Admission Process

Admissions Policy & Priority Registration

The children enrolled in The Children's Schoolhouse must be three years old by September 1st and be potty trained. The needs of The Children's Schoolhouse will change over time and this policy hopes to allow for that through the priorities and the voice of the Board. Registration will take place in January and February for the following school year. The month of January is reserved for the following priority sequence set by the Board:

1. All children currently enrolled in the Schoolhouse
2. Alumni children previously enrolled in the Schoolhouse
3. Siblings of currently or previously enrolled children registered for enrollment.

A further definition of an alumni child is one who completed the year at The Children's Schoolhouse or had to withdraw due to unforeseeable circumstances (i.e. move out of the area). This includes only children in the nuclear family, not grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or relatives. If the circumstance should arise that the number of "alumni" families wishing to return exceeds positions available, the Admissions Chair will contact the families and inform them of their participation in a lottery system among returning families. This will occur prior to the lottery open to new families. Families must be in good standing and in compliance with the co-op commitments in order to receive priority status. All those wishing to take advantage of their priority status must return their registration form to the Admission Chairperson during January. The Registration and Information Session (previously called Open House) will be held in February.

The priority registration sequence will continue in February (after the Registration and Information Session) as follows:

1. Culturally Diverse children and children with special economic needs, as identified on the registration card will be given priority up to 10% of our enrolled population. A Cultural Diversity and special needs lottery will take place to fulfill the 10% available positions. A Culturally Diverse child is one who is born in another country, who has one or more parents who were born in another country and came to the United States as an adult, or is at least ½ African American, Native American, Alaskan American, American Indian, Asian-American, Hispanic American, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander.
2. Children registering for enrollment from the previous year's lottery who did not receive a place in the Schoolhouse will be given the final priority. This DOES NOT include children on the waiting list AFTER the lottery. The waiting list priority is only for children from the previous year's lottery; it cannot be transferred to a younger sibling.

These families will be sent a post card by mid-January notifying them of their priority status. Any family who is still interested in enrolling their child in The Children's Schoolhouse needs to attend the Registration and Information Session (RIS) and complete the registration card. If one does not attend RIS to complete a registration card, it will be assumed there is no further interest. These priority students will fill vacancies before the lottery procedure is begun. A priority family cannot bump a new student from enrollment if they communicate their intention concerning registration after the lottery has filled the remaining vacancies. This family will become a waiting list participant, after the lottery selection. Priority families seeking admissions will receive registration forms that must be returned to the Admissions Chairperson with a $80 non-refundable registration fee (for each new student) prior to the Registration and Information Session. Returning students will pay a $25 registration fee. The Board of Directors will consider any exceptions to the above policies. Revisions by the Children's Schoolhouse Board of Directors 1/27/10

Additional Admissions Information

Children who turn five years old on or before October 16th are not eligible for enrollment at The Children's Schoolhouse. Exceptions may be initiated be the Lead Teacher. These must be approved by the Board before being presented as an option to the family. Updated and Re-Adopted by the Children's Schoolhouse Board of Directors 3/15/00

Generally, children age three shall be allotted three days/week and children age four shall be allotted four days/week. The Admissions Chair and Committee, with Teacher consultation, will make any decisions concerning additional days allotted. Adopted by the Children's Schoolhouse Board of Directors 3/15/00

For each child enrolled in the Schoolhouse, a family will be assigned one job. For families with multiple children enrolled, every effort will be made to choose jobs that are compatible. The Admissions Chair and Committee, with consultation of the Board, will make any decisions concerning exceptions to the job assignments. Adopted by the Children's Schoolhouse Board of Directors 4/12/00

A $25.00 registration or re-enrollment fee is required for each returning child. This fee will take effect for the 2002-2003 school year. Adopted by the Children's Schoolhouse Board of Directors 5/08/00

The Children's Schoolhouse offers a multiage approach to education, and every attempt is made to balance the classroom on a daily basis between gender and age. Generally, 3 year olds are assigned 3 days a week, 4 year olds attend 4 days per week, and TK students meet 5 days per week. Exceptions to this are made by the Admissions Chair only as approved by the teaching team and as space allows. Extra days are not given away if Co-op jobs remain unfilled. Day assignments are made in the spring, and may need to be adjusted on a periodic basis to meet the needs of the classroom and the parents. Changes are addressed through the Admissions Chair and the teaching team as space allows. Temporary changes or exceptions to member day assignments are discouraged and should be addressed through the Classroom Support Chair. Generally, days are not "made up" due to illness, field trips, vacations, etc. Adopted by the Children's Schoolhouse Board of Directors 7/12/05

Lottery System

As of the Spring of 1992, The Children's Schoolhouse Board voted to move to a lottery system of admission, with the new location of our school and the growing need for pre-school programs in this area, a lottery system was decided as the most fair way to admit new children. Once the sequence for priority registration has been completed, newcomers to The Children's Schoolhouse will fill the remaining places through a lottery system. All families who are interested in being included in the lottery need to attend the Registration and Information Session (RIS). By attending the RIS and completing a registration card, the interested family will be included in the lottery. The lottery drawing will take place within one week of the RIS and will be overseen by an Admissions Committee. This committee includes the Admissions Chairman and the President (or other Board member designated by the president.)

The lottery drawing shall be announced and be open to the public. All names will be drawn at this time. Families with more than one child entering the lottery will have more than one name entered but both children will be admitted if the name should be drawn. The waiting list will be kept until the next admission period to fill vacancies and to handle the waiting list priority.

The Children's Schoolhouse believes that positive interaction among children of various backgrounds during pre-school years are important. The Children's Schoolhouse has always endorsed and sought to enroll a student mix of gender, age and ethnic origin. In an attempt to achieve this mix, the Board has implemented a policy of seeking at least 10% culturally diverse and special economic needs students within the total enrollment. For The Children's Schoolhouse to maintain an environment in which the student/teacher ration is compliant with the Schoolhouse philosophy, a 6:1 student/adult ratio or better will be upheld with the maximum number of children per day not to exceed twenty-nine. If through the Lottery or waiting list procedure, a situation arises (i.e. multiple children from one family) which causes admissions to exceed 29/day, the Admissions Committee will consult the Board. Final decision concerning the classroom size will be determined by the Board. The Board has also advised that a 40-60 ratio be achieved between boys and girls and between three and four-year-olds. These children may need to be selected first from the lottery grouping if they are not priority students. Therefore, age, gender, ethnic origin and economic background may be determining factors in the child's placement at The Children's Schoolhouse in order to achieve this mix.

Lottery participants offered admission will receive registration forms with their notification that must be returned to the Admissions Chairperson with a $80 non-refundable registration fee (for each student) by three weeks after the Registration and Information Session. If a family chosen from the Lottery declines, every effort will be made to replace the child with a child of the same gender and age. If a child is admitted later than through the waiting list, the family will be contacted first by telephone and then sent a registration form. These forms should be returned along with a $80 non-refundable registration fee with in two weeks to the Admissions Chairperson. If an opening occurs after June 1st, the Admissions Chair is given the authority by the Board of Directors to fill the available slots in the best interest of the cooperative (i.e. by whether the parent can take the offered job). If a family declines enrollment because of the specific parent job, they may choose to move to the end of the waiting list. Revisions by the Children's Schoolhouse Board of Directors 1/27/10