Enroll at Salida del Sol

Salida del Sol is currently accepting applications for enrollment. If you are interested in helping your child develop bilingual abilities, SDSA is the place for you!

We fill our kindergarten through 8th-grade positions on a first-come-first-served basis, using an enrollment lottery once we reach site capacity.

Salida del Sol está aceptando solicitudes para inscripciones. Sí estás interesado en ayudar a su hijo/a en sus habilidades bilingües, SDSA es el lugar para usted!

Estamos llenando todos los grados de kinder al octavo, por medio del sistema de lotería, una vez que ya haya alcanzado su capacidad, estarémos aceptando aplicaciones y serán puestas en una lista de espera.

Enrollment

Salida del Sol Academy will accept Application Forms through January 15. If any grade is oversubscribed, SDSA will hold a lottery on January 20.

Founding Family

A Founding Family includes children in the household of any member of the Salida del Sol Academy Board Member and children in the household of any family or person that provided at least 60 hours of approved volunteer service toward the establishment of Salida del Sol Academy by November 30 and before 15% of projected enrollment is guaranteed to founding families. Founding Family priority is based on the completion date of the 60 approved volunteer hours.

Administrator, Teacher, and Staff Children Enrollment

All administrators, teachers, and staff employed a minimum of 20 hours a week will have guaranteed enrollment for children of which they have legal guardianship. The combined enrollment of children of “Founding Families” and administrators, teachers, and staff shall not exceed 20% of total school population. Administrator, teacher, and staff children enrollment will be prioritized based on 1.) hire date; 2.) number of paid hours weekly (with full-time employees receiving highest priority and 20 hour a week employees receiving lowest priority).

Community Notice

Salida del Sol Academy has and will continue to use the following mechanisms to notify the community about SDSA’s opening and attract a diverse student body:

• SDSA’s website
• Greeley Tribune articles
• Neighborhood canvassing
• Community Information tables
• Community information meetings
• Boys and Girls Club tables
• Rodarte Center tables
• Posters with information and cards at local businesses

Current Student Intent to Enroll

Parents of currently enrolled students will be required to submit an Intent to Attend form each Spring to secure a place at Salida del Sol Academy the following academic year. Intent to Attend l Forms are due by April 15 each year.

Application and Lottery Process

Salida del Sol Academy is a public charter school open to any student regardless of race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, gender, or socio-economic status. Salida del Sol accepts students from kindergarten through 8th grade. At the point Salida del Sol receives more applications for admission than its capacity, a random lottery will be held as outlined to meet enrollment priorities. Salida del Sol encourages parents to familiarize themselves with the school’s Mission, Vision, Core Beliefs, and education curriculum. Information is available on the school’s website and from the school’s administrative office. Parents are encouraged to attend informational meetings and tour the school.

For admission into kindergarten a student must be five (5) years old by June 1 of the year in which the student plans to enroll, or four years old and identified to be a highly advanced gifted child for whom early access to kindergarten is appropriate in accordance with state law. If Kindergarten is not fully enrolled with students who meet this criteria, then Salida del Sol may, in its discretion, enroll additional students who are five years old by July 1. If Kindergarten is still not fully enrolled then Salida del Sol may, in its discretion, enroll additional students who are five years old by August 1, then September 1, and then October 1. In any case, students who are not five years old or four years old with an identification as highly advanced gifted by October 1 shall not be considered for enrollment during that academic year. Each grouping of students, if Salida del Sol elects to enroll students beyond the June 1 deadline, must be enrolled in accordance with applicable provisions of this enrollment policy, including without limitation the lottery process.

Application Process

All prospective students wishing to enroll must complete an enrollment application form, which can be obtained from Salida del Sol’s administrative office and/or website (www.salidadelsolacademy.com). Parents have an obligation to provide accurate and complete information on the enrollment application form. The application must be returned to the school’s office by January 15th for the prospective student to be eligible for the annual lottery, which will be held January 20. For purposes of the lottery draw, a number will be assigned to the application and provided to the parent. Salida del Sol reserves the right to decline enrollment to students if false, misleading, or incomplete information is provided on enrollment documents.
Only one application form may be submitted for each child. Parents wishing to enroll kindergarten students may not submit an enrollment form for their child one (1) year prior to eligibility. Enrollment forms submitted after the due date will be placed at the bottom of the waiting list in the order of submission.

Lottery Process

To ensure the privacy of student information as required by state and federal law, Salida del Sol will conduct enrollment lotteries in public with a disinterested party drawing numbers which have been specifically assigned to each application received, rather than drawing individual student names. The parent or guardian of each student is entitled to know the student’s lottery number in advance of the drawing to ensure the transparency and fairness of the process.

Current Student Intent to Enroll

Parents of currently enrolled students will be required to submit an Intent to Enroll form each Spring to secure a place at Salida del Sol Academy the following academic year. Intent to Enroll Forms are due by April 15 each year.

