San Mateo Foster City School District: A Guide for Home Buyers

The short answer

The schools

Beach Park is Foster City's newest elementary school. It opened in the 2020-21 school year and added one required registration grade a year, so as of 2026-27 every grade from TK to 5th is assigned there for families in its boundary. A kindergartner with an older sibling already at Audubon or Foster City Elementary can attend the sibling's school without a transfer.

How school assignment works

The Board of Trustees sets an attendance area for each neighborhood school. Put the exact address of any home you are considering into the district's My School Locator. The district calls that result a preliminary assignment, and the listing's school field is not always right.

The part many buyers miss: living in the attendance area gives you first priority, not a guaranteed seat, and that priority applies when you register during the New Student Priority Registration window. If classes are already full when you register, the Enrollment Office assigns your child to a school with space for the rest of the year. The next year your child has priority to return to the assigned school, or you can request a transfer to stay.

1. 1Look up the addressUse My School Locator for the exact address, not the zip code.
2. 2Register in the priority windowFor 2027-28 it runs from noon on November 30, 2026 to 4:00 pm on January 8, 2027.
3. 3Moving mid year?Call the Enrollment Office at 650-312-7345 about space in your child's grade.

Magnet and immersion programs

SMFCSD's district-wide magnet programs have no attendance area, so no home "comes with" a magnet seat. They are:

• College Park Elementary, Mandarin immersion for K to 5, which continues at Bayside Academy for 6th to 8th grade.
• Fiesta Gardens International School, Spanish and English immersion, with a continuation program at Abbott Middle School.
• North Shoreview Montessori and Parkside Montessori, both TK to 8th grade.

To apply, submit an intradistrict transfer request with up to two choices. For 2027-28 the lottery window matches the registration window (November 30, 2026 to January 8, 2027), results are emailed January 29, 2027, and later requests go on the waitlist in the order received. A student new to the district must first register at the school assigned to their address. Families who live in a magnet school's historic attendance area get neighborhood priority for TK and kindergarten when they list it as their first choice, and students entering the immersion or Montessori programs in later grades are assessed first.

Enrolling after you move

Registration is online, and the school office verifies your documents. The district asks for:

• Proof of your child's age, such as a certified birth certificate or passport.
• Your child's up to date immunization record.
• A current photo ID for the parent or guardian.
• One current proof of residency, such as a property tax bill, lease, homeowner's insurance policy, or a utility bill dated within the past 60 days.

One rule that matters for buyers: your child must physically live with you inside the district when you register. Owning property in the district is not enough on its own, so an investment purchase or a home you will not move into yet does not establish residency.

High school: San Mateo Union High School District

SMFCSD ends at 8th grade. High school is run by the San Mateo Union High School District, a separate district that also serves Burlingame, Hillsborough, Millbrae and other nearby cities. Aragon, Hillsdale and San Mateo High are in San Mateo, and Foster City has no high school campus of its own. Assignment is by address; confirm it with the district's school locator.

Comparing towns? Burlingame has its own K to 8 district, covered in my Burlingame School District guide, and Burlingame vs San Mateo puts the two cities side by side.

School taxes that come with the home

San Mateo and Foster City voters have approved local money for these schools, and it appears on the property tax bill. As of November 2026:

Because bonds are charged on assessed value, a new buyer's share is based on the purchase price. Ask your escrow officer for the property's last tax bill so you can see each line item.

San Mateo and Foster City neighborhoods to explore

These neighborhoods map to different schools, so check each address. In San Mateo: 19th Avenue Park, Aragon, Bay Meadows, Baywood, Beresford Park, Downtown, Fiesta Gardens, Hayward Park, Hillsdale, Lakeshore, Laurelwood, North Shoreview, Parkside, San Mateo Highlands, San Mateo Park, Sugarloaf, and Sunnybrae. Two names to note: the Fiesta Gardens and North Shoreview neighborhoods share names with magnet schools, but living there gives TK and kindergarten neighborhood priority in the lottery, not an automatic seat.

In Foster City: Bay Vista, Carmel Village, Dolphin Bay, Harbor Side, Isle Cove, Marina Point, Metro Center, Sea Colony, The Islands, Treasure Isle, and Vintage Park. Or browse all neighborhoods.

Frequently asked questions