All applications are subject to existing waitlists. Discovery Charter School makes offers when and if there is available space in the appropriate grade.

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For questions or to request a paper application, contact Applications at
applications@discoverycharter.org or (219) 983-9800 x 20182

Mail: Discovery Charter School; 800 Canonie Dr. | Porter, IN 46304

Fax: (219) 929-5723

Admissions, Lottery, and Waitlist Policy & Procedures

ADMISSIONS POLICY

Discovery Charter School is a free public school open to all eligible candidates subject to space and staff availability. No student or applicant at Discovery Charter School shall, on the basis of ethnicity, religion, national origin, gender, income level, disabling condition, proficiency in the English language, or athletic ability, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity.

Students residing in the state of Indiana are eligible to attend Discovery Charter School. There are NO in-state geographic boundaries.

A student must be at least five (5) years of age on or before August 1 of the current school year to be eligible for admission into Kindergarten.

Discovery Charter School may give preference to the children of current board members and full-time staff members, but not more than 10% of the student body.

An offer of admission is contingent upon the accuracy of all information provided on the student’s application and throughout the application and admissions process. If the information provided is inaccurate in any material respect, the student’s offer of admission may be revoked.

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements:

The Board of Directors shall establish student entrance requirements which are consistent with Indiana law (IC-20-33-2-7) and sound educational practice and which ensure equitable treatment and proper placement.

Kindergarten

Each child of legal settlement shall be eligible for Kindergarten providing that s/he has attained the age of five (5) on or before August 1st. This requirement also shall apply to children who transfer into Discovery Charter School and who may have attended, but not completed, private or public kindergarten in another locality.

If a student turns six (6) on or before August 1st and has not completed kindergarten s/he will be placed in kindergarten unless otherwise requested by the parent or as otherwise determined in accordance with state law. Although it is not required, the Board strongly recommends that a child has attended an accredited kindergarten program before entering first grade.

First Grade

If a child seeking to enroll in first grade has not attended kindergarten, the Superintendent shall make a determination as to whether the student will enroll in kindergarten or first grade based upon the assessment model found in the administrative guidelines.

New Students

Except as provided in A and B above, a New Student is defined as a student who was not enrolled in an accredited school during the previous year. In such cases, the Superintendent shall make a determination as to what grade the student will enroll in based upon the assessment model found in the administrative guidelines.

Transfer Students

A transfer student is defined as a student who is currently enrolled in an accredited school wishing to transfer to Discovery Charter School upon acceptance of an offer of enrollment. Transfer students will be placed in the appropriate grade based on the previous school’s recommendation. Superintendent shall make final determination.

The Superintendent shall establish administrative guidelines which ensure compliance with State Law, proper documentation of birth as well as a certified copy of any custody order and decree, appropriate screening, placement, and periodic assessment of children in kindergarten and first grade programs, certification that proper immunization is completed or in process, and the prompt transfer of records. Any indication that a student might be a missing child should be reported immediately to the Superintendent who, in turn, shall communicate with the appropriate authorities.

Lottery and Waitlist

LOTTERY

Each year a lottery is conducted for available kindergarten spaces not allocated to siblings of currently enrolled students. All kindergarten applications received are treated in the following two ways:

I.  Applicants with siblings CURRENTLY enrolled at Discovery and applicants that are children of current staff or board members, are automatically offered a space for the current school year.

II.  New applicants to the school, who do not have siblings currently enrolled and are not children of current staff or board members, will participate in a lottery for available space or waitlist position.

III.  Please note that in order to be eligible for the lottery, applications must be received by the deadline established for each year. Applications received after the specified deadline will be added to the bottom of the waitlist.

Prior to the lottery, all students will be assigned a random identification number that will be used for the actual lottery. This number will be provided to the family prior to the lottery. This allows us to maintain the privacy of our families during the process.

