Enrollment Process

Each year, the enrollment process will a) fill a new grade of Kindergarten students, and b) position students to take seats that may come available in first grade and above.

To the extent that demand exceeds the number of available seats for any given grade, the administration will conduct a public, system-generated, grade-level lottery. Lottery results will be posted to each applicant’s online SchoolMint account on the day of the lottery.

Atlanta Classical Academy participates in Apply APS Charter, the unified enrollment platform for schools chartered by the Atlanta Public School District. Apply APS Charter simplifies the enrollment process for Atlanta families by providing one place to get school and enrollment information and submit applications for multiple charter schools. 

In accordance with Atlanta Classical Academy’s charter and as permitted by OCGA § 20-2-206 6, Atlanta Classical Academy will grant enrollment preference to the siblings of currently-enrolled students, to the children of board members, and to the children of full-time employees.

Sibling preference refers to giving preference in the lottery to students who already have a sibling enrolled at the school. “Sibling” means a child who shares at least one common biological or legal parent whether through natural or adoptive means, including biological siblings that share parents; half siblings that share a single parent; step siblings that share a parent or parents through marriage even if the marriage was terminated by death or dissolution; children who share a parent or parents through adoption or guardianship; and foster children awaiting permanent placement. Siblings must also be residents of the Atlanta Public Schools district to attend Atlanta Classical Academy. The lottery will be conducted on a grade-by-grade basis, and the results of the lottery for one sibling will have no bearing on the results of another sibling who is also participating in the lottery.

Atlanta Classical Academy also provides enrollment priority to a student whose parent or guardian is a member of the governing board of the charter school or is a full-time teacher, professional, or another full-time employee at the school.

In accordance with O.C.G.A. 20-2-2066(a)(1)(A), and as required based on the terms of the charter agreement, ACA employs a weighted lottery for economically disadvantaged students. To facilitate the weighted lottery, applicants will indicate their economically disadvantaged status on the application. Applicants who receive offers will be required to provide documentation of the economically disadvantaged status. The weight shall be calculated annually with the formula: W = (PA – PE) / (E – PE) and consistent with the charter agreement. The variables of the weighted lottery formula are defined as follows: “P” shall be equal to the percentage of economically disadvantaged students in the Atlanta Public School system as measured by the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement for the previous school year. In the event the percentage of economically disadvantaged students in the local school system in which the Charter School is located is more than 50%, P shall not exceed 50%. “A” shall be equal to the total number of Kindergarten applications from all students. “E” shall be equal to the number of Kindergarten applications from students who identify as economically disadvantaged.

The result of the lottery for rising Kindergarten students will be a list of 50 “seated” students, plus a numerical waitlist. The result of the lottery for first grade students and above will be a numerical wait list. The school will use the wait list to offer available seats to students on a grade-by-grade basis as they become available.