Lottery and Admissions Policy

Purpose

The goal of this policy is to state that student admissions will occur in a fair and consistent way that does not offer priority to any student except those specifically noted in North Carolina law.

The School Board is a nonprofit and operates tuition-free charter schools authorized by the State of North Carolina. As a charter school, the school is open to all students who would otherwise qualify for enrollment in North Carolina public schools. The school will not discriminate against any student on the basis of ethnicity, national origin, gender, or disability.

Application process

No criteria for admission will be used except the completed application. The application may be completed online through the school’s website unless a family is unable to access the site, in which case a paper application is provided on request. The application includes the student’s name, parent or guardian names, phone number and email of the parent or guardian, current grade level, the student’s date of birth, the name of any siblings currently enrolled at the school, and a declaration of the student’s residence in the State of North Carolina. All applications must be complete to be considered received, and applications are time-stamped on receipt. The school may refuse to admit any student who has been expelled from another educational institution or who is in the process of being expelled.

Applications may be submitted during the open enrollment period before the start of each school year. Open enrollment lasts no less than 30 days, and the dates are posted on the school’s website and at the front office. At the close of open enrollment, the school determines whether a lottery is necessary based on the number of applications received for each grade level. If the number of applications is less than or equal to the capacity for a grade level, all applicants for that grade are offered enrollment in accordance with North Carolina General Statutes Chapter 115C, Article 25.

Grade level for the lottery application

Parents may not choose which grade they would like their child enrolled in for the coming year. They must enter the actual current grade, and the student is entered into the lottery for the next grade level. Parents wishing to have their child considered for retention must still submit their student for the subsequent grade level. If the student’s current school recommends retention and has it documented in the student’s file, the student is moved to the appropriate grade if admitted and retains enrollment status. If the student is on the waitlist when the retention decision is made, the student is moved to the correct grade level and placed on that grade’s waitlist based on the number pulled during the lottery.

Returning students

Current students are not required to re-enroll each year. They are asked to sign a non-binding letter of intent for the coming year during the current school year.

Weighted lottery

The school’s lottery is weighted toward children who are considered economically disadvantaged, up to 40 percent of the total student population. Economically disadvantaged is defined as meeting the current year Federal Income Eligibility Guidelines.

Families are offered the opportunity to have their application weighted in the lottery by completing an optional weighted lottery application form. The form is clearly labeled as optional, and choosing not to provide the requested information does not negatively affect the student’s application. The form includes the statement: “No specific information from your weighted lottery application will be obtained beyond eligibility status, and the information will not be retained.”

Families completing the optional form may be asked to give consent for the school to verify their status as economically disadvantaged. Verification is based on the current year Federal Income Eligibility Guidelines and does not take place until the student has been enrolled through selection in the weighted lottery. Students who submit the optional form are randomly selected to reach the 40 percent target. Once the target is met, all remaining lottery entries have equal weighting. If a student is selected through the weighted lottery, the family may be asked to provide supporting documentation during enrollment. If the family cannot provide it, the student is placed on the general waiting list.

Enrollment priorities

The school follows all rules and regulations regarding enrollment priority required by North Carolina law. The following groups have enrollment priority as space permits in each grade:

• Children and grandchildren of full-time employees of the charter school, of board members, and of persons employed by the education management company (may not exceed 15 percent of the total school population).
• Siblings of currently enrolled students who were admitted to the charter school in the previous year.
• A student who was enrolled in a preschool operated by the charter school in the prior year.
• Siblings who apply to the charter school for admission beginning in the same school year, such as when a sibling was not initially admitted because of grade level capacity.
• A student who was enrolled in another charter school in the State in the previous school year that does not offer the student’s next grade level, where both charter schools have an enrollment articulation agreement or are governed by the same board of directors.
• A student who was enrolled in the charter school in the previous two years but left to participate in an academic study abroad program or a competitive residential program, or because of the vocational opportunities of the student’s parents.
• Students who were enrolled in another charter school in the prior year.

Siblings and multiple-birth siblings are handled according to the charter application and agreements.

Lottery procedures

The lottery is conducted in accordance with applicable North Carolina law and Office of Charter Schools regulations.

Students applying after the open enrollment period

Applications received after open enrollment closes are granted priority on a first-come, first-served basis for the school year for which the lottery was held. For grade levels with a waitlist, late applications are added to the end of the waitlist in the order received.

If seats become available, the parent or guardian of the next student on the waitlist is contacted. Every effort is made to communicate promptly with all accepted families. If a student has accepted enrollment but does not appear in the first two days of school, the school makes reasonable attempts to contact the parents. If there is no response by the third day of school, the school reserves the right to remove the student from the enrollment roster and offer the seat to the next student on the waitlist.

Enrollment documents

Enrollment documents include, but are not limited to:

1. Proof of North Carolina residency
2. Birth certificate
3. Immunization records and the North Carolina Health Assessment

Lottery acceptance depends on the student being within the state age guidelines for the grade specified and having no limiting factors for enrollment under North Carolina General Statutes Chapter 115C, Article 25.