The following steps are to be taken during the lottery process:

I.  The students who have siblings CURRENTLY in the school and those that are the children of current staff or board members, will automatically be assigned to a space. (ie. XXXX space #1)

II.  The lottery will take place in the form of the identification numbers being placed in a container that will allow for them to be mixed/shuffled and drawn.

III.  A non-affiliated school representative will draw at random.

IV.  The identification number will be read and assigned to a space (ie. XXXX space # 22)

V.  In the event that a child selected has an UNENROLLED sibling in another grade level, the sibling will be placed on the next available waitlist spot behind waitlisted siblings of students currently enrolled. Note: This may affect overall waitlist status of other students.

VI.  In the event that a household has two students (twin or sibling) in the kindergarten lottery – if one student is selected, the other student will AUTOMATICALLY be given the next space on the lottery list. Note: If a twin is selected for the last available space, we will oversubscribe in one class to accommodate the other twin/sibling. This process will continue until all spaces are full.

VII.  Once the spaces are filled, the lottery process will continue, and students will be placed on the waitlist in the order selected. (ie. XXXX #1 on the waitlist)

AFTER THE LOTTERY

I. Following the lottery, all students selected in the lottery, and those waitlisted will be contacted via e-mail and phone within 1 business day. If a communication is not received within 24 hours of the lottery, it is the family’s responsibility to contact the school.

II. Families will have 5 business days to complete necessary paperwork and turn in all enrollment forms listed on the website in order to reserve their space.

III. IF a family receives a space in the initial lottery, but does NOT meet the aforementioned deadlines, the space will be released and the family will need to REAPPLY for admission and will be placed on the waitlist in the order received.

IV. Vacated spaces will be released to individuals on the waitlist.

V. This process will continue until all classes are full.

VI. It is the responsibility of the family to make sure the school has their correct contact information. If there are any changes to their phone number or email through the enrollment process, they must notify the school office immediately.

FROM WAITLIST

I.  When a space becomes available, the family will be contacted via e-mail first and then by phone.

II.   In the event that a student placed on a waitlist has an UNENROLLED sibling, the sibling will REMAIN on the corresponding waitlist according to the date the application was received until either applicant is enrolled. Once one of the applicants is enrolled, sibling preference will then apply for the other applicant.

III.  Families will have two deadlines to meet: an acceptance of offer deadline and an enrollment completion deadline.

IV.   The enrollment completion deadline is not to exceed 5 business days after the offer acceptance deadline. Final determination of deadlines is at the discretion of Discovery administration.

V.  If the aforementioned offer deadline is not met, and a phone message (rather than speaking to a live person) has been left regarding the available space, Discovery will make a follow-up phone call detailing a final notification. If no response is received by the time given in the final notification, the space will be released.

VI.  IF a family receives a space but does NOT ultimately meet the aforementioned deadlines, the space will be released, and the family will need to REAPPLY for admission and will be placed on the waitlist in the order received. This process will continue until all classes are full.

VII.  After the first Sunday in August, families contacted MUST (a) accept the offer of enrollment within 24 hours by phone or email; AND (b) complete the required electronic forms in PowerSchool (which will be the close of the 5th business day after the date of the offer). Failure to satisfy either of these requirements will result in revocation of the offer.

VIII.  It is the responsibility of the family to make sure the school has their correct contact information. If there are any changes to their phone number or email through the enrollment process, they must notify the school office immediately.

FOR GRADES 1st – 8th

For grades 1st – 8th, applications will be placed on the existing waiting list for the applicable grade level in the order received. Movement on the waitlist will follow the steps outlined in the previous section. Discovery Charter School will admit students on a space available basis. Applicants will be notified of their position on the waiting list and spaces will be filled in numerical order from the list.

It is the parents’ responsibility to ensure that Discovery has the correct contact information to communicate enrollment information.

An offer of admission is contingent upon the accuracy of all information provided on the student’s application and throughout the application and admissions process. If the information provided is inaccurate in any material respect, the student’s offer of admission may be revoked.

You can access the complete Lottery and Waitlist Procedures by clicking here.