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Admissions

Admissions Information 

(Please read all info thoroughly)

Chesapeake Public Charter School is a small school setting aimed at providing an alternative for parents seeking a smaller, more personalized learning environment for their child.  CPCS is a tuition-free, 11-month public school that is part of the St. Mary’s County Public School system.  Admission to CPCS is open to all students residing in St. Mary’s County in kindergarten through eighth grade.  In the event that there are spaces available, students who are not residents of St. Mary’s County may be admitted pursuant to applicable St. Mary’s County Public Schools (SMCPS) policies on tuition and admission of non-resident students. 

Admission will not be denied to any student based on factors such as race, color, gender, socio-economic status, parental status, national origin, religion, limited English language proficiency, cognitive ability, or disability. CPCS shall actively recruit and encourage student applicants from a wide cross-section of the St. Mary’s County community with the aim of including, to the extent possible, a level of racial, ethnic, student ability, and socio-economic diversity that closely approximates that of the St. Mary’s County Public School system as a whole. To achieve this goal and to maximize the potential positive impact of CPCS on the enrollment conditions in county schools and, additionally, to have a beneficial financial effect on the schools whose enrollments are affected by CPCS, weighted lotteries, and active recruitment will occur when necessary.  Beginning in the 2017-2018 school year economically disadvantaged students will be given preference. 

For more details, contact the school’s main office at 301-863-9585.

 

NEW PROSPECTIVE PARENT INFORMATIONAL SESSIONS

Interested in CPCS?  

Join us for Prospective Parent Informational Sessions:

There will be two in-person Q&A sessions this year to be held on the following dates.  

  • TBD
  • TBD

View our helpful FAQ

 

Application Procedure for New Students 

All interested families must fill out applications online at cpcsapplication.com during the open enrollment period. (This includes all siblings who were waitlisted in the 23/24 school year).  Each of that adult’s natural children, stepchildren, legally adopted children, or legal foster children actually residing in their household shall be eligible for admission. Cousins, nieces, nephews, and unrelated children sharing the same address with the applicant are not eligible; the parent/guardian of these children should submit separate applications. A separate Application for Enrollment must be submitted for each eligible child a parent wishes to have considered for enrollment into CPCS.

Open Enrollment for 2024-2025 is now CLOSED 

LotterEase Application - Waitlist Only 

LOTTERY APPLICATION - *The current wailtlist is closed due to the transitioning of the lottery system software and will reopen in July 

Lottery applicants will receive email notifications. 

At the completion of the lottery, such applications will be placed on the General Waiting List in the order in which they were received. Only one application per child will be accepted. 

  • Families need to enter a valid email address and create a password to create a free account. The application also features a mobile friendly platform. This account will need to be monitored for information regarding submission status, acceptance/wait list notifications.
  • 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 since the lottery is a random, computer-based drawing. The application is available in multiple languages.
  • The official lottery will be run at the end of January 2024.
  • Kindergarten families will be notified by email upon completion of the lottery of their acceptance or wait list status. All other families of students in grades 1-8 will receive an email of their waitlist status and will be offered seats as they become open through the summer months.

 

Chesapeake Public Charter School Lottery Procedure

All interested families must fill out applications online during the open enrollment period.

Chesapeake Public Charter School enrolls students in accordance with federal and state guidelines. According to Maryland Charter School Legislation (Statute 9-102) enrollment in a public school is open to all students on a space available basis and admits students on a lottery basis if more students apply than can be accommodated. The application period is typically conducted in December prior to the start of the next school year; please consult our website for the exact timeline and Admissions procedures. Students must provide proof of residency in St. Mary’s County to enroll.

To participate in the lottery for the upcoming school year, applications must be received by the deadline. All new applicants, including students who did not previously receive an invitation into the school, must apply. Currently enrolled students do not need to reapply, instead the Declaration of Intent should be filled out. 

Chesapeake Public Charter School conducts a lottery to determine the order in which available spaces are offered to applicants. The lottery is a random, computer-based drawing resulting in a ranked wait-list for available seats in each grade. As spaces become available, they will be offered to families in the following order:

  1. Children of founder
  2. Children of staff
  3. Siblings*
  4. Economically Disadvantaged** students (up to 35% of eligible spaces per charter law)
  5. All other applicants

The official lottery will be run at the end of January.

