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Massachusetts Charter Schools

Massachusetts Charter School Waitlist Initial Report for 2017-2018 (FY18)

As of March 15, 2017 (Posted May 2017)

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 information provided below reflects the number of students who applied to charter schools but did not gain admittance as of March 15, 2017. This initial 2017-2018 waitlist report finds the following:

  • 74 out of 80 charter schools in the Commonwealth have waitlists1.
  • There are 58,733 entries on all waitlists, representing 31,600 unique students.
    • Of the 31,600 unique students, 7,076 students applied for admittance prior to March 20142; representing a decrease of 1,969 when compared to the number of pre-2014 applicants appearing on the 2016-2017 initial waitlist report.
    • The remaining 24,524 unique students3 newly applied for admittance to at least one charter school for the 2017-2018 school year; representing an increase of 923 students when compared to number of unique students who newly applied for the 2016-2017 school year.
    • Of the unique students, 23,113 students appear on a single waitlist and 8,487 students (27 percent) appear on more than one waitlist.

It is important to note that during the 2017-2018 application cycle, 16 Commonwealth charter schools utilized the Boston Charter School Application online application system, which made it easier for families to apply to one or more of the participating charter schools. This change in application processes contributed to the overall increase in total waitlist records (58,733 in March 2017 compared to 44,250 in March 2016). While the overall number of waitlist records increased, the total number of unique students decreased from 32,646 students in March 2016 to 31,600 in March 2017. This decline in the total number of unique students may be attributed to the 1,969 reduction in the number of unique students appearing on waitlists established prior to March 31, 2014 due to expiration of those waitlists and the offsetting increase of 923 in the number of unique students newly applying for admission. Another factor contributing to the decline has been an increase in the number of schools that are continuing to grow or have increased access to new seats by revising backfilling practices to exceed requirements.4 Finally, the percent of students appearing on more than one waitlist increased from 17 percent in March 2016 to 27 percent in March 2017.

Figure 1. Unique Number of Students on Charter School Waitlists
Number of Waitlists a Student Appears On Unique (Unduplicated) Number of Students on Charter School Waitlist(s) Waitlist Status
Unique (Unduplicated) Number of Students who Applied for Admittance and Were Waitlisted Prior to March 31, 2014 Unique (Unduplicated) Number of Students who Applied for Admittance for the 2017-2018 School Year and were Waitlisted
123,1137,06316,050
22,719132,706
31,67101,671
49480948
58740874
67310731
77350735
83210321
92110211
101230123
1195095
1242072
1311011
14303
15313
Total31,6007,07624,524

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 the table below, 8 schools continue to include such students from prior years on their active waitlists.

Figure 2. Total Number of Applications Reported on Charter School Waitlists
School NameTypeTotal Number of Applicants Reported on Charter School WaitlistsWaitlist Status
Applicants Added to Waitlists Prior to March 31, 2014. Current Year Applicants (2017-2018) Added to Waitlists
Abby Kelley Foster Charter Public SchoolCommonwealth (CW)659659
Academy Of the Pacific Rim Charter Public School*CW1,3291,329
Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter SchoolCW537537
Alma del Mar Charter SchoolCW464464
Argosy Collegiate Charter SchoolCW241241
Atlantis Charter School†CW43143388
Barnstable Community Horace Mann Charter Public SchoolHorace Mann (HM)2424
Baystate Academy Charter Public SchoolCW309309
Benjamin Banneker Charter Public SchoolCW352352
Benjamin Franklin Classical Charter Public SchoolCW355355
Bentley Academy Charter SchoolHM2323
Boston Collegiate Charter School*CW1,7971,797
Boston Day and Evening Academy Charter SchoolHM5555
Boston Green Academy Horace Mann Charter SchoolHM269269
Boston Preparatory Charter Public School*CW1,2031,203
Boston Renaissance Charter Public School*CW2,3922,392
Bridge Boston Charter School†CW1,3221,102220
Brooke Charter School*CW4,3984,398
Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter SchoolCW236236
Christa McAuliffe Charter Public SchoolCW211211
City on a Hill Charter Public School Circuit Street*CW319319
City on a Hill Charter Public School Dudley Square*CW187187
Codman Academy Charter Public School*CW3,5033,503
Collegiate Charter School of LowellCW214214
Community Charter School of CambridgeCW6464
Community Day Charter Public School - GatewayCW713713
Community Day Charter Public School - ProspectCW712712
Community Day Charter Public School - R Kingman WebsterCW672672
Conservatory Lab Charter School*CW3,0823,082
Dudley Street Neighborhood Charter SchoolHM346346
Edward M Kennedy Academy for Health Careers (Horace Mann)HM491491
Excel Academy Charter School*CW1,4911,491
Four Rivers Charter Public SchoolCW9090
Foxborough Regional Charter School†CW2,1041,457647
Francis W Parker Charter Essential SchoolCW199199
Global Learning Charter Public SchoolCW349349
Hampden Charter School of ScienceCW295295
Helen Y Davis Leadership Academy Charter Public School*CW210210
Hill View Montessori Charter Public SchoolCW203203
Hilltown Cooperative Charter Public SchoolCW261261
Holyoke Community Charter SchoolCW8888
Innovation Academy Charter SchoolCW221221
KIPP Academy Boston Charter School*CW2,1872,187
KIPP Academy Lynn Charter SchoolCW1,3601,360
Lawrence Family Development Charter School†CW541336205
Libertas Academy Charter SchoolCW7575
Lowell Community Charter Public SchoolCW302302
Marblehead Community Charter Public SchoolCW114114
Martha's Vineyard Charter SchoolCW1919
Martin Luther King Jr Charter School of Excellence†CW18627159
MATCH Charter Public School*CW4,4604,460
Mystic Valley Regional Charter School†CW3,0782,104974
Neighborhood House Charter School*CW3,6973,697
New Heights Charter School of BrocktonCW134134
Old Sturbridge Academy Charter Public SchoolCW9999
Phoenix Academy Public Charter High School Chelsea*CW178178
Pioneer Charter School of ScienceCW1,1361,136
Pioneer Charter School of Science II (PCSS-II)CW267267
Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter SchoolCW113113
Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public SchoolCW308308
Prospect Hill Academy Charter SchoolCW269269
Rising Tide Charter Public SchoolCW309309
River Valley Charter School†CW617412205
Roxbury Preparatory Charter School*CW856856
Sabis International Charter School†CW2,4462,033413
Salem Academy Charter SchoolCW197197
Seven Hills Charter Public SchoolCW343343
Silver Hill Horace Mann Charter SchoolHM127127
Sizer School: A North Central Charter Essential SchoolCW6363
South Shore Charter Public SchoolCW928928
Springfield Preparatory Charter SchoolCW240240
Sturgis Charter Public SchoolCW550550
UP Academy Charter School of DorchesterHM749749
Veritas Preparatory Charter SchoolCW364364
Commonwealth (CW) Subtotal 56,6497,51449,135
Horace Mann (HM) Subtotal 2,08402,084
Grand Total 58,7337,51451,219

