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PHSSA Lottery Procedures


February 1, 2011
 

Overview of PHSSA Admissions Policy

I. Pre-Lottery Status:

    A. Siblings – According to page 78 of PHSSA Application, “As specified in the Federal NCLB Guidance (USDOE 2004), current students, and siblings of students already admitted to or attending PHSSA will have pre-lottery status in admissions.”  A sibling is defined as a brother or sister living in the same household who has one or both parents in common, a half or step sibling, a foster child or a child under legal guardianship of the same parent(s).  Verification of a sibling relationship under procedures established by PHSSA is required.  For sibling(s) to maintain their pre-lottery status, the sibling who was granted the spot in the school, is required to enroll at that same time the the sibling(s) with the pre-lottery status.  If the sibling granted the spot, drops their enrollment, then the pre-lottery sibling(s) will be awarded their initial lottery spot or waitlist number.

    B. Underperforming Schools - In accordance with Title IX and the No Child Left Behind Act, families enrolled at underperforming schools will be given 1 weight in the lottery, as to give families an extra advantage to receive enrollment in PHSSA. (NOTE:  At the time of this lottery, there were no underpeforming schools, so no extra weights will be awarded.).

    C. Returning Students - All returning students will be given pre-lottery status for returning years and will not need to reapply.  However, returning students will be required to verify residency in the City of Richmond each school year and were  required to submit an intent to return form pursuant to procedures established by PHSSA.

II. Lottery Procedures

    A. PHSSA shall comply fully with the Virginia free schools law as applied to charter schools, Virginia Code Section 22.1-3, which requires that “Enrollment shall be open to any child who is deemed to reside within the relevant school division , as set forth in 22.1-3, through a lottery process on a space available basis.  A waiting list shall be established if adequate space is not available to accommodate all students whose parents have requested to be entered in the lottery process.  Such waiting list shall be prioritized through a lottery process and parents shall be informed of their student’s position on the list.” 

    a. Pursuant to Article 2, Section I of the Charter Agreement, PHSSA shall conduct the lottery by assigning a number to each family application.   The numbers will be placed in a hopper. Balls will be drawn one at a time, all grades at the same time.   The numbers will be drawn during a videotaped session by a third party. 

    B. Family Lottery Balls.   A family application is defined as each family being assigned one lottery ball. For example, if two siblings applying for admission in the same year, they will be assigned one lottery ball, despite the grade.  In the event that a family ball is drawn and a grade is already full for one of the sibling applications on that ball, the sibling will be placed on the General Waitlist in the order its ball has been drawn.  If a family ball is drawn and no spots are available for any family members at the time of the lottery, all applicants will be placed on the General Waitlist.

    a. Lottery Procedures

        1. Prior to the lottery, PHSSA will assign a number to each family application and shall determine the number of available slots for each grade level.
        2. For each family application, a numbered ball corresponding to each family will be placed in a hopper. 
        3. For each family ball, a third party will draw numbered balls one by one until all the balls are drawn.  The third party shall announce the number on each ball as it is drawn, and the number on each ball will be recorded as it is drawn. 
        4. For each ball drawn, video taping of the lottery will begin before the numbered balls are placed in the hopper and will conclude after the last ball is drawn from the hopper.
        5. At the conclusion of the lottery, PHSSA will prepare a list of the applications receiving the available slots for each grade level and a general wait list for each grade level in the order the numbers for such applications were drawn in the lottery.
        6. PHSSA will maintain the list of numbers assigned to each application, the videotape of the lottery, the list of the order in which the numbered balls were drawn, the list of the applications receiving the available slots in each grade level and the waiting list of applications for each grade level for a period of one (1) year from the date of the lottery and shall make such materials available for inspection by the public upon reasonable notice.

    C. Enrollment/Documentation

    a. PHSSA will be open to all children in kindergarten through 5th in the City of the Richmond Public School District.  Upon notification of acceptance at PHSSA for each school year, the parent or guardian of an applicant must provide the following documentation.  Without providing all of these items, a child cannot attend PHSSA:

        1. School/Guardian/Student Contract (agreeing to 6 hours volunteer time per quarter);*
        2. Proof of guardianship (if applicant is not the parent or custodial parent)
        3. Student’s birth certificate;**
        4. Proof of student’s current immunization(s);
        5.  Social security card
        6. Proof of student’s physical examination within the past year;
        7. Verification of residency in the City of Richmond, Virginia by providing:
            1. A Lease/Rental Agreement or 
            2. A utility bill.  

*As part of enrollment, parents must sign a commitment to contribute 6 hours of their time each quarter at the school.  Parental involvement is for the benefit of the child even more than it is for the school.  It demonstrates to the child that school is important.  PHSSA will do everything to assist families in this requirement.  Families may, for example, be able to meet their commitment by doing work for the school at their home, or have other family members donate their time on the parents’ behalf.  PHSSA will work with families who display a “good-faith effort” to fulfill their family commitment. 
 
**Age Requirements:  A student must be 5 years old by September 30, 2011 to attend kindergarten.

    1. Deferred enrollment will not be accepted.
    2. The parent or guardian of an applicant or student will be notified of the student’s acceptance via U.S. mail or phone (if necesssary).  They will then be given until March 31, 2011 to reply to that notification via email or phone to accept their spot.  The documentation listed above must be provide during student registration.  If the required documentation is not provided by the family within 30 days of such notification, the student’s spot at PHSSA will be automatically forfeited and the next student on the waiting list for that grade level will be granted the forfeited enrollment space.