RMAE
is and Official Core Knowledge and Visitation Charter School
RMAE | Enrollment
NOTICE TO PARENTS
CHOICE ENROLLMENT IN CHARTER SCHOOLS
Enrollment
in a charter school is a choice enrollment under Jefferson County’s School
Board Policy JFBA
and Regulation JFBA-R. Under the choice enrollment policy a student who
is accepted into the school is
accepted for the span of grades of that school, and is not required to
reapply each year for admittance. The school in which
the choice enrolled student is admitted becomes the “home” school
of the student for
the span of grades of that school. Should a parent and student wish to
return to their “neighborhood” public school, they would have to apply
through Jefferson County’s choice enrollment to the neighborhood school
for admittance. Mid year administrative transfers occurring after October
1st must be
approved by the principal of both the school the student is currently
attending and the principal of the receiving school. If the student is
not admitted through choice enrollment and the administrative transfer
is
denied, the student would continue to be enrolled at Rocky Mountain Academy.
Applications for both First and Second Round Choice
Enrollment Periods are available on our Web site (www.rmae.org) once
Jefferson County Public
Schools determines the dates. You may also obtain a copy from the
school office. Generally, the First Round for Choice Enrollment Application
Period begins the second week of January and ends approximately two
weeks
later. Applications for the Second Round Choice Enrollment Period
(wait list after lottery) will be accepted in mid-February and the
process
continues until the last day of August of that year.
Application
Process
Applications during the first round shall be randomly
prioritized by grade level within the categories listed below in
step 1. Applications
submitted during the second round application period shall be approved
on a “first-come, first-served” basis, as specified in this policy.
If space is not available, applicants shall be put on an annual prioritized
wait list. The annual prioritized
wait list for a given school year begins after class spaces have
been determined in the first round process, and will be maintained
through the end of August of that same year. All wait lists are cleared
on the last day of August, and class openings will not be publicized
for the remainder of the school year. Parents may call the main office
to see if any spaces have opened up through the end of the first
semester.
Once students are admitted into the K-8 program, they shall
be allowed to stay for all remaining grade levels served by Rocky Mountain
Academy and are not required to reapply each year for admittance. If
an applicant is not admitted for a given school year, the student must
reapply under the RMAE choice enrollment process if admission is desired
for the following year. It should be noted that at the middle
school level (6th-8th grades) families will have option of returning
to their designated home school without going through the choice
enrollment process. In the event that any information is falsified
or withheld in connection with the choice enrollment process, any approval
for admission and continued enrollment may be immediately withdrawn.
Enrollment
Criteria
Enrollment is open and tuition-free to any child meeting
student eligibility requirements in step 2 and residing in the Jefferson
County Public School District. Rocky Mountain Academy will meet all Federal
laws, and constitutional provisions prohibiting discrimination on the
basis of disability, race, color, age, creed, gender, sexual orientation,
national origin, religion, ancestry, or disability.
Age Requirements
Students are required to reach the following ages on or
before October 1st of the applicable school year for
entry in that school year:
Kindergarten Entry: Age 5 on or before October 1st
First Grade Entry: Age 6 on or before October 1st
Required Documents
Copies of the following must accompany the child’s
application:
1. Birth certificate
2. Proof of residency requires both:
(a) a copy of a utility bill and
(b) a copy of driver’s license of parent/guardian
FIRST ROUND APPLICATION
PERIOD
Exact dates are determined yearly, but usually begin the
second week of January and continue for approximately two weeks.
Step 1: Prioritizing Applicants
The school shall randomly assign a priority number
to each applicant in each category for each
grade level. Priority categories are listed below in the order of highest
priority to lowest priority.
Staff Children - may be allowed enrollment
even if it means increasing the class size
beyond our limit of 23 per class.
Founding Families are given
preference up to 10% of the total school population.
Siblings of in-district
students currently enrolled in RMAE
Siblings of out-of-district students
currently enrolled in RMAE
Siblings
of in-district students offered an opening for the upcoming
school
year (new students)
Siblings of
out-of-district students offered an opening for the upcoming
school year (new
students)
All other in-district applicants
Out-of-district applicants
Staff Children – There will be a limit
of 23 children per class in grades kindergarten through
fifth and typically 16 students in each
academic section for grades six through eight. Children
of staff members working more than 50%
of full time employment shall be allowed into RMAE at the discretion
of the Director
even if it means increasing the class size up to 24 students.
Children of
staff working less than 50% full time
employment shall be allowed into RMAE
at the discretion
of the Director with the approval of
the Board even if it means increasing
the class
size
to 24 students. Children of staff members
wishing to enroll their child at RMAE
after the class
is
full with 24 students, shall be placed
on the waiting list using the letter
of intent/parent hire
date.
The date the parent is hired becomes the
letter of intent date. The staff child
will be
able to
take the first opening in the class.
