FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions: Lottery & Enrollment

What is the enrollment process at York Academy?

Children from any district in Pennsylvania may apply to the York Academy. Each grade is filled with a specific number of students, selected by lottery. Priority is given to siblings of currently enrolled students and those who reside in the three chartering districts (Central York, York City and York Suburban). If the available openings are not filled by these students, children from other districts are offered admission. Any additional students are placed on a waiting list and parents are notified if openings become available. The deadline to be included in the 2020-21 lottery was March 27, 2020. Applications are still being accepted and students will be placed on the waiting list. Specific waiting list positions cannot be provided due to ongoing changes regarding sibling priority (see below).

 What is sibling priority?

First priority is given to siblings of currently enrolled students at York Academy. Normally, a student’s place on the waiting list only changes as it moves upward. However, in the case of a student who may have been lower on the list whose brother or sister is accepted, that child will move up on the waiting list and may skip above the other child.

 My child has been offered enrollment. What do I need to do next?

Make sure to accept enrollment within 10 days. Once you have accepted, you will be able to access all registration documents through the parent portal/dashboard. Welcome to the York Academy family!

My child was placed on the waiting list. Now what?

We will contact you if a seat becomes available. Please understand that we will not know this information until the summer or after school starts.

Which grades had the most open seats for the 2020-21 school year?

We were able to offer the most seats to students in kindergarten and ninth grade, which are also known as “entry grades.” Kindergarten is the primary entry grade since students matriculate from one grade to the next. Our secondary entry grade is ninth grade, since there are vacancies when students leave York Academy to pursue other interests for high school. We may not know if we have seats at non-entry grades until late summer or after school starts.

If my child is on the waiting list and is not offered a seat for the 2020-21 school year. Will I need to apply again for the 2021-22 school year or does it roll over?

Per Pennsylvania Charter School Law, we are required to purge applications at the end of each school year. If your child is on the waiting list now, but you would like to pursue enrollment again for the 2021-22 school year, you will need to apply again in January/February 2021. Please check our website for updates. 

Questions? Contact us at [email protected]. Thank you!