MCCPS Enrollment Policy and Procedures

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Enrollment Policy

1. Enrollment Overview/Introduction
   • The Marblehead Community Charter Public School (MCCPS) is a public school that serves 230 Massachusetts students in grades 4 through 8. The school accepts applications for students entering grades 4 through 8 to fill spaces that may be available. Ch79 § 89(1); 603CMR 1.06(4); 603CMR 1.06(9)
   • Each school year, MCCPS determines the number of spaces available in each grade. In general, the school expects to enroll approximately 45 new students entering 4th grade. MCCPS also accepts applications for students entering 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade and fills available seats in those grades if a student unenrolls from the school. If and when a seat becomes available in the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grades, new students are admitted from the waitlist (defined by the state as “backfilling”) for those grades, as established through the lottery that happens every year in February.
   • The Marblehead Community Charter Public School has an interest in making sure that all prospective students and their families understand the mission and focus of the School and are interested in being a part of the School’s community. Information is available on the School’s website and during Open Houses, including student services, student handbook, and MCCPS does not require potential students or their families to attend interviews or informational meetings as a condition of application, admission, and attendance.
   • MCCPS does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, creed or religion, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, mental or physical disability, age, ancestry, athletic performance, special need, proficiency in the English language or in a foreign language, or prior academic achievement when recruiting or admitting students. Moreover, MCCPS will not set admissions criteria that are intended to discriminate or that have the effect of discriminating based upon any of these characteristics. M.G.L.c.71. & 89(1); 603 CMR 1.06(1)
2. Eligibility
   • Eligibility Criteria -The Marblehead Community Charter Public School requires:
     • Candidates for admission to apply for the grade immediately following their current grade and to successfully complete that grade in order to be admitted. Proof of completion can take the form of transcripts, report cards, other official documentation from the sending school district or approved home school plan indicating eligibility for the intended grade. This proof should be received no later than one week prior to the start of the upcoming school year.
     • If an applicant seeks to skip a grade or repeat a grade and therefore alter which grade they are applying for at MCCPS, confirmation of the student’s eligibility to skip or repeat this same grade at their current school must be presented.
     • Students who are not enrolled in traditionally graded schools must provide documentation of equivalent educational experience and/or grade completion.
     • Students must be residents of Massachusetts at the time that they submit an application, at the time that they are offered admission, and while enrolled.
     • Homeless students are eligible to apply and to attend MCCPS.
     • The application requires one name and signature of the parent/guardian (unless a court order indicates otherwise for the student applicant)
     • If an applicant fails to meet the eligibility criteria, the application will be considered void, and their parent/guardian will be notified of the reason as soon as possible after submission of the application. Any misinformation may be corrected prior to the application deadline.
   • The Marblehead Community Charter Public School will not:
     • Give preference to children of faculty, staff, or Board members;
     • Give preference to siblings of students accepted to the school but not yet attending;
     • Make statements in meetings intended to discourage, or that have the effect of discouraging, students with disabilities, students with limited English proficiency, or any other protected group of students from submitting an application to the School. M.G.L. c. 71 § 89 (1).
     • Charge an application fee, use financial incentives to recruit students, or charge a tuition.
     • Require submission of student’s social security number

3. Application Process
   • Application Process Through mid-February
     • Applications for the initial lottery are due the second Wednesday in February.
     • MCCPS will continue to accept applications submitted after this date. If the school exhausts the waitlist from the initial lottery, the school will process the applications submitted after the initial application deadline and conduct subsequent lotteries, as necessary.
     • MCCPS will make public notice of these dates each year between at least 30 days prior to application deadlines.
     • Returning students are not required to reapply.
     • The School will determine the number of spaces available at each grade level. Ch79 § 89(1); 603CMR 1.06(4)
     • MCCPS will conduct a lottery at the school prior to March 15th. The date, time, and location of the lottery will be publicized at least one week before the lottery is to be conducted. 603 CMR 1.06(6)
     • MCCPS will publicize all lottery/application deadlines and the fact that there will be a lottery if there are more eligible applicants than there are available spaces within a given application process.
     • MCCPS does not require potential students or their families to attend interviews or informational meetings as a condition of enrollment. 603 CMR 1.06(2)
     • MCCPS does not administer tests to potential applicants or predicate enrollment on results from any test of ability or achievement. 603 CMR 1.06(8)
   • Application Process After mid-February
     • The school will accept applications submitted after the initial application deadline, which is the second Wednesday of February. MCCPS may hold additional lotteries if the waitlist (established from the principal lottery) for a grade is exhausted in any given year.
     • Applications can still be submitted after the initial application deadline for all students. If the school exhausts the waitlist from the initial lottery, the school will hold a subsequent application cycle with the applications submitted after the initial application deadline and before the subsequent application deadline. Notification of the secondary lottery date will be announced one week prior to the lottery.
   • Accessing the Application

3.3.1               Applications can be obtained from the school website (marbleheadcharter.org) by contacting the front office of MCCPS. Hard copies of the application may be made available upon request. Please note, however, that submitting an application online is the preferred application method. Inquiries about enrollment can be made at any time of year, however the official enrollment window each year is from November 1 to the second Wednesday of February.

