Getting to know the lottery system
The questions most frequently asked at the Lewis Center for Educational ResearchBy Cheryl Thompson/Special to the Press Dispatch
The questions most frequently asked at the Lewis Center for Educational Research are what's my lottery number, where am I on the lottery list, and how does the lottery work?
The Lewis Center operates a kindergarten through 12th grade, public, charter school, the Academy for Academic Excellence. Charter schools are schools of choice and are open to all students in the county and those counties that share boundaries.
If there are more students wanting to attend than there are spaces, the state and federal governments require charter schools to use the lottery system to ensure a fair and objective system.
The academy's public lottery, where prospective students receive their family number, is held a few times during the year.
The lottery process works like this:
Step 1: Student applications are separated it into one of two categories; residents within the Apple Valley School District and students outside the school district.
Step 2: The academy holds a public meeting in which the families are assigned a family number selected by a computer program designed to create lottery numbers.
Step 3: Students are then given a second number and placed on a grade level list.
As of this date, the academy has held six lotteries, with families on all six lists. When a space becomes available within a certain grade level, our registrar will call the next student on that particular list.
Once the first lottery list has been exhausted, the registrar will go to the next list.
Although there is an extensive waiting list, do not despair. Potential students who live outside Apple Valley do not have to wait until every person on every Apple Valley lottery list is admitted, only those within a particular lottery.
State and federal law provides for different rankings within the list. The order is siblings, Lewis Center employee students, Apple Valley school district residents and those outside of Apple Valley.
The process is quite detailed and often hard to understand. State and federal governments are careful to ensure a fair and objective admitting procedure.
The academy maintains the integrity of the lottery by requiring proof of residency.
Once a student is admitted to the academy, state and federal law allows for siblings to be moved to the sibling list. This action will change the grade level ranking list and cause a change in a grade level number that the prospective student holds.
When a prospective family receives the call informing them of an opening, it is very important to return the call as soon as possible. The registrar is only able to wait for a limited time for a response before calling the next student on the list.
Submit your application as soon as you think you are interested in attending the academy to receive your family lottery number. The next lottery will be held Nov. 20.
For more information, contact Cheryl Thompson at cthompson@lcer.org.
Cheryl Thompson has been with the Lewis Center since 1992 and is the corporate relations manager.
Used with permission by Daily Press, Freedom Communication, 2003