

    Thursday, January 16, 2025, 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm (Preschool)

    Saturday, January 18, 2025, 10:30 am -12:00 pm (TK/K)

    Tuesday, January 21, 2025, 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm (TK/K)

    Thursday, January 23, 2025, 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm (TK/K)

    Click here for 2025-26 Birthdate Enrollment Guidelines.

    Have you missed attending an orientation? Click here for more information on how to apply.

    ADMISSIONS QUESTIONS: edisonadmissions@smmusd.org

    ADMISSION GUIDELINES

    The Edison Dual Language program represents a unique curriculum option in SMMUSD. Edison is a school of choice in SMMUSD - it is not a neighborhood or home school for anyone. Parents or guardians of students desiring to apply to the dual language program must attend a school orientation to ensure they understand the dual-immersion program and can make an informed choice.  Parents must also apply within the application window. Applications submitted after the due date lose any priority they might otherwise have been entitled to and are only considered on a space-available basis.

    Note:  Parents of current Edison students in TK-5th applying for a sibling do not have to attend an orientation (Prek, JAMS, SAMOHI parents do need to attend).  We will notify all current Edison parents when they should apply through our school communication channels in January.

    Since Edison Preschool and Edison TK-5 programs are Dual-Language programs, each entering cohort of students must be composed of enough Spanish and English speakers to provide adequate peer language models in both languages. When possible, we find that enrolling slightly more Spanish-dominant children than English-dominant children benefits both groups. Edison provides language screening for applicants whose parents indicate that they are Spanish speakers to ensure that children are placed in the appropriate language pool for enrollment decisions.

    In addition to striving to provide an appropriate language balance, Edison’s enrollment decisions are guided by a series of enrollment priorities consistent with SMMUSD’s enrollment and permit policies. All applicants must have a birthdate appropriate for enrollment in the grade level they are applying for. The California Education Code determines dates for Transitional Kindergarten and Kindergarten. Birthdates are not flexible.

    In making enrollment decisions, Edison also considers whether placement in a dual language program seems appropriate for an individual student.  Dual Language programs are wonderful, but they are not the right choice for every child.   Please provide complete answers to the questions on the application.  If your child has an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), please share a copy with us so we can ensure that all services to which your child is entitled can be provided at this school.  SMMUSD offers a variety of special education programs, but not all are provided at all facilities.  Admission to Special Education programs with an inter-district attendance permit depends on room availability in the appropriate program.  Edison offers qualifying students specialized academic instruction (SAI), speech and language programs, and OT, PT, and social skills services.  Please get in touch with the case manager at your child’s school to discuss at an IEP meeting whether your child’s needs can be met in a dual language program.

    ADMISSION PRIORITIES

    All the Edison programs generally receive more applications than can be accommodated each year. When that happens, within each language group, students are admitted according to the following priorities, in this order:

    1. IMMERSION SIBLINGS AND CHILDREN OF EDISON STAFF: Younger siblings of current dual-language program students and children of SMMUSD employees working in the dual-language program;
    2. EDISON NEIGHBORHOOD: While Edison is NOT a neighborhood school, the next priority is students residing within the immediate Edison neighborhood. Please click for map to see the neighborhood assigned to Edison for this priority list only;
    3. SMMUSD NEIGHBORHOOD: Students who do not live in the Edison neighborhood but reside in the SMMUSD school district.
    4. SMMUSD EMPLOYEES: Students whose parents/guardians work for SMMUSD
    5. SANTA MONICA CITY EMPLOYEES: Students whose parents/guardians work for the City of Santa Monica (city employees)
    6. SANTA MONICA EMPLOYEES: Students of parents/guardians who work in Santa Monica (but are not city employees)
    7. OUT OF DISTRICT: When space is available in either language group and if there are not enough applications from students in the above categories, Edison also admits students living in neighboring school districts. Consideration among out-of-district applicants is given to children of parents who participated in the immersion program themselves as children, and children whose parents are graduates of one of SMMUSD’s high schools. Final enrollment for out-of-district students is contingent upon procuring the appropriate inter-district permit, as specified by the district permit policy and the particular education policy regarding permits. Inter-district permits are granted for the general education program in the TK and K-5 programs and are renewable annually. These permits are for participating in a dual language program and are not transferable to other elementary schools within SMMUSD.

    If more students apply to Edison Language Academy than the school can admit in any category, a waiting list is created for that category by language. Students are assigned numbers on the waiting list by lottery, and any remaining openings are filled out from the appropriate waiting list.

    NEW STUDENTS 1st - 5th

    Beyond Kindergarten, Edison has much more limited opportunities for the enrollment of new students. The number of students accepted at any given grade level is contingent upon the enrollment profile of the entire school. Parents interested in enrollment at a grade beyond Kindergarten should attend one of the orientations and submit an application within the application window. Enrollment beyond Kindergarten occurs on a space-available basis, and each application is evaluated individually.  If spaces are available, the teaching staff screens students entering beyond Kindergarten at that grade level to assess language skills. Enrollment beyond 1st grade requires that students be proficient Spanish speakers and demonstrate adequate literacy skills in Spanish.  Since we often do not know how many spaces will be available in grades 1-5 until later, admission decisions beyond Kindergarten are usually not made until May of each year.