ASPEN COMMUNITY SCHOOL - ACS Enrollment Policy

Aspen Community School

Enrollment Policy

Application Process

Application criteria. To apply for enrollment at ACS a family must do the following:

1. Tour school

2. Interview with Principal

3. Complete and submit enrollment application

4. Provide records from previous school/s if applicable

Application timeframe. Applications must be submitted to ACS no later than the second Friday in April. If a family chooses to re-apply they must do so each year. Applications are not kept on file from year to year. ACS is NOT responsible to remind parents or guardians to apply.

Returning students. ACS sends out reenrollment packets to current students by the first week of March each year. Reenrollment forms must be returned to ACS prior to Spring Break.

Early Childhood Center applicants. As attendees of a private preschool, no preference may be shown in the application process with a public school. These applicants must follow the same process as outlined above.

Special Education applicants. Lotteries will be conducted blind to the special education status of students. All special education student enrollments, however, are conditioned upon, and shall not be considered final until an IEP Team determination that the student can receive a free, appropriate public education (FAPE) at the school.

Enrollment Process

Following enrollment of returning students, should the number of applicants exceed the enrollment openings, a lottery shall be conducted.

The Principal shall determine how many openings are available for each grade level following the enrollment of returning students.

The Principal shall maintain an approximate 50/50 gender balance within each grade.

School enrollment will not exceed 115 FTE as defined by the charter contract with the Aspen School District.

A random lottery process shall be used to select students. The primary lottery will take place by the end of the day on the Monday following the application deadline. Subsequent lotteries will take place throughout the year as needed.

At least one objective witness (not a COMPASS employee or ACS parent) will be present at the primary lottery.

ACS will conduct a separate lottery for each grade, starting with 8^th grade and descending down to Kindergarten.

Early Childhood Center applicants do not receive a lottery preference unless they fit within the priorities listed below. As attendees of a private preschool, no preference may be shown in the enrollment process with a public school.

The following, ranked priorities shall be observed in the lottery:

1. Applicants with at least one parent who is a .75 FTE COMPASS employee, not to exceed 10% of student population.

2. Applicants with a sibling currently enrolled at ACS.

3. Applicants who are residents of the Aspen School District.

4. Applicants who are not residents of the Aspen School District.

In the event of multiple birth (twins, triplets, etc.) applicants, only one name will be entered in the lottery. If that name is selected, their siblings will automatically be selected.

Applicants who are drawn in the primary lottery will be mailed enrollment notification letters no later than the Friday following the lottery, and must accept or decline enrollment by the date set forth in the enrollment notification letter. Applicants may call the school to check lottery results NO SOONER than the Tuesday following the lottery.

Waitlist

Once the lottery is complete and the enrollment roster is finalized, remaining applicants will be placed on a waitlist for the applicable school year only. Applicants must reapply annually. The order of the waitlist will be established for each grade by lottery, based on the same priorities listed above. Should a space become available, the first person on the waitlist will be contacted via phone. From the date of first contact, 5 days will be given to receive a call back. If contact is not made within that time, the next person on the waitlist will be contacted.