Yes. SOMACC is aware of the shortage of early care and education spaces in San Francisco and of the frequent long wait periods to gain access to service.

While we would love to accept each child who applies for admission to SOMACC, we must adhere to strict licensing capacity and enrollment guidelines, hence we have a waiting list of families who want to enroll their children in our schools.

Families have the option of being waitlisted at both of our schools as well as for more than one SOMACC program. We will contact you if there is an opening and your child is the next eligible applicant.

The length of the waitlist varies. Typically, the waiting list is significantly longer for children ages 0-2 years than the list for older children because there are fewer spaces, lower ratios, and a greater need in the community. Moreover, slots are divided among private and state-subsidized enrollment.

The number of applicants waitlisted in each program fluctuates due to the ongoing submission of new applications and the rolling over of older applications as children reach the age that qualifies them for the next program.

The wait time varies.

It is impossible for us to predict how quickly our waitlist will progress. Therefore, we cannot provide detailed information on the wait time, an applicant's "place” or “number” on the wait list, or the likelihood of being enrolled.

SOMACC has priority enrollment consideration for different populations. Families that do not have priority can expect a longer waiting time.

Your wait time and position on the waitlist are based on your child's age group, classroom openings and needs, how many children are exiting the program in that age group, priority applicants, applications that rolled over, your application date, and your preferred start date.

Waiting times for children ages 0-2 years range from nearly a year to several years. Our pre-K program (for 3.5 to 5+ year olds) may fit in children in less than 6 to 12 months. Other age groups have varying wait times. (These timeframes only reflect average wait times.)

We strongly recommend submitting a waitlist application as early as possible regardless of when you plan to send your child to school. For some families, this will be as soon as they learn they are expecting. The earlier you get on the list before you need a space, the better your chances of being offered a space close to your desired start date.

* We do not accept applications from non-expectant parents.

Although we accept applications prior to seeing our school(s), we strongly urge all parents of prospective students to visit us (or take a virtual tour) and thoroughly read the information on our website to get an overview of our programs and philosophies. This will help you in determining whether SOMACC is a suitable fit for meeting the needs of your child and family, as well as whether our mission, values, and philosophies align with yours.

While we encourage families to apply early in order to be placed on the waitlist, the date of application is only one of several factors considered by SOMACC when making admissions decisions.

Given the huge interest in enrolling at SOMACC, as evident by our long waitlist, being on the waitlist does not guarantee enrollment in our programs. It does, however, increase your chances when an opening becomes available.

We unfortunately cannot predict an applicant’s chances of acceptance because our classes have different needs each year. Furthermore, everyone who is considered for enrollment must go through the Dialogue and School Visit process, which allows parents and SOMACC staff to learn more about each other and assess if the school, the child, and the family are a suitable fit.

Due to the shortage of early care and education spaces in the community, SOMACC’s limited capacity, and the frequent long wait periods to gain access to service, we recommend that you tour and apply to multiple schools to give yourself options.

Yes, priority enrollment consideration is provided to the following:

1. Children from low-income households, those at risk of abuse or neglect, and those who have been homeless or have lived in shelters. The families are selected from the Early Learning SF waiting list, which is a county-wide consolidated childcare subsidy database. Eligibility requirements must be met.
   
   * SOMACC maintains a total enrollment of at least 55% subsidized and 45% private throughout our two schools.

2. Children of current full-time SOMACC employees

3. Siblings of current SOMACC students

4. Children whose parent(s) work for CB1, CB2, or CB3 businesses in the Yerba Buena Gardens project area (for YBG CDC waitlist only). Employment verification is required.

A priority family is still not guaranteed enrollment and will only be offered a spot if they are eligible for the classroom opening and both SOMACC and the family are a good fit. Siblings of current students may enroll if their families are in good standing with the school.

We thoroughly review applications as well as consider a variety of factors such as age and development, application date, preferred start date, learning style, social skills, classroom needs and dynamics, and a concern for gender balance and student diversity. We also assess the compatibility of potential families with SOMACC in terms of mission, values, and philosophies.