Please note that the total number figure represents every student record found on each charter school's submitted waitlist.

† These 8 schools have indicated to the Department that they included waitlist information established prior to March 31, 2014 in accordance with 603 CMR 1.05(10)(a).

* These 16 schools utilized the Boston Charter School Application online application system.

This year's report builds on last year's additional support and technical assistance provided by the Department to the field. The Department continues its efforts to increase the timeliness and accuracy of 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 input waitlist data. This template embedded tools that automatically flagged duplicate records, which each school could then remove before submitting its waitlist. The template also embedded tools that flagged the waitlist for other inconsistencies, such as unrealistic dates of birth (e.g., 2/28/2017). In order to verify student information and address overall waitlist accuracy, the Department corrected any transcription errors or inconsistencies in submitted charter school waitlists. Additionally, charter schools that self-identified as including waitlists established prior to March 31, 2014, as permitted by 603 CMR 1.05(10)(a), were required to identify each individual student who was included in those waitlists (and continued to remain on their waitlist) and each student who was removed from those waitlists. Finally, the Department continued to implement its matching process that was revised and updated last year 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 initial demand for the upcoming 2017-2018 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:

  1. the unique numbers of students on waitlists;
  2. the total number of pre-March 2014 applicants and current year applicants reported on charter school waitlists;
  3. the unique number of students on waitlists by grade;
  4. the unique number of students on waitlists by city/town;
  5. the total number of students on waitlists for each charter school by grade (with backfilling overlay);
  6. the total number of students on waitlists, by grade, for each charter school that includes pre-March 2014 applicants on their waitlist;
  7. the total number of students on waitlists for each charter school by city/town;
  8. the total number of students on waitlists for each city/town by charter school;
  9. the unique number of students on waitlists by city/town and grade;
  10. the total number of students on waitlists for each charter school by city/town by grade; and
  11. the total number of students on waitlists for each city/town by grade by charter school.

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 .

Attachments



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 students who submitted applications for admittance in the current year.

3 Note: Out of 24,524 newly applying students in 2017-2018, 425 were added to new waitlists while still remaining on other school waitlists based on applications submitted prior to March 31, 2014.

4 To meet the requirements of M.G.L. c. 70, § 89(n), charter schools must continue all reasonable efforts to fill vacant seats until February 15th, and if the school chooses, it may continue to try to fill the seat after February 15th.

  Unless the school's enrollment policy or a term of its charter requires, the law does not require charter schools to fill vacant seats in the last half of the grades offered and in grades 10, 11, and 12. If a school has an odd number of grades, more than half of grades offered are included in grades for which the school must fill vacant seats. For more information on these requirements and others regarding charter school enrollment processes, see the Department's Technical Advisory 16-3.

Last Updated: February 19, 2019

 
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