Enrollment Policy
Enrollment Policy IC Imagine is a tuition free public school. Any child who is qualified under the laws of North Carolina for admission to a public school is qualified for admission to a charter school. To qualify to attend a NC public school, a student must be a resident of North Carolina. County boundaries or school attendance areas do not affect charter school enrollment. IC Imagine does not limit admission to students on the basis of intellectual ability, measures of achievement or aptitude, athletic ability, disability, race, creed, gender, national origin, religion or ancestry.
Open enrollment for IC Imagine will be open for a three month period. The open enrollment period will be made public through a variety of methods including the school website, local advertising, and through communications with families of currently enrolled students.
During each period of enrollment, IC Imagine will accept applications for new students. Once enrolled, students are not required to enroll in subsequent enrollment periods. In order to properly plan, the school will routinely inquire the parents of currently enrolled students in early spring through letters of intent to ascertain if students will return to IC Imagine. Applications for new students are available in the school office and on the website (www.icimagine.org). If needed, the application may be mailed or emailed to the parent of a prospective student.
During the enrollment period, IC Imagine will enroll all eligible students who submit an application within this period, unless the number of applications exceeds the capacity of the school, class, and grade level. If the number of applications exceeds the number of available spaces, a lottery will be held to fill vacant seats for the next school year. After seats are filled, the drawing will continue to determine the order of a waiting list. Current year waiting lists will dissolve when the next enrollment period begins.
Lottery procedures will comply with the NC Open Meetings Laws provided in G. S.143-218.10(a). IC Imagine will publicize the date, time, and location of the meeting and allow anyone to attend.
Misrepresentations
Misrepresentations on the application will result in this application being eliminated and/or applicant’s dismissal from the school.
Kindergarten Enrollment Age
For Kindergarten admissions, the student must be 5 years old on or prior to August 31 of the enrollment year (N.C.G.S. 115C-364).
Sibling Lottery Procedures
At IC Imagine, during the lottery, school officials will enter one surname for all the siblings applying at the same time and if that name is drawn, all children are admitted simultaneously if space is available. If an enrollment seat is not available, they are admitted if and when a seat becomes available. According to revised charter school law, a sibling is defined as half siblings, step siblings, and children residing in a foster home. In the case of seniors, the sibling preference will be granted if the lottery takes place before graduation and the sibling is enrolled in the school. In the case of multiple births, one surname is placed in the lottery. If the multiple birth siblings are in different grades, parents will be asked to select the grade level to place the name. That affords the parent rather than the school to make the selection. If one slot remains in the grade span when the multiple birth sibling card is drawn, all of the multiple birth siblings will be admitted.
Legacy
Siblings of students who completed the highest grade offered by IC Imagine and were enrolled at least four years at IC Imagine will receive preference.
Staff and Board Member Preference
Staff:
Preference will be given to staff members in accordance with charter school law which states that staff members’ children must not exceed 15% of the school’s total enrollment. This preference applies to children of full time employees.
Board Members:
Preference will be given to active IC Imagine board members in accordance with charter school law which states that board members’ children must not exceed 15% of the school’s total enrollment. This preference applies to children of active board members.
Economically Disadvantaged Students
Preference will be given to students who meet the “Economically Disadvantaged” criteria, defined by meeting the National Free and Reduced Lunch criteria in order to achieve 40% of our students meeting the Educationally Disadvantaged Criteria. We will achieve this by meeting the following interim goals:
Academic Year & Target Economically Disadvantaged %:
- 2020-2021 – 33%
- 2021-2022 – 34%
- 2022-2023 – 36%
- 2023-2024 – 38%
- 2024-2025 – 40%
● With each lottery, the Head of School will work to identify the number of Economically Disadvantaged seats to make available per grade level in order to balance students admitted across grade levels, total seats available, school resources, and planned annual target.
● Families will have the opportunity to complete the optional form, where they can offer family income information in order to determine if they are Economically Disadvantaged eligible for the purposes of the priority lottery. This supplemental form will ask applicants to consent to verify status as Economically Disadvantaged eligible by IC Imagine staff, and will state that no specific information will be obtained beyond eligibility status and the information will not be retained.
Opportunity Preference
If a former student was enrolled at IC Imagine within the last two academic years but left due to an academic study abroad program, competitive admission residential program, vocational opportunities of the parents, or other academic opportunities IC Imagine may grant an enrollment preference on a case by case basis as determined by the School Leadership Team.
Lottery Priorities
Children of current staff and siblings are given priority over children of board members and students who are considered Economically Disadvantaged. Should a full-time staff member be hired after the annual lottery has occurred, space will be made available for said staff member’s children for the upcoming school year. Children of Board Members are given the next preference followed by students who qualify for Economically Disadvantaged status. If there are are more applicants than seats, the available seats will be awarded by the Public Lottery in the following order:
- Children of current eligible staff
- Siblings of currently enrolled students
- Children of current board members
- Children whose families are considered Economically Disadvantaged
- All other applicants
Acceptance of Enrollment
In the case of a lottery, accurate records must be maintained throughout the entire process. An accurate waiting list must be maintained and updated appropriately.
Once enrollment has been offered, parents have ten days to inform IC Imagine in writing to accept or decline.
In some cases, parents may be offered enrollment within 10 days of the first day of school. In that case, parents must respond by the day before first day of school in order to secure their child’s enrollment. If a child is offered enrollment at any point during the first twenty (20) days of school, parents have twenty-four (24) hour to return their acceptance to the school. Failure to do so may result in the withdrawal of that offer of enrollment.
Right to Refuse Enrollment
IC Imagine may refuse admission to any student who has been expelled or suspended from a public school under G.S. 115C-390.5 through G.S. 115C-390.11 until the period of suspension or expulsion has expired.
IC Imagine Enrollment Policy Adopted: April 18, 2019