4. Lottery Procedures
   • Lottery Procedure and Timeline
     • In situations where there are more eligible applicants than there are spaces available, MCCPS will hold a lottery at MCCPS, to determine which applicants will receive an offer of admission. 603 CMR 1.06(3)(a) As previously mentioned, MCCPS will give public notice of the lottery at least one week before the lottery date.
     • The lottery will be drawn by an individual who has no connection to MCCPS. This individual will randomly draw the names of all students who submitted applications before the deadline. Names will be recorded, but not called out publicly.
   • Post-Lottery Procedure and Timeline
     • After all the applicants are drawn to receive the initial random lottery rank order, then preferences for admission will be applied. Siblings over non-siblings and residents over non-residents.
     • That primary preference for admission be given to siblings of students "currently attending" MCCPS at the time the offer is made in accordance with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education regulations.
     • That secondary preference for admission be given to students who are residents of the sending region (Marblehead, Nahant, and Swampscott) at the time they are offered admission to the school. 603 CMR 1.06(4)
     • If the School does not reach capacity after admitting all eligible siblings, it will admit residents. If spaces remain after admitting residents, non-resident applicants will be admitted. 603 CMR 1.06(4)(b)
     • Offers of admission are made to students in the order determined though the above process, based on number of openings in each grade each year. Students who are not offered admission after the initial lottery draw are placed on a waitlist in accordance with the preferences identified above and the order their names were drawn.
     • MCCPS categorizes all applicants into three categories as defined below under 603 CMR 1.06(4):
       • Siblings - Students who share a common parent, either biologically or legally through adoption, will be treated as siblings. Whether the children reside in the same household has no bearing on determining if the children are siblings for the purposes of a sibling preference. Children who live in separate households may be siblings and those that live in the same household may not be. If siblings are placed in foster homes and one of them enrolls in MCCPS, then the siblings of that student are entitled to admission preference. Foster children are not considered siblings of other children in the foster home unless they share a common parent.
       • Residents - Students who live in the school’s chartered region will be treated as Residents.
       • Non-residents - Students who live outside of the school’s chartered region will be treated as Non-residents.
     • Additional Lotteries
       • MCCPS may hold additional lotteries if the waitlist (established from the principal lottery) for a grade is exhausted in any given year. MCCPS may repeat the lottery process more than once, in the same fair and open process used above, and the school will give reasonable public notice of at least one month prior to any subsequent deadlines.
       • If at any point in the year the waitlist is depleted and the school determines that it has enrollment openings, then using applications submitted after the February 15th deadline, an enrollment period will be declared.
       • MCCPS will adhere to all public notification deadlines, as stated above, for application deadlines. In this case, a new lottery would be conducted one week after the close of the application period, and at least one week’s notice would be given about when and where this lottery would occur.
     • Offers of Admission
       • Families will be notified by mail, email, or phone of their child’s admission status (offer to enroll or placement on the waiting list). It is the responsibility of the applicant/applicant’s guardian to make sure that MCCPS is made aware of any changes to email, phone, or address so that the applicant can be contacted.
       • All admitted students are required to provide proof of residency within three weeks of acceptance. The following will be accepted: current tax bill, utility bill, rental agreement, signed lease, Section 8 agreement, residency affidavit, or mortgage statement. If proof of residency is not provided to MCCPS, the offer of enrollment will be withdrawn or the student unenrolled, and the seat will be offered to the next child on the waitlist. If families have difficulty providing proof of residency, please contact the school Principal or Homeless Liaison to help establish residency status.
       • All admitted students are also required to provide proof of successfully completing the prior grade no later than the first week of school. If proof of grade completion is not provided MCCPS, the offer of enrollment will be withdrawn or the student unenrolled, and the seat will be offered to the next child on the waitlist. If families have difficulty provided proof of grade completion, please contact the school Principal or Homeless Liaison for assistance. Note that for students who may be considered homeless, in order to receive a preference for admission, however, proof of the student’s current or temporary residence must be provided. The school’s homeless liaison will work with students who may be considered homeless on a case-by-case basis to support them during the application process.
       • Students who have accepted an offer to enroll, but fail to attend the school, in accordance with the school’s attendance policy, within 10 days of their anticipated start date (e.g., the first day of school) will be considered to have declined their seat. This student will have to reapply again in a future application cycle if they wish to be considered again for enrollment. The vacancy will go to the next student on the waitlist.
       • Families offered admission from our lottery until the end of the school’s academic year have 10 calendar days from the date of admission to accept the offer to enroll.
       • Families offered admission after the end of school academic year, but before the start of the next academic school year have 7 calendar days to accept the offer to enroll.
       • Families offered admission during the school year for which they applied have 5 calendar days to accept the offer to enroll.
       • If families do not confirm the enrollment of their child by the deadlines stated above, the space will be offered to the child on the list.
       • If a family declines the offer to enroll, the child will lose all status as an applicant. Their space will be offered to the next child on the list. For families that decline an offer of admission or who withdraw after enrollment in accordance with the school’s withdrawal policy, must reapply for admission each year and go through the full application and lottery process.

