ADMISSIONS LOTTERY
Admission to Tapestry Charter School is done through a random lottery drawing that is open to the public in order to fill vacancies each school year.
The public lottery for the 2017-2018 school year will be held on Thursday, April 6, 2017 at 65 Great Arrow Avenue.
In the event that class enrollments are filled, a waiting list will be maintained. The wait list will be maintained for the school year. If an applicant has not been selected for admission, he or she must reapply for the following school year. Parents will be notified in writing of their child’s position on the waiting list. The waiting list does not carry forward to the following school year.
The Lottery Process
The names of all students that have applied are randomly drawn by a computerized system who is neither an employee of Elmwood Village Charter School nor a person who has a vested interest in the outcome of the lottery. All parents and guardians will be notified in writing of their children’s acceptance or place on the waiting list. Lottery results will not be given by phone or e-mail.
Once all available seats have been filled, students will be put on the waiting list in the order that their names were drawn. This waiting list will be used to fill any seats that become available throughout the course of that school year. For most grades after kindergarten, names of students are drawn only for a waiting list.
Waiting lists do not rollover from one year to the next, and instead are refreshed with the most current lottery results each year. As a result, parents and guardians must complete a new application each year for non-admitted students, including those on the waiting list from the previous lottery.
Order of Student preference
The rules for student preference in our charter school lottery are as follows:
- Returning Students. Returning students of Tapestry are given first preference. Once a student is admitted to Tapestry, that child’s place in the school is secure, and he or she will not have to go through the lottery in subsequent years.
- Siblings. Siblings of currentTapestry students are given second preference. This preference does not apply to children accepted through the lottery. Once an accepted student is officially registered, their sibling will be moved from the general waiting list to the sibling waiting list. In the event that there are more siblings applying for admission than available seats, a sibling lottery will be held at the time of the general lottery.
- Tapestry Staff. Children of full-time permanent employees of Tapestry are given third preference. Staff preference does not apply to the children of temporary or per diem employees, outsourced service providers, or independent contractors. Eligible staff members must be employed at Tapestry on the first day of the school year or they will forfeit their seat to the next child on the waiting list for that grade level. In the event that there are more children of staff members applying for admission than available seats, a staff lottery will be held at the time of the general lottery.
- City of Buffalo Residents. Students who apply to the lottery as residents of the City of Buffalo are given fourth preference. Proof of residence is required at the time of registration, and they must reside in Buffalo on the first day of school or they will forfeit their seat to the next child on the waiting list for that grade level.
- All Other Eligible Students. All other eligible applications are then considered for both available seats and the waiting list.