Should more than one staff child be on
the waiting list when
an opening is available, the child with
the first letter of intent/parent hire
date will get
the first opening.
Founding Family – The term “founding family”
shall mean those families who have contributed
a significant number of hours, 60 hours or
more, toward the initial opening of Rocky
Mountain Academy in various capacities. Founding
families will be given preference up to 10% of the total school population,
and if space is available at that particular grade level.
If a founding family space is offered, but
declined by the parent, the founding family student is
no longer
considered a founding family student for
future years. Sibling priority status will
be applicable
to founding families.
Sibling priority for
currently enrolled students – Siblings of currently enrolled students
shall include students enrolled in RMAE’s
K-8 program as of the lottery date. However, if the
sibling
enrolled
at RMAE withdraws prior to the new school
year, the sibling will no longer have
sibling priority.
Eighth grade siblings graduating in the
spring, will be considered currently
enrolled for
purposes of sibling priority. If a sibling
space is offered, then declined by the parent,
the
student is no longer considered a sibling
for future years.
Sibling Priority for students not currently
enrolled at RMAE (new students) – Applications
for all siblings should be submitted
at the same time during the first round application
period. Each sibling applicant in the
first round application period shall be given a randomly
assigned
lottery number, and if one of the siblings
is selected the others for whom applications
were submitted shall have sibling priority.
Siblings
of in-district students will be accepted first, followed by siblings
of
out-of-district students. If a sibling
space is offered, then declined by the parent, the student
is no longer
considered a sibling for future years.
If a student is offered a space due to the sibling
priority policy
and the initially enrolled child
withdraws, unless the second child has already
started
class, the second
child will be removed from sibling
priority status and be placed back
on the waiting
list in the lottery order first assigned.
In
all cases, a lottery in each category will be held if more students
apply
for these spaces
than are available at a particular
age or grade level.
Out-of-county families – Enrollment
shall be open to any child who
resides outside
of the
School District, subject to compliance
with Colorado public schools of
choice
statutes.
Step 2: Determining Student
Eligibility
The school shall determine for
each applicant whether the
applicant meets
established
eligibility criteria for enrollment
in the school including but not
limited
to: (a)
age requirements;
(b) whether RMAE is able to
meet the applicant’s special needs; or (c) whether
the applicant has
been
expelled or is in the process
of being expelled as a habitually
disruptive student or for
a serious violation in a school
building or in or on school property.
Step 3: Accepting Applicants
Eligible applicants at
each grade level shall be placed
where space
is available
according
to their randomly selected
priority number within
the categories
listed in Step
1. Where space
is not available, “annual
prioritized lists” are established
according to the
random number
and priority category ranking.
The annual prioritized list for a
given school year stays
in effect for
the entire school year of the year
for which enrollment is
sought,
and vacancies
shall be filled
from this
list.
If applicants are
not accepted, they must reapply under
the choice enrollment
process
for the following year.
Step
4: Notifying Applicant
For the first round application
period, the school
shall provide notification
of either
a class placement
or where they are on the annual
prioritized
wait list.
The
first round
applicants shall
have priority over those applicants
applying during
the second
round. If an opening
becomes available, applicants
shall be notified
by phone or
email, and
upon verbal
agreement from the
parent, a District
Policy
Confirmation
letter will
be mailed to the
parent. Parents with
students on
the annual prioritized
list are welcome
to check in with
the
office on a
regular basis,
regarding the movement of their
student’s names on
the list.
Efforts to notify
waiting list parents
of an
opening - The
manager of the
waiting list
will
call the phone numbers
given on the application
form
(as well
as attempt to email
the parent) to leave
messages if possible. If contact is not
possible because
all
phone numbers
provided
are disconnected
or otherwise out
of order, the
child will be
presumed no longer
to live
in Jefferson County
and therefore cannot
be included
on a class
list, and
the next person
on the
waiting list will
be contacted. All
offers for openings
at
Rocky Mountain
Academy
will also
be presented in writing via email
with a specified
amount
of time to respond.
Step
5: Acceptance
Between
October 2nd and July 15th,
inclusive
of each year,
parents
shall be given
seven days in
which to make a decision regarding
the acceptance
of an opening
at Rocky Mountain
Academy. However, between July
16 and August
31st of each
year, parents
shall
have three days in which
to make a decision
regarding the
acceptance
of an opening
at
Rocky
Mountain Academy.
Rejection
of space availability
-
If a parent
turns down
or fails to
respond
to
the opportunity
to enroll their
child, the
child’s name
will be
removed from
the wait list.
If the parent
chooses
to reapply at a later
time, the second
round
application
procedures
will apply.
SECOND
ROUND APPLICATION
PERIOD
Exact
dates are not determined
yet
but usually
begin the second
week
of February
and continue
until
the
last
day of August
of the same
year.
Second round
applications
shall be
processed
in the
same manner as
specified
in Steps
1-5 above
for first-round
applications,
except
that second
round
names will not
be randomly
prioritized,
but instead
will be
added on
a “first
come,
first serve”
basis
to the
already
established
lists in
each
priority
category.
