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Who is eligible to apply to Union Academy?
- All applicants must have parents/guardians who are currently legal residents of North Carolina. The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, Division of Charter Schools, mandates out-of-state residents not to participate in the lottery.
- Union Academy Charter School admits students without regard to ethnicity, national origin, gender, or disability. Our state-mandated lottery process results in a random sampling of applicants.
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If we know we will be moving to North Carolina before the school year begins, may we apply during the open enrollment period?
No, students must be a resident of the state of North Carolina at the time their application is submitted. All applications for the lottery must be North Carolina residents with a physical North Carolina address.
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How does the admissions process work?
- As a public charter school, we are required to conduct an annual admissions lottery for any openings in grades K-12. Before the lottery opens, Union Academy Charter School administrators must determine the number of seats that will be available at each grade level. This is based on several factors, which include the number of current UA students moving to the next grade and available classroom space.
- According to the law governing charter schools in North Carolina, all new students who wish to be part of the UA lottery must complete an application for admission.
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What if I am applying for twins or multiples?
- A separate application must be submitted for each twin or multiple child-birth. Only one application per child will be accepted. Submitting duplicate applications to gain an advantage will result in disqualifying the student's application.
- If a family has more than one child applying for admission, separate applications must be completed for each child.
- State law allows one lottery number per family surname to be entered into the lottery for twins and multiple-birth siblings.
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We applied last year, but were not accepted. Does applying multiple years give us an advantage?
No, per state law, you must apply every year for the appropriate grade level.
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How does the lottery work?
- Families must fill out applications online while the application period is open. For the 2022-23 school year, open enrollment will begin October 18, 2021 and end at 4:00 pm on March 4, 2022.
- Families need to enter a valid email address and create a password to create a free account. If you created a username/password for the previous admissions year, you may still use the same login information. If you forget your password, you may reset it at any time.
- All applications must be completed online. The order in which the application is submitted does not impact the selection process. It does not matter whether a family submits an application on the first day or the last day of open enrollment, since the lottery is a random, computer-based drawing.
- All applications are entered into the lottery software program and stored. The software generates a number for each application.
The computer program will randomly select applications for admission at the public lottery on March 11, 2022 at 10:00 AM. You are welcome to attend, but it is not mandatory. Attending the lottery does not improve or lessen chances of admission. - Families will be notified by email within 24 hours of the public lottery about whether their application was selected, or whether they are on a waitlist. If applicants are on a waitlist, we will also provide the waitlist number.
- Families may also log into the account they created to check the results of the lottery and, if applicable, the waitlist number per grade level.
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My child's name was chosen in the lottery-what's next?
- Open seats will be offered to eligible student applicants immediately following the lottery. These applicants will receive an email that contains enrollment information. Applicants will be given a deadline to make a decision on the offer and submit the enrollment form.
- If the offer is denied or not claimed by submitting the completed enrollment form within the required time frame, the seat will be offered to the first student on the waitlist.
- Please note: Students are required to be in attendance on the first day of school (calendar to be posted on the website) and will forfeit their seats.
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What happens if my child's name is not chosen in the lottery?
- If there are no spaces available at the grade level for which the student is applying, the lottery will generate a waitlist number assigned to that student based on the order in which his/her name is selected for the grade he/she is applying for. This will be the student’s wait list number for the school year that you applied for. Per state law, North Carolina Charter Schools are not permitted to carry-over wait lists year to year; therefore, it is necessary to apply for each school year.
- If one child in a family receives an admissions offer, other siblings are not automatically included in the offer. Other family siblings will only receive an offer if their waitlist number moves up to an offer for the grade they are applying. If no offer is made, they will be considered “siblings” for the next year (after one child in the family is attending) and will receive sibling priority in the lottery for the following academic year.
- Please keep in mind, that most natural attrition or movement will happen over the summer; we will continue to use the waitlist to fill any openings up until the end of the first semester (mid-January).
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If my child is placed on the waitlist this year, will that carry over until next year?
- No. The waitlist does not carry over to the following year. Per state law, you will have to submit a new application every year for the appropriate grade. Once you are enrolled at Union Academy Charter School, you are guaranteed a slot in subsequent years (as long as you remain a North Carolina resident) and do not have to reapply. We do not accept students who passed the 2nd semester of the current school year (mid-January).
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If my child is offered admission from the waitlist, what do we need to do?
- Union Academy Charter School will continue to use the waitlist to fill open seats until the end of the first semester (mid-January).
- As seats open, we will offer them to eligible student applicants according to their number on the waitlist. These applicants will receive an email that contains how to accept or decline the spot. Applicants will be given 24-48 hours to accept the seat (depending on when they are contacted).
- If your child is accepted to Union Academy Charter School, it is mandatory that you complete the enrollment paperwork in a timely manner.
- If the offer is denied or not claimed by the deadline given when the offer is made, the seat will be offered to the next student on the waitlist.
- If one child in a family receives an admissions offer, other siblings are not automatically included in the offer. Other family siblings will only receive an offer if their waitlist number moves up to an offer for the grade they are applying. If no offer is made, they will be considered “siblings” for the next year (after one child in the family is attending) and will receive sibling priority in the lottery for the following academic year.
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If one of my children is accepted this year, but the other is not, will they have enrollment priority next year?
- Siblings of students currently attending Union Academy Charter School will be given sibling priority for placement in subsequent years. While we are hopeful to place these siblings within a year, it is possible that it could take longer, depending upon the number of siblings for a specific grade level and the number of available slots that year.
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Does anyone receive enrollment priority?
Union Academy Charter School may give enrollment priority in certain instances pursuant to North Carolina law, specifically G.S.115C-218.45. The Cornerstone Charter Academy Board of Directors, per Board Policy, will offer admissions priority for the 2021-22 school year as follows:
1. Children of school’s full-time employees (minimum of 30 hours a week)(The law limits the number of staff and/or board children to no more than 15 percent of the school’s total enrollment.)
2. Siblings of currently enrolled students who were admitted to Cornerstone Charter Academy in the previous year.For the purposes of this subsection, the term “siblings” includes any of the following who reside in the same household: half siblings, step-siblings, and children residing in a family foster home.
3. Children of the Board of Directors(The law limits the number of staff and/or board children to no more than 15 percent of the school’s total enrollment.)
4. Applicants of the general public