District outlines deadlines for 2014-2015 Choice
process
Submit application by January
31st deadline for priority consideration
Last year, the Adams 12 Five
Star Schools received more than 4,200 Choice applications for the 2013-2014
school year. In accordance with the state’s open enrollment law, the district’s
Choice Program allows for students to apply to attend schools outside of their
attendance area boundary. Those who are approved for Choice are responsible for
their own transportation.
Both in-district and
out-of-district students can apply for Choice. Out-of-district Choice requests
are considered after in-district applications.
Acceptance to a Choice school is based upon several criteria:
availability of space, sufficient teaching staff, appropriate programs and the
necessary facilities for special needs students. While not a guarantee, when possible,
priority will be given to sibling applications for Choice so that families will
attend the same school. A second priority
will be given to siblings who have a one-year lapse of concurrent
enrollment.
Adams 12 Five Star Schools will determine the schools open
to Choice for the 2014-2015 school year no later than December 1, 2013. These
will be published in the December issue of the Five Star Journal and will be
posted online at the district web site at www.adams12.org/choice_schools.
The Choice application will
be available on December 1st at http://www.adams12.org/choice/application. For families
without computer access, applications will be available at each school and at
the Educational Support Center.
The deadline for priority consideration is January 31,
2014. Parents and students submitting
an application for priority consideration will be notified of the results of their
application no later than the third week of February. If the number of requests
exceeds the spaces available for priority consideration in a given school, the
district will hold a lottery.
The second deadline to submit a Choice application for
the 2014-2015 school year will be March 31, 2014. As with the first round, if the number of requests
exceeds the spaces available for priority consideration in a given school, the
district will hold a lottery. Notification
of approval or denial will be made no later than the third week of April.
In addition to the two deadlines above, in some years
a third round of Choice may be held in August if space is available. While the 1st
and 2nd round of Choice is lottery based, applications in the third
round of Choice are processed on a first-come, first-served basis and submitted
at the school.
The Adams 12 Admissions
Office determines the acceptance of Choice requests. For traditional schools,
extended-day tuition-based kindergarten does not go through the Choice Program. For magnet schools, extended-day
tuition-based kindergarten does go
through the Choice Program. In-district
students are not required to apply for Choice to attend secondary programs like
Horizon SOAR, Legacy 2000, Mountain Range International Language and Business,
Northglenn High STEM Program and Thornton High International Baccalaureate (IB). Application and acceptance to those programs
goes through the individual school.
Out-of-district students must apply for Choice, if that particular
school is open to Choice, be approved to attend the secondary school and must
be approved to attend the school’s program via the school’s program application
process.
Parents of extended-day, tuition-based kindergarteners
at traditional schools should note that enrollment in that program does
not automatically mean the student will go to the same school for first grade. The student must apply through the Choice Program
for first grade placement if he/she wants to go to a school other than his/her
boundary school. Also note that the
school the child attended for kindergarten may not necessarily be open for Choice. Parents of extended-day, tuition-based
kindergarteners for magnet schools do not need to reapply for Choice as
their Choice approval remains in effect through the highest grade served at
their magnet school.
The duration of a Choice
placement is valid only for the grades which that school serves. For example,
if a student attends a Choice elementary school, the approval is valid to the
end of fifth grade, as long as there are no significant changes in that
school’s enrollment or facilities. When a student transitions from elementary
to middle school or from middle to high school, they must reapply for Choice.
If they don’t, the student’s placement automatically reverts to their boundary
school.
To learn more about the
Choice Program and to get answers to frequently asked questions, please visit
the district web site at http://www.adams12.org/choice or call 720-972-4055.