School Boundaries at Monte
Montesano School District covers about 380 square miles of Grays Harbor County. If you live inside the district boundary, your student attends Monte schools. We have three buildings, and which one your student attends is set by grade, not by neighborhood — there are no separate elementary attendance zones inside the district.
This page tells you how that works, what proves where you live, what to do if you're moving in or out, and what happens in special situations like unstable housing, foster care placement, or shared custody.
How students are assigned to schools
Every Monte student attends the school that matches their grade. There is no in-district choice between Beacon and Simpson — they serve different grade bands of the same district.
Beacon Elementary — PreK through grade 2
- 1717 Beacon Ave East, Montesano
- Phone: (360) 249-4528
- Start and end times: [TK — confirm with Beacon office]
Simpson Elementary — grades 3 through 6
- 519 W. Simpson Avenue, Montesano
- Phone: (360) 249-4331
- Start and end times: 8:20 AM to 2:40 PM (Pacific)
Montesano Junior/Senior High School — grades 7 through 12
- 303 N. Church Street, Montesano
- Phone: (360) 249-4041
- Start and end times: [TK — confirm with MJSHS office]
Students move between buildings on a normal schedule: a student finishing grade 2 at Beacon enters grade 3 at Simpson the next fall. A student finishing grade 6 at Simpson enters grade 7 at MJSHS the next fall. The transitions are managed by the receiving school — you don't have to re-enroll.
Am I inside the Monte boundary?
If you live anywhere inside the Montesano School District boundary in Grays Harbor County, your student is a Monte resident. The district's boundary follows the lines drawn by the Grays Harbor County Assessor and certified by the State Board of Education.
The fastest way to confirm is to call the District Office at (360) 249-3942 with your address. We'll check the parcel record and tell you in under a minute. You can also stop by 502 E. Spruce Avenue in Montesano during business hours and we'll look it up at the counter.
If your home is near the edge of the district — out past Wynoochee Valley, along the river, on a property that straddles a boundary line — we'll pull the parcel record together with you so there's no surprise on the first day of school.
What documents prove where you live
When you enroll a student, we'll ask for proof of residency. Any one of the following is enough on its own:
- A current signed lease or rental agreement showing your name and address
- A current mortgage statement or closing disclosure
- A current utility bill (electric, water, gas) issued within the last 60 days, in your name, at the address
- A property tax statement for the current year
- A signed letter from a landlord on letterhead or with contact information, plus one of the items above
If none of those fit your situation — you've just moved in, you're staying with family, your name isn't yet on the utility account — call us. We don't turn families away because the paperwork doesn't line up on day one. We'll work through it with you.
We never copy or keep your bank statements, pay stubs, or documents containing sensitive personal information beyond what's needed to confirm the address. Residency documents are kept in your student's enrollment file and are not shared outside the district except as required by law.
I'm moving INTO the district
Welcome. Start at /registration for the full new-family enrollment packet. The short version:
- Confirm you're inside the boundary using the lookup above.
- Gather your residency document, your student's birth certificate or passport, immunization records, and any prior school records you can get.
- Submit the new-student enrollment forms (online or at the District Office).
- The building secretary at the school matching your student's grade will reach out to schedule placement.
If you're moving in mid-year, your student can usually start the next school day. We don't make families wait weeks while paperwork catches up.
I'm moving WITHIN the district
If you're staying inside the Monte boundary but changing addresses — moving from one street to another, downsizing, moving in with family — let us know. Call the District Office at (360) 249-3942 or update your address through the school's front office.
You'll bring an updated proof-of-residency document, but your student keeps attending the same school. The only time a within- district move changes which building your student attends is at the natural grade-band transition (Beacon to Simpson at grade 3, Simpson to MJSHS at grade 7), which would happen on schedule regardless.
Address changes affect bus routes — see /departments/transportation so your student doesn't end up at the wrong stop.
Choice Transfer IN — out-of-district family wants Monte
If you live in a different Washington school district but want your student to attend Monte, you'll apply through the state's Choice Transfer process. This is governed by RCW 28A.225.220 and RCW 28A.225.225 and is run through OSPI's online portal.
How to apply
- Go to the OSPI Choice Transfer Request Portal at eds.ospi.k12.wa.us/ChoiceTransferRequest and create a parent account (you'll need an active email address).
- Submit the request from your resident district's side — that's the district where you live, not Monte. The portal asks for your student's information, your home address, and the receiving district (Monte).
- Your resident district reviews the release first. Most districts release in 45 calendar days or less.
- Monte then reviews the request as the receiving district. We look at space at your student's grade level, whether your student has a behavior or attendance pattern that would make the transfer unworkable, and any program needs.
- You get a decision through the same portal.
What Monte considers
We accept choice transfers when space is available at the grade level and the family understands the conditions of the transfer. Transportation across district lines is the family's responsibility — Monte buses run inside the Monte boundary only.
If your transfer is denied, you have a right to appeal to OSPI under RCW 28A.225.230. The portal walks you through that step.
If you'd rather start with a phone call
Call the District Office at (360) 249-3942 and ask for enrollment. We'll talk through whether a choice transfer makes sense for your family before you start the portal application.
Choice Transfer OUT — Monte family wants another district
If you live in Monte but want your student to attend school in another Washington district, the process runs through the same OSPI portal — but you start it from the Monte side.
- Go to eds.ospi.k12.wa.us/ChoiceTransferRequest and create a parent account.
- Submit a release request listing your student, your address, and the receiving district.
- Monte reviews the release. Under Washington law, we'll release the student unless there's a specific, documented reason not to — and Monte's practice is to release whenever it's right for the family.
- The receiving district then makes its own acceptance decision.
