Re-enrollment is the process through which current students and families formally commit to returning for the next academic year. For charter and private schools, re-enrollment serves as both operational necessity (enabling accurate budget and staffing projections) and retention moment of truth (families explicitly decide whether to stay or explore alternatives).

Traditional re-enrollment involves schools sending contracts or commitment forms in winter/spring asking families to confirm their intent to return. Schools typically set deadlines to enable planning: knowing by March which students return allows hiring, scheduling, and budget decisions for the following fall. Some schools incentivize early commitment through tuition discounts or enrollment priority for siblings.

Increasingly, schools implement "continuous enrollment" contracts that assume families return annually unless they actively withdraw. This approach reduces friction—families default to staying rather than actively deciding each year whether to return. Research shows continuous enrollment increases retention slightly by making departure rather than return the active choice requiring effort.

Re-enrollment rates provide critical retention metrics. Schools tracking when families commit can identify concerning patterns: slow re-enrollment pace may signal dissatisfaction, families waiting to commit may be exploring alternatives, and families not responding may have already decided to leave. Proactive outreach to uncommitted families in January-February—asking about concerns, addressing issues—can retain families who might otherwise leave.

For schools using pulse surveys, declining satisfaction or belonging scores during re-enrollment season serve as early warnings enabling intervention before families submit withdrawal notices.