Permit Process

The letters of acceptance and denial for open-enrollment applications began reaching homes yesterday.  We’re so excited to have our student body defined more concretely, but, at the same time, my heart goes out to all those who are disappointed to not have a spot at the school at this time.  Applicants who were not yet accepted were informed where they are in line.

Because we had approximately 900 applicants for 350 spots, some disappointment was inevitable.  I wish we were in a position to accommodate everyone, but that’s not possible at this time.  For those still on the waiting list, I encourage you to feel comfortable checking with me regularly regarding any movement of your position in line.

Because the grades fill up at different rates, some siblings from the same family found themselves on opposite ends of the “in-or-out” game.  We looked carefully at the issue regarding sibling applicants in an attempt to find a way to keep families together through the acceptance/denial process. There really are only two possible ways to keep siblings together, and we looked at both.  Either a family with split-acceptance statuses would need to be “all in” or it would need to be “all out.”   If we took the “all-in” approach when at least one family member was accepted, it would mean bumping students in the other lines who got their applications in much before the new family. Kindergarten filled up by December 13th while sixth grade didn’t fill up until January 30th, so this would mean a family with a kindergartener and a sixth grader who turned their applications in on January 30th would effectively bump a kindergartner from his or her spot who had an application in before December 13th.  This isn’t a hypothetical example but describes a very common occurrence. For the initial filling of the school, this approach would be unfair and inappropriate.

The other option was to do an “all-out” approach when at least one family member was denied. In considering this, I figured it’d be most beneficial to let parents make the decision to be “all out” if they so chose instead of making that decision for them.

I hope this helps clarify the first-come, first-serve process for accepting permit applications.  I encourage any not accepted at this time to remain hopeful regarding their spot on the waiting list or to plan on applying for the next school year.  Applications for the 2014-2015 school year will be accepted beginning on December 1st, 2013.

And, I extend a hearty welcome and congratulations to those students accepted to Neil Armstrong Academy at this time.  I look forward to getting to know you better.