Specific populations are given priority enrollment consideration.

No. Each child requires a separate application form and a $100.00 non-refundable and non-transferable application fee.

An email confirmation will be sent to the parents to confirm receipt of the application form and fee, as well as to notify you if your application is incomplete. A response containing the required information is required to complete your application.

Your application date will also be noted in the email confirmation for completed applications.

If you submitted an application and have not received a confirmation email within a week, please contact Joy Wi at joy@somacc.org.

All applications and fees are non-refundable and non-transferable.

The application date is the day we received your COMPLETED application form along with the required application fee. It is one of the important factors considered in determining your admission consideration precedence.

To avoid delays in your application process, please complete the application legibly and answer all questions.

SOMACC is open all year (August through July). Our enrollment process is set up so that the majority of new students begin in August each year, when the pre-k children transition to kindergarten and the remaining children move "up" to their new rooms.

Because we are open all year, we have rolling admissions. If spots become available at other periods of the year, we admit children from our internal waitlist or from the county-wide waitlist. It is unknown how frequently this occurs and in what age group. The number of openings changes from year to year.

You will remain on the waitlist without paying any further fees unless you request removal, you do not respond to our communication attempts, or your child is already too old for the programs you applied for.

We will send you an email every now and then to check in. You must respond to this email within the specified time limit to either reconfirm your interest in remaining on the waitlist or to inform us that you are no longer interested. You must also notify us if any changes have occurred in the information you provided since your application.

If we do not hear from you or are unable to contact you, your child's application will be removed from the waitlist. Please ensure your contact information is always up to date.

If you have already been removed off the waitlist and want to be reinstated, you must reapply.

If you selected the other programs when you applied, your application will automatically roll over to the next program that your child qualifies for based on his/her age. Your application date stays the same.

If you only selected one program and your child reaches the program's age limit, your application will be removed from the waitlist.

We recommend that you select all of the programs on the application form (if applicable) in order to have a higher chance of being considered for admission as your child grows older while on the waitlist.

You may receive offers, notifications, and/or check-ins throughout the school year. It is very important to respond quickly should a notice be received, especially about an opening or your continued interest in joining SOMACC.

If you do not respond within the specified timeframe or we are unable to contact you, we will assume that you are no longer interested or that you are no longer within the SOMACC/San Francisco area. Your application will be removed from the waitlist if this occurs. This means that you will no longer be contacted regarding available spaces.

If you have already been removed off the waitlist and want to be reinstated, you must reapply.

It is your responsibility to keep your contact information and other information provided on your application up to date with SOMACC (e.g. child's date of birth, parents' contact and employment information, child’s current care, and etc.). Outdated information or changes in your application could affect your eligibility and chances of enrollment, and you may be removed from the waiting list as a result.

If you declined an enrollment offer, you may still remain on the waitlist with a new desired start date. We cannot, however, reserve the space for you unless it is paid for. We also cannot guarantee that a space will be available for you later.

Flexibility is key! It is unusual to find an opening that exactly matches your desired school or start date. When completing an application form, make sure you check all of the programs (if applicable) and/or schools. If you are invited to a dialogue and school visit, and/or you are offered admission, you should accept it right away because there is no assurance that a space will become available for you again in the future.

You are welcome to contact us every 6 to 12 months to express your continued interest and/or to update your application.

Frequent phone calls and/or emails will not get you into SOMACC faster. Regardless of how often you communicate with SOMACC, there is a protocol that we follow. The intent is to be as fair as possible while adhering to priority policies, recognizing family needs, and keeping our schools fully enrolled.

For more accurate information, please direct your questions to the following individuals:

• Joy Wi, joy@somacc.org
(For private waitlist and enrollment)

• Rabiya Shaikh, rabiya@somacc.org
(For subsidized waitlist and enrollment)