As of October 1, 2016 (Posted December 2016)
Each spring, charter schools send the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (Department) the number of students enrolled for the upcoming school year as well as the number of students who were placed on the schools' waitlists through each school's initial lottery, which is typically held in February or March. The Department's March 2016 waitlist collection included students who applied for admission for the 2016-2017 school year (the initial waitlist). The information provided below is an update to the initial waitlist data as of October 1, 2016. The information reflects late offers of admissions, which may result in acceptances or declines, as well as any new lotteries for seats that may have opened up over the summer and into the school year. Consistent with waitlist report updates in recent years, this year's update found approximately fourteen percent fewer total reported entries from March to October.
For the March 2016 initial waitlist, 741 out of 78 charter schools had waitlists for which they reported 44,250 entries, with 32,646 unique students identified. Of this student headcount, 23,601 unique students2 newly applied for admittance to at least one charter school for the 2016-2017 school year; the remaining 9,045 unique students applied for admittance prior to March 20143.
The information provided below reflects the number of students who applied to charter schools for the 2016-2017 school year (SY17), but did not gain admittance and were reported on a charter school waitlist as of October 1, 2016. This updated 2016-2017 waitlist report finds the following:
Figure 1. Unique Number of Students on Charter School Waitlists
In 2014, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education adopted regulations requiring charter schools to refresh their waitlists every year, based on the most recent application cycle. These regulations, however, allowed schools to keep students on their waitlists who submitted applications before March 31, 2014. As shown in Figure 2, 11 schools5 continue to include such students from prior years on their active waitlists. The table below (Fig. 2) also identifies charter schools that have held subsequent lotteries and the number of students who were added to these school waitlists.
Figure 2. Total Number of Applications Reported on Charter School Waitlists
Please note that the total number represents every student record found on each charter school's submitted waitlist update.
†These 11 schools have indicated to the Department that they included waitlist information established prior to March 31, 2014 in accordance to 603 CMR 1.05(10)(a).
* Please Note that the Department incorrectly reported the SY17 initial waitlist for Boston Collegiate Charter School by failing to identify the number of applicants added to their waitlist prior to March 31, 2014. This report includes the identification of the number of students added to their waitlist prior to March 31, 2014 as well as updates submitted by the school.
The year's reports, for both the initial and update, are the byproduct of additional Department support and technical assistance to the field, reflecting the Department's ongoing effort to increase the timeliness and accuracy of charter school waitlist reports. Each charter school is responsible for maintaining its own individual waitlist. To ensure uniformity, the Department created a waitlist collection template and required charter schools to use it to update waitlist data that was originally submitted by March 15, 2016, as well as input any new waitlist data. This template embedded tools that automatically flagged duplicate records, allowing schools to remove duplicates before submitting its waitlist. In order to verify student information and address overall waitlist accuracy, the Department checked each charter school waitlist for transcription errors and inconsistencies. The charter schools then had to address any concerns or errors identified and resubmit waitlists. Additionally, charter schools that self-identified as using waitlists established prior to March 31, 2014, as permitted by 603 CMR 1.05(10)(a), were required to update the identification of each individual student who was included in those earlier waitlists. Finally, the Department implemented changes to its matching process in order to increase accuracy for identifying students who applied for admission to more than one charter school.
The Department has made significant improvements over the years in quantifying the exact number of students who may be actively waiting for admission to a charter school. The unique waitlist counts provided in this current report should be taken as the Department's best understanding and representation of the updated demand for the current 2016-2017 school year rather than exact numbers of students willing to accept offers at each school.
The Department thanks all of the charter school administrators and staff who worked diligently to report their waitlists as accurately and as promptly as possible.
The appendix to this report can be found in the attached Excel file, which contains updated numbers based on an October 1, 2016 data collection:
For more information on waitlist policy and procedures and the number of students found on previous cycles of charter school waitlists, see Charter Schools Enrollemnt website. For further information regarding this report, please contact Brenton Stewart or the Office of Charter Schools and School Redesign .
Updated Report of Charter School Waitlist as of October 1, 2016
FY17 Updated Waitlist Appendix
1 The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education adopted changes to the charter school regulations in March 2014 (see 603 CMR 1.05(10)(a)), which has affected how charter schools collect waitlist data. Under the amended regulations, charter schools maintain waitlists only for the school year for which students applied (i.e., carrying over student names from enrollment lotteries from one year to another is no longer permitted). However, charter schools were allowed to maintain any waitlists that were established prior to March 31, 2014 until such waitlists are exhausted, provided that such maintenance is clearly articulated in the school's enrollment policy approved by the Department.
2 The Department has worked with schools to identify the students who were placed on waitlists prior to March 31, 2014. This additional information now allows the Department to identify, for the first time, students who submitted applications for admittance in the current year. Note: Out of 23,601 newly applying students in 2016-17, 613 were added to new waitlists while still remaining on other school waitlists based on applications submitted prior to March 31, 2014.
3 Please note that the Department incorrectly reported the SY17 initial waitlist for Boston Collegiate Charter School by failing to identify the number of applicants added to their waitlist prior to March 31, 2014. This report includes the identification of the number of students added to their waitlist prior to March 31, 2014 as well as waitlist updates submitted by the school.
4 Please note: out of 20,321 new applying students in 2016-2017, waitlist updates indicate 588 were added to new waitlists while still remaining on other school waitlists based on applications submitted prior to March 31, 2014.
Last Updated: February 6, 2019
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