Sibling Enrollment

When a student is enrolled, his/her younger siblings will be automatically enrolled in their respective grades prior to the lottery for that grade and assuming there are available openings. Multiple birth children will be enrolled together regardless of class size.

Priority Enrollment

Priority enrollment will be granted to the following groups of students prior to the lottery:

1. Currently enrolled students
2. Siblings of currently enrolled students (Stepchildren and foster children qualify as siblings)
3. Children in the household of or under the legal guardianship of Founding Families
4. Children of Administrators, Teachers, and Staff employed a minimum of 20 hours a week at WCA.

Administrator, Teacher, and Staff Children enrollment will be prioritized based on 1.) Hire Date; 2.) Number of Paid Hours Weekly (with full-time employees receiving highest priority and 20 hour a week employees receiving lowest priority)

(The sum of #2 and #3 will comprise no more than 20% of total student enrollment with children of founding families having priority over children of administrators, teachers, and staff.

Priority enrollment will be granted to the following groups as part of the lottery:

1. Residents of Greeley-Evans School District 6.
2. All other students outside School District 6.

The lottery will be held by grade level to determine enrollment for the fall semester of the following school year. A waiting list will be established when enrollment has met its capacity. The applications will be listed in the order drawn. If new openings occur during the school year, children will be enrolled by order on the waiting list. Lottery and waiting lists will be redrawn annually.

It is the responsibility of the parent(s) on the waiting list to notify the school of any changes to the information listed in the enrollment application form.

Offers of enrollment will be made by telephone or in person. If the listed phone number is not answered, an offer will be emailed and/or mailed to the listed address. In order to be fair to all families and to fill class rosters in a timely manner, families who have been notified of admission shall respond within three (3) school days to accept enrollment. If acceptance is not given within three (3) school days or is declined, the student will be dropped from the current enrollment list and the child will be placed at the bottom of the waiting list.

Parents accepting enrollment of their child must sign the parent/student agreement that shall serve to:

1. Acknowledge they understand and value the school’s Vision and Core Beliefs.
2. Affirm their commitment to participate actively in their child’s education both at school and at home.
3. Affirm their intent to adhere to the school’s policies and procedures.
4. Affirm their intent to attend regularly scheduled parent-teacher meetings and conferences.
5. Acknowledge they have read and discussed the school’s expectations as a family and agreed to work together to achieve those expectations.

Unless the school is notified in advance, students who are not in attendance by 12:00 p.m. on the first day of school or admittance will forfeit their enrollment. The next student on the waiting list will be notified. Given that enrollment in Salida del Sol by “parents’ choice,” transportation to and from school is the sole responsibility of the parent.

Salida del Sol Academy will not be utilizing a weighted lottery since our school has Title I designation.

Withdrawals and Transfers

Parents of students withdrawing or entering SDSA will be asked to fill out a form requesting information about their previous or future school. This form will allow SDSA staff to send or request student record information.

Definitions

Terms in this document shall have the following meanings:

• Admitted: To accept an offer of admission to a school.
• Application: As defined in the school’s enrollment policy, the primary document/form used to make a request for admission to a school.
• Applicant: Someone who formally asks (applies) for admission to a school.
• Attending: A student is considered to be attending a charter school if s/he goes to school.
• Enrollment: A student is considered to be enrolled if an offer of admission is made and an acceptance is received in accordance with the school’s enrollment policy. After the student is enrolled, the school may determine, through placement testing provided to all students, whether the student needs to be placed in a grade other than the one for which he/she applied. If this is the case, the charter school must provide a space in the appropriate grade.
• Currently Attending: A student who is currently participating in classes at the school.
• Enrollment Policy: The document that clearly communicates the charter school’s adherence to applicable laws and regulations with the objective of creating a transparent and fair enrollment process.
• Intent to Attend: The primary document/form used to make a request for continued admission to the school.
• Non-residents: Any students who reside outside the boundaries of Greeley-Evans School District 6.
• Residents: Students who live in the attendance boundaries of Greeley-Evans School District 6. Residency is determined by where the child actually lives, irrespective of guardianship, custody, and domicile. A student who lives for part of the time in the charter school’s attendance area is given preference. Salida del Sol Academy will require proof of residency.
• Salida del Sol Employee: All professional employees of the school, including teachers and administrators who have full-time status.
• Siblings: Children who share a common biological or legal guardian, as opposed to children who live in the same household but do not share a common parent. Charter schools may require proof of sibling status.
  • Receive Sibling Preference
    • Children who live in different households but share a common biological or legal parent.
    • Siblings of students who are due to graduate at the end of the school year in which the lottery is held.
    • If a student moves out of the local city or town but remains enrolled, that student’s siblings have preference in admission even though they are nonresidents at the time of application.
  • Do Not Receive Sibling Preference
    • Siblings and children of alumni/ae.
    • Siblings of applicants who have been accepted for admission but are not yet attending (including twins).