Cincinnati Public Schools families have until Nov. 30 to apply in person at their preferred school using a paper form for the 2027-28 school year.

The district's School Selection Process opened Sept. 1 and runs through Nov. 30, according to the CPS school selection page. Families apply through Focus, the district's Student Information System (SIS), to request a high school, middle school, junior high, magnet school or magnet program.

Applications are not first-come, first-served. Families will receive placement notifications in January 2027.

CPS also released its 2026-27 All-Schools Guide, available in English and Spanish on the district's website. The guide covers programs across 66 schools serving more than 34,000 students, with options spanning Montessori, STEM, arts, world languages and career pathways.

Kilgour, Withrow earn top marks

Two schools familiar to east-side families earned standout marks on Ohio's 2025-26 School Report Card, released in a Sept. 15 district announcement.

Kilgour School, a K-6 campus at 1339 Herschel Ave. in Mount Lookout, was one of just four CPS schools to earn five stars overall, the highest rating possible. Withrow University High School, at 2488 Madison Road, jumped from 2.5 to 3.5 stars overall and leaped from two to five stars in Progress, a measure of how much students learn during the year. Withrow also improved its Achievement score by 11.4 percentage points.

Superintendent Shauna Murphy called the results "powerful momentum" in the September announcement, noting CPS broke through to three stars overall while students made a two-star leap in Progress and career-tech earned 4.5 stars across the district.

How to apply

All applications must be submitted online through Focus. Current CPS students should not complete a new registration but need to confirm their student is linked to a parent or guardian Focus account. New students must complete the online registration through a parent or guardian account.

Siblings get priority for magnet schools but must still apply through Focus during the selection window.

Sixth graders enrolled at a CPS Montessori elementary school who want to attend Clark Montessori High School or James N. Gamble Montessori High School are automatically entered into the process based on their home address.

Families without computer access can visit any CPS school or the Customer Care Centralized Enrollment Center at 2651 Burnet Ave. for help with the online application. The center can also be reached at 513-363-0123.

Students who live outside the CPS district boundaries can apply during a separate Open Enrollment period, Feb. 1-28, 2027.