Kindergarten families will be notified by email upon completion of the lottery of their acceptance or wait list status. All other families of students in grades 1-8 will receive an email of their wait list status and will be offered seats as they become open through the summer months. 

Typically, only Kindergarten seats are offered immediately after the lottery, as it is conducted so far in advance of the following school year, and we are not always aware of the number of openings at higher grade levels. The kindergarten level is our main point of entry. The number of available spaces varies from year to year and is typically approximately 25-30 spaces for kindergarten, and between 0-3 for all other grades.

We continue to offer seats as they become available throughout the summer, but no later than September 30th. To secure their space, families offered the opportunity to enroll must reply by the date specified in their offer and provide all required documentation by the established deadlines.

Applications received after the lottery deadline are added to our waiting list in the order they are received. The General Waiting list will be cleared annually for each new enrollment period and closes October 1st for the current year.

Chesapeake Public Charter School is committed to diversity and equality. We want to ensure that our demographics mirror those of St. Mary’s County Public Schools as a whole and are constantly monitoring those trends.  CPCS will increase recruitment through outreach efforts at Title 1 schools and pre-K programs.  We will continue to aid families who need help through the application process throughout the month of December and at our Prospective Parents Info sessions.  Additionally, applications will be available to the community through the SMCPS Pre-K schools adjacent to CPCS. 

Accordingly, the school admits students and conducts all educational programs, activities, and employment practices without regard to race, color, religion, sexual orientation, marital status, ancestry, disability, or any other legally protected classification.

* This includes all siblings who were waitlisted in the previous school year. Siblings are defined as each of that adult’s natural children, stepchildren, legally adopted children, or legal foster children physically residing in their household shall be eligible for admission. Cousins, nieces, nephews, and unrelated children sharing the same address with the applicant are not eligible; the parent/guardian of these children should submit separate applications. A separate Application for Enrollment must be submitted for each eligible child a parent wishes to have considered for enrollment into CPCS.

**Economically Disadvantaged are those students who are eligible for Free and Reduced Meal Status coordinated through SMCPS Food Service Office.

 

Acceptance and Enrollment of New Students

Parents of newly accepted students will be notified in February. Parents/guardians must inform CPCS of final decision to attend CPCS by officially enrolling their child/ren at CPCS. To officially enroll, parents/guardians must submit a Declaration of Intent Form and all necessary SMCPS enrollment forms by the end of May of the year of the draw. There will be one evening of extended hours for accepting enrollment forms at CPCS. See Enrollment Packet for date and time. If the above-mentioned forms are not completed and submitted and the child/children are not officially enrolled by the end of the first full week of March, they will be relinquishing the slot for that school year. That slot will then be filled by the next eligible student on the Sibling Waiting List. If there are no students on the Sibling Waiting List, the spot will be filled by the next eligible student on the General Waiting List. If the family would like to attend CPCS in subsequent years, they must begin the admission process over again, starting with completing an application and going through the lottery for available spaces. 

 

Sibling Waiting List

Parents will be notified by telephone call or email of admission from the Sibling Waiting List as soon as a space is available. Parents will then have two days from the date of the offer to notify CPCS of the decision to enroll the sibling by submitting a Declaration of Intent Form and all necessary SMCPS forms (see Enrollment Packet) that are required to officially enroll their child. If the above-mentioned forms are not completed and submitted within two days, the parent/guardian will be relinquishing the slot for that school year and would have to go back to the General Lottery in subsequent years. If the grade level is full when the sibling is drawn at the subsequent lottery, the sibling will be placed on the Sibling Waiting List until space becomes available or until they age out. 

 

General Waiting List

Parents will be notified by telephone call or email of admission from the General Waiting List as soon as a space is available. Parents will then have two days from the date of the offer to notify CPCS of the decision to enroll the student by submitting a Declaration of Intent Form and all necessary SMCPS forms (see Enrollment Packet) that are required to officially enroll their child. If the above mentioned forms are not completed and submitted within two days, the parent/guardian will be relinquishing the slot for that school year and would have to go back to the General Lottery in subsequent years. 

**The General Waiting list will be cleared for each new enrollment period!** 

Chesapeake Public Charter School is committed to diversity and equality. Therefore, CPCS admits students and conducts all educational programs, activities, and employment practices without regard to race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or disability.