The Enrollment Process at Port of Los Angeles High School

A former attorney who focused on environmental and maritime law, Nick Tonsich serves as the president and CEO of both Ocean Terminal Services, Inc. and Clean Air Engineering-Maritime, Inc. The former president of the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners, Nick Tonsich also served on the board of trustees for the Port of Los Angeles High School (POLAHS) for several years.

An independent charter high school, Port of Los Angeles High School provides 950 students with a tuition-free education for grades nine through 12. Students are welcome to enroll as either prospective ninth graders or transfer students depending on availability for each year. 

For prospective ninth graders, a lottery form must be sent in between January and February before a student is eligible for enrollment. These prospective students are given a number and, if lottery forms exceed the number of openings, POLAHS conducts a random drawing. 

Once a student has been selected for enrollment through this system, the school requests additional information to ensure they are a good fit. Students who were not selected are placed on a waiting list according to their lottery number and may be able to enroll at a later date if a space opens up.
Meanwhile, transfer students are all selected through a lottery system as well. These students are entered into a student lottery based on their grade level. The lottery determines their wait-list position and POLAHS enrolls them when space is available.