For example,
when a
family
is offered
and accepts
an
opening
for one
sibling
during
the second
round
application
period,
all other
siblings
will be
added to
the sibling
priority
wait lists
for the
desired grades.
After October
1st of
each
year, all
students
attending
a Jefferson
County
School
must
submit both
an enrollment
application
and an
administrative
transfer
request.
Reference “Administrative
Transfers”
below.
ADMINISTRATIVE
TRANSFERS
Mid
year
transfers
(after
October
1st
and
through
the
end
of
the
first semester)
from
other
Jefferson
County
Schools
will
be
handled
in
accordance
with
the
second
round
application
period
procedures.
Along
with
the
student’s
application,
the
student
must
also
submit
a Jefferson
County
administrative
transfer
form
to
RMAE
and
a copy
to
their
current
school.
The
principal
of
the
current
school
must
approve
the
outgoing
transfer.
WAIT
LIST
IS
PURGED
ANNUALLY
On
September 1st of
each year,
the current
school year
wait list
will be
purged.
ENROLLMENT
FOR INCOMING
KINDERGARTEN
Rocky
Mountain Academy
of Evergreen
will not
notify parents
as to
the First
or Second
Round Choice
Enrollment periods,
but parents
can call
the office
or visit
the website
to get
this information
It is
strongly advised
that if
you have
an incoming
child for
Kindergarten through eighth
grades, you
should come
in during
the First
Round Choice
Enrollment Period
in order
to receive
the best
chance for
a class
placement for
the following
year. Children
who are
enrolled
at
Rocky Mountain
Academy Preschool
are not
given priority
and must
fill out
enrollment forms
in order
to receive
class placement
at Rocky
Mountain Academy
for kindergarten.
WAIT
LIST EXCEPTIONS
A
family having
a child
or children
in attendance
at Rocky
Mountain Academy
may request
the Board
to make
an exception
to the
waiting list
policy to
allow their
child back
into Rocky Mountain
Academy after
a one-year
absence. Any
such exception
shall be
made on
a caseby- case
basis by
the Board.
During the
year’s absence,
the parent
must re-register
their child/children
or otherwise
notify the
school in
writing of
their intent
to reenroll
for the
following school
year. If
the school
has not
received written
notification from
the parent
by January
24th of
the year
the parents
wish to
reenroll their
child, the
opening will no longer
be available.
GROUNDS
FOR DENIAL
OF ADMISSION
The
following are
grounds for
denial of
admission to
students requesting
choice enrollment:
There are
no openings
available.
RMAE does
not offer
appropriate programs
or is
not structured
or equipped
with the necessary
facilities to meet
special
needs of
the student,
or does
not offer
the particular program
requested.
The student
does not
meet the
established eligibility
criteria for
participating in
a particular program,
including
but not
limited to
age requirements,
and required
levels of performance.
The student
has been
expelled from
any school
district during
the preceding
12 months, or
has engaged in
behavior
in another
school district
during the
preceding 12
months that
is detrimental
to the
welfare or safety of
other students
or of
school personnel.
The student
has been
expelled at
any time,
or is
in the
process of
being expelled,
as a habitually disruptive
student
or for
a serious
violation in
a school
building or
in or
on school
property.
CHANGES
IN RESIDENCE
A
student who
becomes a
non-resident after
enrollment or
between school
years shall
be allowed
to remain
at RMAE.
PARENT
VISIT DAYS
Parent
visit days
will be
scheduled beginning
in December
of each
year. Please
refer to the calendar or
contact the
school office. Parents will visit the classroom(s) of their choice
from 9:00-9:30am, and from 9:30-10:30am, you may visit with the Director.
The next Visit Day is Wednesday, April 2nd from 9:00-10:30am.
PRESCHOOL
ADMITTANCE TO
THE MAIN
SCHOOL
It
is important
to note
that attendance
at RMAE
preschool does
not automatically
mean admittance
to the
main school.
As preschool
is not
mandatory, the
school district
will not
allow our
preschool to
directly feed
into the
main school.
The same
choice enrollment
policies need to
be followed
as outlined
above.
QUESTIONS?
The
RMAE office
staff will
be happy
to assist
you in
this process
and answer
any questions
you may
have. Office
hours are
from 7:45
am to
3:45 pm
on school
attendance
days.
Messages may
be left
at any
time during the summer and someone
will get
back to you.
Messages
will
be checked
once or
twice weekly
through
the
summer.
Phone:
(303) 670-1070
Fax:
(303) 670-1253
Adopted: July 17, 2001, September 18, 2001, November 20, 2001, January
29, 2002.
Revised: November 25, 2003
References: Jefferson County School District Regulation
JFBA-R (September 2, 2003) Jefferson County School District Policy
JFBA (September 2, 2003)
