Lawrence Family Development Charter School

ENROLLMENT POLICY

Lawrence Family Development Charter School is a public school operating under a charter/license granted by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Admission to the school is open to all eligible students who are residents of the City of Lawrence in grades K-1 through grade 8.

LFDCS does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, creed, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, mental or physical disability, special needs, proficiency in English, or prior academic achievement when recruiting or admitting students.

LFDCS accepts applications throughout the year in anticipation of a public lottery to be held between March 1st and March 15th each year on a date to be announced. The school specifically publicizes its application process, application deadline and date of lottery in January of each year. It is publicized in local newspapers, on local radio programs, in a notice to all current families, and in a flyer or poster at local businesses and organizations. If school is cancelled on the determined date, it will be held on the following school day. Applications received beyond the assigned deadline for the annual lottery will be placed in a file for subsequent lottery drawings to be held in June, September and December.

The LFDCS lottery is open to the public. Student names, by grade level, are entered based on completed applications signed by a parent or legal guardian.

The enrollment process is as follows:

A public chart lists each grade level at the school (K-1 – Grade 8). If an applicant is the sibling of a student currently attending LFDCS, a card with the student’s name, address, and sibling is posted for available slots. Once all siblings of current students are posted, the names of children without siblings are pulled and posted, in order, until all current openings for that grade are filled. Once all openings for a grade are filled, all remaining names are pulled, in order, creating a waiting list for that grade. New applications with sibling preference will be drawn first for wait list positions and placed at the bottom of the current sibling wait list for that grade. LFDCS will keep its wait list from one year to the next and enroll students from the wait list in each school year prior to accepting new applicants. Students accepted from the wait list are notified by telephone and in writing. If a letter is returned by the post office without sufficient forwarding information, a visit will be made to your last known address; the school will then go to the next student.

For Students Entering K-1
Once a student is accepted through the lottery, that student must finalize acceptance procedures in order to be officially accepted into the school. Students entering Kindergarten-1 must also complete a health and readiness screening.

All parents of students accepted at LFDCS must attend an informational meeting with the Principal or other administrator to discuss the school’s mission, its expectations for student attendance, school policies, and to sign that they understand and support these policies.
 

Forms will be available to download after January 1, 2011.