Sacramento City Unified’s enrollment process failed my family — and many others | Opinion

I am a proud graduate of public schools and the daughter of a public school teacher. I have always believed in the promise of public education and was committed to sending my children to our local public schools. But after going through Sacramento City Unified School District’s high school enrollment process this year, I’m left disillusioned.

What we experienced was not just confusing, it was dysfunctional. The process left my family stressed, unsupported and ultimately scrambling with limited options. And I know we’re not the only ones.

We entered this process eager to enroll our child in an SCUSD high school. We toured campuses, reviewed program offerings and submitted our school choices. Our child ranked two academically rigorous programs as the top preferences. The first-choice program waitlisted us at number 11.

We were cautiously optimistic. In recent years, even students in the 30s had received offers. By late March, we had moved up to number 1. Then, in early April, the district emailed families warning that enrollment numbers were high and suggesting applying for permits at other schools — but only if we forfeited our waitlist spot. It was an impossible choice: give up the number one spot for a permit that wasn’t guaranteed or stay on the waitlist knowing a call might never come.

When we called for clarification, a staff member reassured us: “It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.” They encouraged us to stay the course. So, we did.

Weeks later, we were blindsided: The waitlisted school told us that even if seats opened, students would not be admitted because of over-enrollment. This was contrary to what we’d been told earlier.

By then, it was too late to pivot. The permit window had closed. We contacted other schools to explore options, but most gave the same response: nothing could be done until the next enrollment cycle in November.

That left us with our home school, Hiram Johnson High School.

We hesitated based not only on what we had heard from trusted educators, but on publicly available data. According to U.S. News & World Report, the school’s proficiency scores are 7% in math, 22% in reading and 12% in science — all well below both district averages (16%, 41% and 25%) and state averages (20%, 50%, 30%).

Only 9% of students at Hiram Johnson have passed an Advanced Placement exam, and their website doesn’t even list which AP courses are offered. Trusted SCUSD educators told us they would not send their own children there.

Still, we tried. We reached out multiple times to Hiram Johnson officials to ask about academic offerings, hoping for reassurance. We never received a reply. That combination of poor performance and lack of communication left us with no confidence our child would receive a strong education there.

We believe in public education. But SCUSD made it nearly impossible to navigate the system with clarity or confidence. The process lacked transparency, communication was inconsistent and families were forced to make major decisions based on incomplete — or worse, inaccurate — information.

Fortunately, my family has the resources to find a school that we believe will meet our child’s needs. I recognize that many families do not, and they become victims of this broken system. The bottom line is this: The SCUSD system failed him. And it failed us.

SCUSD must urgently improve transparency and consistency in enrollment policies; ensure waitlist communication aligns with actual practice; and address disparities in academic quality across schools.

We share our experience not to complain, but because we know other families are navigating similar barriers. Public education only works when families can trust it. And right now, that trust is deeply eroded. Unless SCUSD rebuilds transparency and accountability, more families will continue to leave — not because they have lost faith in public education, but because the system itself is pushing them away.

Stephany Sanchez lives in Sacramento with her husband and their three boys in high school, middle school and elementary school. She is a primary care physician and medical educator at UC Davis.