NOLA-PS manages the unified enrollment process for all schools.

Families complete BOTH the NOLA-PS application AND the Willow Supplemental Admission Form (SAF) to apply to The Willow School during Main Round. The two forms can be submitted in any order, but both forms must be submitted by January 23, 2026 to apply to Willow in the Main Round.

A) Submit the Willow Supplemental Admission Form (SAF) by January 23, 2026.

Families should complete the Willow Supplemental Admission Form (SAF) as early as possible. You only complete this form once.

• Log into the system. If it is your first time applying, sign up and create your family profile. If you already have an account, log in to access the application.

• Share basic applicant information.

• Express your preferences for an assessment date.

• Share testing accommodations information, if applicable. Learn more on the eligibility and assessment calendar pages.

• Complete the Arts Interest Profile as a component of the application.

• Complete grade-specific components:

  • K Applicants: Upload student birth certificate

  • K-2 Grade Applicants: Watch the virtual Curriculum Meeting and complete the Parent Questionnaire as a component of the application.

  • 3-12 Grade Applicants: Upload report cards for the Willow SAF. Families will have until January 30, 2026 to submit report cards to the Willow School admissions team if not uploaded as a component of the application. Applicants may submit a final 2024-2025 report card and/or mid-year 2025-2026 report card (one semester, one trimester, or two quarters)

B) Submit the NOLA-PS Application between November 3, 2025 and January 23, 2026.

Families should complete the NOLA-PS Common Application Process as early as possible. Learn more about the application process and access the application at www.enrollnolaps.com. The NOLA-PS application will become available on November 4, 2024.

• Log into the New Orleans Public School Enrollment Portal (nola.ps/apply). If it is your first time applying, sign up and create your family profile. If you already have an account, log in to access the application.

• Rank The Willow School as one of your top choices. Rankings should reflect your school preferences. For example, your top preference should be ranked first.

• Be sure to submit your NOLA-PS application at www.enrollnolaps.com. You should receive a confirmation email after you submit.

Please Note: Per NOLA-PS policy, if you do not complete the NOLA-PS Main Round application and include Willow on your school list, your child cannot be matched to The Willow School, even if they meet the eligibility criteria.

After completing the Willow Supplemental Admission Form (SAF), each child is assigned a day and time to complete testing at one of our Willow School campuses. Applicants are assigned a date based on their preferences submitted on the SAF. Families will receive details about the assessment logistics via email prior to the test date. See the assessment calendar for this year's dates.

Assessment results are usually available to parents within a week of the assessment.

Please note: Applicants who do not earn sufficient points on the assessment will not be asked to complete the remaining next steps, as it would be impossible to attain the minimum matrix points needed to qualify. Students can earn a maximum of 20 points from the assessment. Learn more on the matrix page.

A matrix score is calculated for each applicant based on their assessment performance (reading and math), arts interest profile (included in the SAF), and grade-specific components (parent/guardian participation for K-2 or GPA for 3-12). Applicants must earn 28 matrix points in order to be eligible for The Willow School for the 2026-2027 school year.

Willow communicates to guardians about their child’s eligibility by email no later than February 13, 2026. All eligible students who completed a NOLA-PS application are included in the NOLA-PS Main Round match process.

NOLA-PS communicates to families if their child has been matched to The Willow School (or any other school) by March 31, 2026.

New Orleans Public Schools (NOLA-PS) is responsible for managing all enrollment, including the Main Round match process. Applicants to The Willow School may have priority in the Main Round match process based on their individual qualifications:

• There is no geographic priority for applicants to The Willow School.

• Economic Disadvantage Priority (K-12): A percentage of available spots are allocated to economically disadvantaged applicants who meet the eligibility criteria. Students whose families receive government assistance such as SNAP, TANF, Medicaid, free or reduced lunch will most likely qualify as economically disadvantaged applicants. Students who are English Language Learners or experiencing homelessness are also eligible under the state's definition of economically disadvantaged. NOLA-PS verifies applicant eligibility for this priority.

• Multiples Priority (K-4 Only): For families with multiples (children from the same birth event or pregnancy), there are special procedures in place during the Main Round match for applicants to grades K-4. If one, but not all, children of a set of multiples concurrently applying to attend school, is matched to a school on their application, the other multiples shall also be matched if they applied to the same set of schools, are eligible and the choices are ranked in the same order. An applicant shall be matched with his or her sibling(s) only if all students have submitted timely, family-linked applications per standard enrollment procedures. The multiples priority applies to grades K-4 only and in the Main Round only.

• Sibling Priority (K Only): For The Willow School, sibling priority applies to kindergarten applicants who have a sibling who is currently enrolled at The Willow School in grades K-11 and who attended, or currently attends, the lower school at Willow. The sibling priority applies to kindergarten applicants only and in the Main Round only.

• Tulane Affiliate Priority (K-12): Applicants who are children of full-time Tulane employees, full-time graduate students, and full-time professional students receive priority to The Willow School. Tulane University verifies eligibility for this priority.

Priorities apply ONLY during the Main Round. There are no priorities in admissions outside of the NOLA-PS Main Round.