The Pleasanton Unified School District (PUSD) is finalizing enrollment for the 2022-2023 school year as new and old students continue their journey at schools in Pleasanton. 

“The enrollment process is important because it allows new students to get an introduction to Amador and the wide variety of classes that we have here,” said Evan Lucero (‘23). 

In the enrollment process, new students are required to complete the PUSD Open Enrollment Application, providing crucial information to district officials and the school administration. 

“Enrollment, in terms of enrolling new students into the area, is how we determine our staffing ratios — we need to get an early start and find out, for example, how many teachers we need. From here, the principal can then determine what our course selection sheet looks like,” said AV registrar Jennifer Esparza.

Once the enrollment form has been submitted to PUSD, district officials carefully inspect each application, verifying information such as the student’s home address and school of residence.

“The enrollment process consists of seven steps. There are certain forms and documentation that new students who are enrolling need to gather. Once I, or another official, gets a complete package, we proceed to step seven – in which the family signs up for an enrollment meeting where the student needs to be present,” said Esparza. 

For students who do not reside within the district’s boundaries, an interdistrict transfer form (IDT) can be filed and submitted to Student Services, allowing pupils to continue pursuing their studies at an academic institution in Pleasanton. 

“Say, for example, a teacher who is on our campus lives in Livermore and has a kid. It might be easier for them to have their child enroll at Amador due to their working status. This is one instance where we would need to get an interdistrict transfer form. It requires two signatures – one from Livermore and one from our district office for approval,” said Esparza.

All applications received within the submission period are equally considered in the enrollment process, as no specific advantages or disadvantages are attributed to the time in which the application is submitted. 

“I think it is important that we have do not have a first-come, first-served advantage, because there is a big window of time that students can enroll and we should be able to have the time to talk to our counselors and parents and figure out what we want to take without having the pressure of time as well,” said Aubrie Asbery (‘23). 

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, officials have also been forced to adjust the process in which applications are reviewed, especially with socio-economic factors having a more considerable influence on enrollment in the upcoming school year.  

“As a teacher, we are told by our administrators what courses we are going to teach, but it is entirely based on the credentials we have. So, I could teach any life science class and the principal could technically say that I am teaching Anatomy and Botany next year – and I would then be required to teach those classes,” said AV Zoology teacher Turner Bull.

Each year, district officials receive hundreds of applications from every corner of Pleasanton and try their utmost to satisfy scheduling requests from staff, students, and teachers. 

“After everyone in the district chooses their classes, the district officials who handle enrollment are able to see shifts in each sector of learning, like math, science, arts. They have to handle all of these applications at the same time and put all the pieces together,” said Logan Bayani (‘22). 

As the school year comes to a close, it is the hard work and dedication of district and school officials that is responsible for putting schedules in the hands of students and students in the hands of teachers. 

“Enrollment at PUSD is important because behind-the-scenes, counselors work really and students do not get to see that. We, as students, just enroll and then later see ourselves in the class and our counselors definitely put a lot of effort into making sure that we are getting the education that we deserve,” said Asbery.