Common receiving districts for Monte families: Elma, Aberdeen, Cosmopolis, Hoquiam, Ocosta, and Mary M. Knight (Satsop). Each has its own enrollment process on top of the choice transfer.
You can call the District Office at (360) 249-3942 with questions before you start the portal — releases are routine and we'd rather help you through it than have you guess.
Unstable housing — McKinney-Vento
If your family is currently without a permanent address — staying in a motel, doubled up with another family, in a shelter, in a vehicle, or in any temporary or inadequate housing — your student has rights under the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. The most important ones:
- Immediate enrollment. Your student starts school right away, even if you don't yet have the typical residency documents, birth certificate, or immunization records. The school works with you to gather those after enrollment, not before.
- School of origin. If your housing situation moved you out of a school's attendance area, your student has the right to stay at the school they were attending when the housing change happened, when it's in their best interest. Monte covers the transportation when school-of-origin applies.
- Full participation. McKinney-Vento students have equal access to academic programs, special education services, free meals, and extracurriculars.
See /mckinney-vento for the full set of rights and the contact for the district's McKinney-Vento Liaison. You don't have to identify yourself as homeless to enroll — but telling us means we can connect your family to support faster.
Foster care placement
Students in foster care have rights to school stability under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and Washington state law:
- Immediate enrollment in their school of origin or the geographically appropriate school, without waiting for records to transfer.
- School of origin stays the same when a foster placement changes, when it's in the student's best interest. Monte collaborates with DCYF, the placing agency, and the educational decision-maker on the best-interest determination.
- Transportation is provided when school-of-origin applies, coordinated between Monte, the placing agency, and (where needed) the receiving district.
See /foster-care for the foster-care point of contact and a fuller explanation of how Monte coordinates with caseworkers, caregivers, and the previous school district.
Special situations
Joint custody or shared parenting
When parents live in different households — and one is inside the Monte boundary, one is outside — Washington practice is that the student is a resident of the district where they spend the majority of overnight time, generally at least four nights per week. If overnight time is genuinely split 50/50, the parents pick the residency, and that selection is documented in the enrollment file.
If the family's situation changes mid-year, contact the District Office. We don't require a court order to update residency, but a parenting plan or court order does help us resolve ambiguity if there's a dispute between parents.
Mid-year address changes
If you change addresses during the school year, let the school front office know within 10 school days. Bring an updated residency document. Your student doesn't change schools mid-year because of a within-district move unless you and the principal agree it's the right call for the student.
Out-of-state move
If you're leaving Washington, contact the school office so we can withdraw your student cleanly and forward records to the new school. We can transmit transcripts and IEP/504 records securely once we have the receiving school's contact information.
Address is disputed or unclear
If two parents disagree about which address is the student's residence, or if a third party (a relative, a guardian without formal custody, a family friend) is enrolling a student, contact the District Office. The Superintendent makes the final residency determination, and that determination can be appealed to the School Board.
We won't unenroll a student already attending while a dispute is worked out — we keep the student in class and resolve the paperwork around them.
False residency claims
Enrolling a student using a Monte address when the family actually lives outside the district — using a relative's address or an unoccupied property to gain access to Monte schools — is a serious matter under RCW 28A.225.330. The district may withdraw the student, recover the costs of the school days attended, and refer the matter for prosecution. If you're not sure whether your situation qualifies, ask us first — we'd much rather work through it upfront than have it surface later.
Bus routes and transportation
Within the Monte boundary, busing is provided for students who live beyond walking distance. Routes are set annually by the Transportation Department and adjusted as enrollment shifts.
Cross-district transfers are the family's responsibility — Monte buses do not cross the district boundary line.
See /departments/transportation for route maps, stop times, the inclement-weather route variations, and the transportation director's contact.
How boundaries can change
Monte's district boundary itself rarely changes — it's set by the County Assessor and the State Board of Education. The grade-band assignment between Beacon, Simpson, and MJSHS is a Board policy, not a state line.
If the Board ever considers changing how grades are split between buildings (for example, because of an enrollment shift or a building project), the change goes through:
- A staff recommendation to the Board, with the rationale and the projected effect on each school's enrollment.
- A public discussion at a regular Board meeting (4th Thursday monthly).
- Public comment, posted at least one full meeting cycle ahead of the vote.
- A Board vote, which becomes effective at the start of the following school year unless a different effective date is adopted.
Any boundary or grade-band change is announced on this page and through the district's normal communications channels at least one full school year before it takes effect, so families can plan.
When things don't feel right
If you believe your student was treated unfairly during enrollment or assignment — denied immediate enrollment when McKinney-Vento or foster-care rules should have applied, asked for documents the district doesn't actually require, told the student couldn't attend without a basis you can identify — see /citizen-complaint for the district's formal complaint process, or /section-504 if disability accommodations are part of the concern. You can also reach the District Office directly at (360) 249-3942 or community@monteschools.org.
You will not be retaliated against for raising a concern. Filing a question or a complaint about how enrollment was handled does not affect your student's standing at Monte.
Need this in another language?
This page is published in English. If you'd like this information in another language, or if you need an interpreter for a meeting, phone call, or document, please contact:
Phone: (360) 249-3942 Email: community@monteschools.org
We arrange interpretation at no cost to families. The Washington Education Ombuds also offers phone interpretation in 150+ languages and can help you navigate enrollment questions — reach them at 1-866-297-2597 or oeoinfo@gov.wa.gov.
How this page is updated
Contact information, school addresses, schedules, and the OSPI portal URL on this page are reviewed annually by August 15, matching the district's start-of-school readiness review. If you spot something out of date — a phone number that no longer reaches the right office, a broken link, a schedule that changed at one of the schools — please email community@monteschools.org so we can fix it within one business day.