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Massachusetts Charter Schools

Massachusetts Charter School Waitlist Initial Report for 2022-2023 (FY23)

As of March 15, 2022

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, 2022. This initial 2022-2023 waitlist report finds the following:

  • 66 out of 761 charter schools in the Commonwealth have waitlists2.
  • There are 35,776 entries on all waitlists, representing 21,110 unique students.
    • Of the 21,110 unique students, 19 students applied for admittance prior to March 20143.
    • The remaining 21,091 unique students4 newly applied for admittance to at least one charter school for the 2022-2023 school year; representing an increase of 3,639 students when compared to the number of unique students who newly applied for the 2021-2022 school year.
    • Of the unique students, 15,882 students appear on a single waitlist and 5,228 students (24.8 percent) appear on more than one waitlist.

Figure 1. Unique Number of Students on Charter School Waitlists3

Number of Waitlists a
Student Appears On
Unique (Unduplicated) Number
of Students on Charter School
Waitlist(s)
115,882
22,175
3964
4536
5429
6338
7313
8291
984
1054
1129
127
132
144
161
191
Total21,110

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 for the upcoming school year. These regulations, however, allowed schools to keep students on their waitlists who submitted applications before March 31, 2014. As shown and footnoted in the table below, two schools continue to include waitlisted 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 Initial Waitlists
Abby Kelley Foster Charter Public SchoolCommon wealth
(CW)
603
Academy of the Pacific Rim Charter Public School*CW467
Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter SchoolCW887
Alma del Mar Charter SchoolCW579
Argosy Collegiate Charter SchoolCW109
Atlantis Charter School†CW384
Benjamin Banneker Charter Public SchoolCW113
Benjamin Franklin Classical Charter Public SchoolCW506
Berkshire Arts and Technology Charter Public SchoolCW52
Boston Collegiate Charter School*CW1,323
Boston Day and Evening Academy Charter SchoolHorace Mann
(HM)
53
Boston Green Academy Horace Mann Charter SchoolHM209
Boston Preparatory Charter Public School*CW877
Boston Renaissance Charter Public School*CW966
Bridge Boston Charter SchoolCW1,721
Brooke Charter School*CW3,141
Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter SchoolCW238
Christa McAuliffe Charter Public SchoolCW6
City on a Hill Charter Public SchoolCW210
Codman Academy Charter Public School*CW1,637
Collegiate Charter School of LowellCW359
Community Charter School of CambridgeCW18
Community Day Charter Public SchoolɸCW1,135
Conservatory Lab Charter School*CW1,875
Dudley Street Neighborhood Charter SchoolHM35
Edward M Kennedy Academy for Health Careers (Horace Mann)HM400
Excel Academy Charter School*CW1,163
Four Rivers Charter Public SchoolCW58
Foxborough Regional Charter SchoolCW737
Francis W Parker Charter Essential SchoolCW136
Global Learning Charter Public SchoolCW203
Hampden Charter School of Science EastCW221
Hampden Charter School of Science WestCW153
Hill View Montessori Charter Public SchoolCW318
Hilltown Cooperative Charter Public SchoolCW200
Innovation Academy Charter SchoolCW280
KIPP Academy Boston Charter School*CW1,232
KIPP Academy Lynn Charter SchoolCW1,834
Lawrence Family Development Charter SchoolCW312
Learning First Charter Public SchoolCW239
Libertas Academy Charter SchoolCW8
Lowell Community Charter Public SchoolCW202
Marblehead Community Charter Public SchoolCW130
Martha's Vineyard Charter SchoolCW25
Martin Luther King Jr Charter School of ExcellenceCW42
Match Charter Public School*CW2,180
Mystic Valley Regional Charter SchoolCW1,609
Neighborhood House Charter School*CW1,436
New Heights Charter School of BrocktonCW171
Old Sturbridge Academy Charter Public SchoolCW406
Pioneer Charter School of ScienceCW1,321
Pioneer Charter School of Science IICW568
Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter SchoolCW166
Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public SchoolCW175
Prospect Hill Academy Charter SchoolCW25
Rising Tide Charter Public SchoolCW212
River Valley Charter SchoolCW144
Roxbury Preparatory Charter School*CW14
Salem Academy Charter SchoolCW201
Sizer School: A North Central Charter Essential SchoolCW32
South Shore Charter Public SchoolCW554
Springfield International Charter School (formerly Sabis International Charter School)†CW159
Springfield Preparatory Charter SchoolCW600
Sturgis Charter Public SchoolCW292
UP Academy Charter School of DorchesterHM38
Veritas Preparatory Charter SchoolCW77
Commonwealth (CW) Subtotal 35,041
Horace Mann (HM) Subtotal 735
Grand Total 35,776

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

† Atlantis Charter School and Springfield International Charter School reported 11 and 8 students who were waitlisted prior to March 31, 2014, respectively, in accordance with 603 CMR 1.05(10)(a).

* These 12 schools utilized the Boston Charter School Application online application system.

ɸ Community Day Charter Public School previously operated as three separate charter schools that were consolidated into a single school beginning in the 2022-2023 school year.


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 demand for the current 2022-2023 school year rather than exact numbers of students willing to accept offers at each school.

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., 2/28/2022) and student age. 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 continues to implement its matching process, which is refined and updated to increase accuracy in identifying students who applied for admission to more than one charter school.

The Department thanks all of the charter school administrators and staff who worked diligently to report their waitlists as accurately as possible. The Department appreciates the efforts made by schools to submit their waitlist reports as promptly as possible.

The appendix to this report contains the following numbers based on a March 15, 2022 data collection:

  1. the unique number of students on waitlists;
  2. the total number of pre-March 2014 applicants and new applicants reported on charter school waitlists by March 15, 2022;
  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 unique number of students on waitlists by city/town and grade; and
  8. the total number of students on waitlists for each charter school by city/town by grade.

For more information on waitlist policy and procedures and the number of students found on previous cycles of charter school waitlists, see Charter School Technical Advisory 16-3: Enrollment Processes and FAQ's and Charter Schools Enrollemnt website. For further information regarding this report, please contact Brenton Stewart or the Office of Charter Schools and School Redesign at charterschools@doe.mass.edu .

Attachments



1 Please note that the reduction in the number of charters overall is due to the consolidation of three schools into one school for FY23.

2 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 Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education (Commissioner).

3 The Department works with schools to identify the students who were placed on waitlists prior to March 31, 2014 and continue to be maintained on a waitlist. Please note that the number of uniquely identified students who applied for admittance prior to March 2014 declined by 474 when compared to the 2021-2022 waitlist initial report. Only 19 students who were placed on waitlists prior to March 31, 2014 were reported for the 2022-2023 school year.

4 Of the 21,091 students who newly applied in 2022-2023, none were found on school waitlists established prior to March 31, 2014.

Last Updated: May 10, 2022

 
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