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Admissions Policy


N.E.W. Academy Schools are open to any school-aged resident of the State of California. N.E.W. Academy Schools will not charge students tuition and will not discriminate basis of ethnicity, national origin, gender, or disability. N.E.W. Academy Schools determine admission by a public random drawing, if the number of pupils who wish to attend the school exceeds the school capacity. Preference shall be extended to pupils who currently attend the N.E.W. Academy Schools.

Admission Eligibility and Requirements

In order to be eligible for enrollment in the N.E.W. Academy Schools, students must meet the following eligibility requirements:

  • All students must have been fully immunized and present the appropriate health examination record in accordance with the California Health and Safety Code.
  • If a student will turn five years of age after December 2 during the school year, that student may be eligible for Transitional Kindergarten (TK) admission on a case by case basis at the discretion of the Principal.
  • All students shall reside in the State of California.
  • A student that has been previously expelled from the School or another educational institution may be admitted to the school at the discretion of the governing board on a case-by-case basis.

In order to ensure that all students will be placed appropriately and benefit fully from the education program, the following pre-admission procedures will be enforced. Failure to comply with any of these procedures will result in denial of admission. An admitted student will be removed from the School if failure to comply with these procedures is discovered after admission has been granted.

All eligible students must meet the following requirements:

A. Application of Interest

Complete and return the Enrollment Interest Form to our office by the last day of open enrollment to ensure a spot in the single public random lottery process. Verify dates of open enrollment with N.E.W. Academy Schools.

B. Application of Admission

When the student has been accepted to a N.E.W. Academy School, we will ask you to come to our office to complete our enrollment packet.

The enrollment packet shall include, but is not limited to, the following materials:

  • Complete enrollment form.
  • Birth certificate.
  • Immunization record.
  • PAR/exit paperwork from previous school.
  • Latest report card.
  • Indication of whether the student may require special education or related services ( IEP or 504, if applicable).
  • Student’s home language survey and whether the student may be an English language learner.
  • Authorization for the School to request and receive student records from all schools the student has previously attended or is currently attending.
  • Proof of health examinations and oral examination required by the Health and Safety Code.
  • Utility Bill (proof of residence)
  • Court paperwork (if applicable)
  • CAASP Testing results from the previous year (if applicable)
  • GATE (advanced learning/ if applicable)
  • Green medical form (1st grade only)

Social Security Numbers are not required

Once these materials are completed, your enrollment paperwork will be reviewed by our Admissions department for completeness before the student will be considered for admission.

Enrollment Process and Guidelines

There will be an open enrollment period each year, which will be advertised within each N.E.W. Academy School so that all interested students may have an equal opportunity to apply for admission. The deadline for accepting interest form applications will be clearly stated. The process for enrollment proceeds as follows, (not necessarily in the exact order provided):

  • The School will determine class size/configuration for the school year;
  • The School will solicit from current students their intention to return the following year;
  • The school will solicit from parents/guardians of current students their intention to apply for admission for siblings of current students;
  • The School will design program informational materials;
  • The School will plan one or more Information Orientation Meetings (attendance at which is mandatory for admission);
  • The School will actively recruit students throughout the community;
  • The School will schedule School Tours during open enrollment
  • The School will establish and hold an open enrollment period so that all interested student may have an equal opportunity to apply for admission;
  • The School will determine the number of returning students at each level;
  • The School will determine the number of new students at each level;
  • The School will hold a random public drawing, if necessary;
  • The School will notify the families of the applicants who are accepted and rejected;
  • Non-accepted families will be placed on the waitlist in the order in which the students are drawn from the random public drawing. Children who complete the application process after the published deadline will be added to the wait list if it already exists.

A wait list is maintained from year to year. Once on the wait list, a student would remain in that position until he/she is offered a spot in the school or expresses no further interest. When our Waiting List opens up you will be contacted directly by our office.

If families from the wait list are offered a position, they must accept that position within five business days or if they decline or fail to respond within three business days they may be removed from the wait list or placed at the bottom of the wait list if they desire.

Preferences

In the event that there are more students applying for admission than available space, preferences shall be extended in the following order of priority:

  • Pupils currently attending the School;
  • Siblings of students currently enrolled in the School;
  • Students residing at the New Economics for Women housing;
  • Students of staff members employed by N.E.W. Academy Schools.

Single Public Random Lottery

A lottery is a random selection process by which applicants are admitted to the charter school.

Legislation requires a charter school to hold one lottery that provides qualified students with an equal opportunity to attend the school.

Under California state law, enrollment to N.E.W. Academy Schools is governed by a Public Random Drawing (PRD). N.E.W. Academy Schools shall conduct a single PRD for admission to the school for the following academic year. In order to be part of the PRD, a family must complete the interest form application and submit it to the school in a timely manner. Each completed application will be assigned a number, and before the drawing, each applicant will be placed into a container. During the PRD, names will be drawn out of the container at random by a person other than a staff member. At the PRD, the names drawn out of the container at random are recorded, and the students will be admitted to the school in that order until all available spaces are filled. Those students who do not get picked in the PRD for the available spaces will be placed on a waiting list.