Application Process

If you live in the attendance zone for:

• St. Martin Early STEAM Academy (Grades Pre-K–1), or

• St. Martin STEAM Academy (Grades 2–5),

your child can attend automatically — no application is needed!

Students who live outside the attendance zone are welcome to apply!

• These applicants are selected through a federally approved process designed to support diversity and equal access.

• We use a Majority-to-Minority (M-to-M) model to ensure inclusion and representation from across our community.

• Students eligible for M-to-M transfer (currently Cecilia Primary and Teche Elementary), per district policy, will be granted priority and no student shall be denied due to capacity.

• For students who do not qualify for M-to-M, available space at each grade level is determined annually based on school capacity and enrollment projections that align with the District’s desegregation goals. Seats are filled through a lottery system.

If your child will be entering Pre-K and you live in the school zone:

• You must register through the St. Martin Parish Early Childhood Network before your child can start school.

• This registration is required even if you are zoned for the school.

• Once you have completed this step, then follow the "In Zone" or "Out of Zone" tabs to determine your next step.

If you do not know your zone, you can add your home address here to determine which school you are zoned for.

If you live outside of Saint Martin Parish you are not eligible to apply for the STEAM Academies. The only exception to this are children of certified teaching staff at either of the STEAM Academies who will be considered Tier 2 eligible.

Students who are "Zoned" for the STEAM Academies will be automatically accepted and do not need to apply. You can check your School Zone here.

Tier 1 includes:

• Students who qualify for a Majority-to-Minority (M-to-M) transfer in accordance with District M-to-M policy.
• Siblings of enrolled M-to-M magnet school students returning the following school year and M-to-M families applying together in the same application season.

Tier 2 includes:

• Children of certified teaching staff at St. Martin Early STEAM Academy and St. Martin STEAM Academy.

Tier 3 includes:

• Students who reside outside of the St. Martinville zone and who do not qualify for Tier 1 or Tier 2.

The District will admit one Black student within this tier for each White student admitted within this tier, using a nondiscriminatory and randomized lottery process for each category of Black and White students. For each Black and White student admitted for this tier, the District may admit a non-Black, non-white student.

Note: Tier 3 will only be activated for St. Martin Early STEAM Academy and/or St. Martin STEAM Academy once the District has reached a projected +/- 10% desegregation goal for Tier 3, for the school(s), based on June 1 demographics for each school and inclusion of confirmed Tier 1 and Tier 2 applications/enrollment for the Magnet Academies Program. Additionally, admission under Tier 3 will be denied if it is adverse to desegregation goals at either the sending or receiving schools. Admission is adverse to desegregation goals if acceptance would result in Black student enrollment at either the sending or receiving school exceeding +/-10% of the District-wide actual enrollment of students for that particular grade band.

Siblings of students who are enrolled or admitted through the enrollment process would automatically be given priority within that tier. For example, if a student is attending the magnet academies via M-to-M and their younger sibling becomes old enough to apply for the Early STEAM Academy, this applicant would have priority over other M-to-M applicants. If one sibling was admitted to Tier 1, then their siblings would be immediately given priority to be next considered for admission. Sibling preference applies to students who submit applications by the application deadline. Parents requesting sibling priority must provide documentation to the Magnet Academies office. The District recognizes siblings as any brothers and/or sisters by blood, adoption, marriage, or permanent court-appointed guardianship who reside at the same address.

There are two reasons you may be on a waitlist:

1. You are designated as Tier 3 eligible. 
2. The Magnet Program applications exceeded the capacity of the school.

If Tier 3 is opened, the application selection software will create an automated waitlist process based on priority. Admissions will then be offered to racially matched students on the waitlist as space becomes available. 

Per our Magnet Plan, no M-to-M eligible students will be denied acceptance due to capacity issues, but they may be waitlisted while the District determines how best to accommodate enrollment that exceeds capacity. The District may also expand the schools’ physical buildings or increase the student-to-teacher ratio to accommodate enrollment that exceeds capacity. In the event that a large number of students enroll after the first day of school, requiring a new grade-level section, the District will hire another teacher to accommodate students aligned with the 18-to-one student-teacher ratio. 

In accordance with school board policy, students zoned for either of the magnet schools will receive priority placement upon returning and will not be waitlisted. If a previous magnet student who is not zoned to the school would like to return to one of the magnet schools, parents and/or guardians will need to submit a new application. Students returning after exiting the magnet program will be accepted according to priority tiers. Once a school is at enrollment capacity, all returning students not zoned to the school will be placed on a waitlist.

Parents will be notified by email and a letter will be mailed to the application's home address.

If you wish to withdraw your student from the Magnet Program, you must complete a Withdrawal Form in either school office.