Admissions
Enrollment
Classes will be multi-age, multi-grade as defined in the academic program. Enrollment is listed through the 2029-2030 academic year. The 2023-2024 enrollment in Lava was 57 students. However as recently as the 2021-2022 school year, enrollment was at 77. By offering a new educational focus, stability and outreach to previously enrolled families, it’s reasonable to project that the academy will increase in enrollment. But we are being conservative and only projecting 50 students the first year.
Enrollment
The Academy enrollment table reads as follows:
Column 1: Years of operation.
Column 2: Total enrollment for the school for each academic year.
Column 3: Total kindergarten enrollment.
Column 4: Total first through third grade enrollment, with a breakdown by grade.
Column 5: Total fourth and fifth grade enrollment, with a breakdown by grade.
Column 6: Total sixth grade enrollment, with a breakdown by grade.
Admissions Procedures
The Charter shall establish an enrollment admissions deadline. All written requests for admission to the Charter for the upcoming school year must be received by the deadline date. The enrollment deadline cannot be changed once the enrollment information is disseminated. The enrollment window and deadline will be established by the Board of Directors each January for the upcoming school year.
Returning students will not need to fill out new applications each year but will need to sign a “commitment to return” form by the enrollment deadline to secure their spot for the next school year.
Admissions Preferences
Should the initial capacity of the Charter be insufficient to enroll all prospective students, a lottery will be utilized to determine which prospective students can be admitted to the Charter. The Charter will follow Idaho Code Section 33-502 (j) and utilize an equitable selection process as outlined in IDAPA 08.02.04.203.07 or another method that is approved by the authorizer.
Admission Preferences for First Year
First Priority: Applicants who are children of the Charter’s full-time employees or children of the Charter’s Founders, not to exceed 10% of total enrollment thereafter.
Second Priority: Applicants who are siblings of pupils already selected by the lottery.
Third Priority: Applicants who reside within the Charter’s primary area of attendance. The primary attendance area will be Marsh Valley School District #21.
Fourth Priority: Applicants who reside outside of the Charter’s primary area of attendance.
Admission Preferences for Subsequent Years
First Priority: Students returning to the Charter in the second or any subsequent year of operation. Returning students are automatically enrolled in the appropriate grade and do not need to be selected by lottery.
Second Priority: Children of the Charter’s Founders and full-time employees, as long as this admission preference is not more than 10% of the capacity. Also receiving second priority are children who attended the public charter school within the previous three (3) school years, but who withdrew as a result of the relocation of a parent or guardian due to an academic sabbatical, employer or military transfer or reassignment.
Third Priority: Siblings of students already enrolled in and attending the Charter.
Fourth Priority: Prospective students residing in the primary attendance area of the Charter.
Fifth Priority: Prospective students residing outside of the primary attendance area of the Charter.
The Charter will be open to all students on a space-available basis. No student will be denied admission based on race/ethnicity, national origin, religion, age, social or economic status, disability, or special needs. No out-of-state students will be enrolled.