5. Waitlist and Backfilling
   • Waitlist
     • Students who have gone through the application and lottery process, but who have not received an offer of admission are placed on a grade-level waitlist for the upcoming school year in the order their names were drawn in the lottery and subject to legal preferences in the following order: sibling, resident, non-resident.
     • Vacated seats will continue to be filled until the end of the school year. If and when openings arise at the school, enrollment will continue from the waitlist of the grade in which the vacancy was created, subject to legal preferences at the time of admission.
     • MCCPS will maintain waitlists only for the school year for which the students sought admission. These waiting lists will not roll over from one year to the next. If not admitted during an enrollment period, students who are not admitted must reapply for the next year.
     • The waitlist is not static and may change based on updated information regarding residency and sibling status. MCCPS will request and update demographic information for waitlisted students, including changes in residency and sibling status, which may change over time. 603 CMR 1.06(4)(f)
     • No student may be admitted ahead of other eligible students who were previously placed on a waitlist during a prior enrollment process, except in cases where enrollment preferences change and in accordance with 603 CMR 1.05(10)(b).
     • The school is required to maintain and report accurate records of its waitlist, including students’ names (first, middle, last), dates of birth, cities or towns of residence, phone numbers, and grade levels.

6. Additional Information
   • The Marblehead Community Charter Public School does not charge an application fee, use financial incentives to recruit students, or charge a tuition.
   • The school will not set any principal application deadlines or hold any enrollment lotteries for student admission for the upcoming school year until after January 1, and shall conclude its principal enrollment process no later than March 15 of each year. 603 CMR 1.05(3)(c).
   • Marblehead Community Charter Public School’s enrollment process is independent of the enrollment process of any other school or district and adheres to all regulations governing charter schools and Massachusetts public schools.
   • The total number of students attending MCCPS in a given school year cannot exceed the total number of students in the school’s pre-enrollment report submitted to the Department in the previous spring in accordance with 603 CMR 1.08(5) nor will the school admit students in excess of the school’s approved maximum enrollment.
   • All applicants are provided with documentation of the rights of students with diverse learning needs, including the right to attend charter schools and the right to receive accommodations and support services. This includes students who may have disabilities, require special education, or are English language learners. This documentation is provided to applicants upon receipt of their application and with the post-lottery package about offer of admission. It is also posted on the enrollment section of the Marblehead Community Charter Public School’s website. Information about the availability of services, enrollment materials, and the student handbook are all posted on the school’s website.
   • Transportation
     • MCCPS does not provide transportation to students; it is the responsibility of parents/guardians to arrange for transportation to the school for enrolled students.
     • There is public transportation available to MCCPS from the North Shore area. The MBTA 441/442 Bus route stops on Elm Street in Marblehead, 0.2 miles from the school
     • Additionally, the several members of our parent/guardian community use a carpooling system for enrolled students; specific information about possible carpool options is provided upon request.

7. Regulations and Compliance
   • MCCPS has a student recruitment and retention plan. 603 CMR 1.05(f). The recruitment process will include advertisements and public information sessions. Throughout the year, MCCPS will provide information about the School to those who are interested. Applications will be available on the School’s website, in the School’s front office, and at the optional Information Sessions/Open Houses which will be held in December and January of each year. This policy will be available on the School’s website, and it will be included with all paper applications that are provided to families. 603 CMR 1.06(2) Notice of application deadlines will be announced one month in advance. 603 CMR 1.06(3).
   • If a space becomes available and the enrollment of a student from the waiting list would cause their sending district to exceed the net school spending cap, MCCPS will skip that student but keep them on the waiting list. If that student on the waiting list is a sibling of a student currently enrolled at MCCPS, and the school has not admitted other students prior to admitting the sibling, the school may enroll that student and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts will pay the tuition to MCCPS, subject to state appropriations. G.L. c. 71, § 89(i); 603 CMR 1.05(10)(b).
   • Disclosure of Student Information
     • The Marblehead Community Charter Public School does not generally disclose student information to third parties, though it does provide information and other data requirements to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), and applicant information may be released in compliance with these regulations.
     • Furthermore, upon request and in compliance with state regulations, the school may be required to provide names and addresses of students to a third party mail house. If applicants would like to opt out of such information disclosures, it is the responsibility of the applicant to make this desire known, in writing, directly to the school (Admissions, 17 Lime Street, Marblehead, MA 01945). M.G. L. c. 71, :89(g)