Application Process and Enrollment Policy
We accept applications at anytime. However, the lottery for the 24/25 school year has been completed and families are being offered spaces. Any applications received from this point forward will be held for a possible second lottery.
Overview
Application for admission to the SunRidge Charter School shall be open to any resident in the state of California. Pupils will be considered for admission without regard to ethnicity, national origin, gender, family structure, or disability.
Children must meet the following age requirements:
Transitional Kindergarten:
SunRidge School offers Transitional Kindergarten, which applies only for those children turning 5 years of age between September 2, 2018 and April 2, 2019. All kindergarten classrooms are mixed age and include Transitional Kindergarten students. All Transitional Kindergarten students with birthdates between September 2, 2018 and April 2, 2019 will matriculate to the conventional kindergarten program the following school year.
Kindergarten (1 year): Birthdate between June 2, 2017 through June 1, 2018.
First Grade through Eighth: Age six by June 2nd prior to entering First Grade in September. This age policy continues in this manner through all the grades, reflecting the developmental approach followed by Waldorf-methods schools. Exceptions to this policy may be made by consent of the class teacher and the principal, and will be on a trial basis.
Students will be enrolled or considered for the lottery in each class according to the Birthdate chart (see application information packet). Parental concerns about potential grade placement must be submitted in writing with the student’s application for Director’s consideration.
Application Process
The application process for SunRidge Charter School will follow California Education code for Charter Schools and the provisions included in the school’s charter as approved by Twin Hills Union School District and the State Board of Education.
Applications for new students are accepted during the designated open application period each spring for the following school year. Following the open application period, a determination is made as to whether the number of eligible applicants exceeds the number of available spaces for each class.
Lottery Procedure
As required by law, a public lottery procedure will be initiated when the number of eligible applicants exceeds the capacity of a class. Tickets with eligible applicants' names will be drawn randomly, and a number assigned to each applicant. Enrollment in the class will then be allocated according to available space, lottery number, and the enrollment priorities shown below. Kindergarten applicants will be divided by age into K-1 (one-year in kindergarten), K-2 (two years in kindergarten and TK) with selection based on available kindergarten spaces in each age grouping (younger children traditionally attend Kindergarten for two years in Waldorf methods schools).
Students must be residents of the state of California to be eligible to apply to a California charter school. Students are considered for enrollment with the following priority status as set forth in the school’s charter:
- Students presently enrolled in SunRidge Charter (guaranteed enrollment for the following year).
- Students who are the children of SunRidge employees working at least 0.5 FTE.
- Students who have siblings enrolled in SunRidge (siblings include children living in the same household who share at least one parent, stepparent or guardian).
- Children who are residents of Twin Hills Union School District or children of an employee of the Twin Hills Union School District.
- All other applicants.
Applicants are placed on a waiting list within each priority category in the order of their lottery ticket number. Available spaces will be offered by order on the waiting list within each priority category, first to applicants in the #1 priority group, then the #2 priority group, group #3, etc. Applicants not offered spaces remain on the waiting list only for the school year for which they applied and are contacted if space becomes available during that school year.
Special Conditions for Applying
Twins and Multiples: Families applying for enrollment of twins (or multiples) for the same class must complete a separate application for each child. Each application will be entered in the lottery process as an individual student but with the indication that the student has a twin (multiple) also applying for the same class.
- During the lottery process, when one of the twins (multiples) is chosen, the second twin (multiples) will be placed on the wait list immediately after the first twin’s (multiple’s) name.
- If a class space is offered to one twin (multiple) and not the other(s) for the same class, the same time frame for accepting the class spot and participating in the enrollment process is required in order to reserve the class space.
Notification of Enrollment
Offers of admission will be made by letter to the applicant’s family, to be sent within ten (10) days of the enrollment lottery. The family will have five (5) business days from the date of mailing to respond. If the family does not respond, one additional phone call will be made, and the family has two (2) business days to contact the school. If the family still does not respond, the applicant will be considered to have “declined” and will lose his/her place in the class.
Wait List
Those who apply after the open enrollment period will be eligible for available spaces if/when there are no names on the open enrollment waiting lists. When there are multiple applications of this type, a second lottery process will determine order of admission.
Students with Special Needs
SunRidge Charter School is a public school within the Twin Hills Union School District and will work together with the special education local plan area (SELPA) to ensure that a free and appropriate education is provided to all students with disabilities. SunRidge School participates in state and federal funding in the same manner as other schools within the Twin Hills Union School District. The Twin Hills Union School District will be responsible for ensuring that all children with disabilities enrolled in the SunRidge School receive special education and designated instructional services implemented within the curriculum of SunRidge School in a manner consistent with all applicable provisions of state and federal law.
Grade Birthdates
Students will be enrolled or considered for the lottery in each class according to the chart below. Parental concerns about potential grade placement must be submitted in writing with the student’s application for the Principals consideration.
2023-24 Birthdates for Class Enrollment:
*Please note: Transitional Kindergarten birth dates fall between September 2, 2018 and April 2, 2019.
|
Grade for 2024-25 School Year |
Birth Date Range for |
|
TK |
September 2, 2019 - June 2, 2020 |
| K-2 (2 years of kindergarten) |
June 2, 2019 - September 1, 2019 |
|
K1 (1 year of kindergarten) |
June 2, 2018 - June 1, 2019 |
|
1st Grade |
June 2, 2017 - June 1, 2018 |
|
2nd Grade |
June 2, 2016 - June 1, 2017 |
|
3rd Grade |
June 2, 2015 - June 1, 2016 |
|
4th Grade |
June 2, 2014 - June 1, 2015 |
|
5th Grade |
June 2, 2013 - June 1, 2014 |
|
6th Grade |
June 2, 2012 - June 1, 2013 |
|
7th Grade |
June 2, 2011 - June 1, 2012 |
|
8th Grade |
June 2, 2010 - June 1, 2011 |
Vaccination Requirements for Enrollment:
Students who:
- (1) are entering Kindergarten for the first time, or
- (2) are entering 7th Grade, or
- (3) are transferring from out-of state, or
- (4) who do not already have a Medical Exemption (ME) on file with a California school as of December 31, 2019, or
- (5) have a medical exemption (ME)
will be required to meet the CDPH Immunization Requirements for their age.
Students who have a ME on file with a California school as of December 31, 2019 will have to meet the CDPH requirements by the time they are ready to enter 7th grade.
- If it is required and your child is not fully immunized prior to enrollment, CDPH regulations allow for "conditional admission." What this requires is:
- (1) Your child receives at least the first dose of all required vaccines prior to admission;
- (2) Your child not be currently due for any doses at the time of admission; and
- (3) Your child completes all the remaining doses when they become due in accordance with the official "Conditional Admission Immunization Schedule for Grade K-12.”
- If a student is “conditionally admitted” and does not receive the remaining doses when due, the law states that the student may not attend school and will be dis-enrolled.
- Full details of the CDPH Immunization Requirements can be found at: www.shotsforschool.org