Admission Criteria and Lottery Selection Process

The only enrollment requirement is that students wishing to attend Alpha must follow the school’s admission procedures with respect to completing registration forms by the announced deadlines. Application deadlines, which will normally be in the winter for admission the following September, may be coordinated with local public schools to give students and their parents’ opportunity to consider the full range of educational opportunities available to them.

Applications are made available in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese. Open enrollment periods are advertised to all families through various means. School tours and information nights are held during the day and in the evening. If oversubscribed by the application deadline, admission to Alpha, except for existing students, shall be determined by a public random drawing in accordance with the preferences given in the next section.

Alpha will annually establish an enrollment window and a deadline by which applications must be submitted. If the number of students who apply to attend Alpha within each grade level by the application deadline exceeds the school’s capacity, attendance, with the exception of existing students, shall be determined by a public random drawing for each grade level. In accordance with Education Code Section 47605(d)(2), preference in the public random drawing shall be provided in the following order of descending priority:

1. Siblings of students admitted to or attending the Charter School.
2. Children of staff or board members, not to exceed 10 percent of total enrollment.
3. Students residing within the School District and eligible for the Free and Reduced Meal Program (FRPM).
4. Students residing within the School District and not eligible for FRPM*.
5. Students residing outside the School District and eligible for FRPM*.
6. All other applicants.

*Note that FRPM preference currently applies to Cornerstone Academy and Cindy Avitia HS, and will apply to Blanca Alvarado & José Hernandez starting on July 1, 2025.

**Note regarding priority #1, In order for siblings to receive preference, they must be applying for the same school (i.e. Jane’s sister currently attends Alpha: Blanca Alvarado School but is applying for Alpha: Cornerstone Academy Preparatory School. Jane will only receive preference as a sibling if she applies for Alpha: Blanca Alvarado School).

Pursuant to the stated lottery preferences above, families will self-report the applicant’s qualification for FRPM on the application and no other demographic or socio-economic information will be required on the application. 

Public notice will be posted in public location and the Charter School website regarding the date and time of the public drawing once the deadline has passed. The lottery will be conducted by a non-interested party who will execute the lottery and verify that lottery procedures are fairly executed. The lottery will be conducted after school hours so interested parties will be able to attend. Students who have lottery preference as stated above shall be drawn before names of children without preference are drawn.

Separate lotteries shall be conducted for each grade in which there are fewer vacancies than pupils interested in attending. All lotteries shall take place consecutively on the same day in a single location. During the course of the lottery, if a sibling (of any grade) is chosen, their sibling will also be assigned the next available numerical ranking for the appropriate grade-level. If there is not a vacancy in the appropriate grade for the sibling, he/she will go to the top of the waiting list for that grade, after any other siblings of current students who are already on the list.

Although the lottery is open to the public and families are encouraged to attend, families are not required to be present at the time of the drawing to be eligible for admission. Results are texted and emailed to all applicants and follow up phone calls are made. 

At the conclusion of the public random drawing, all students who were not granted admission due to capacity shall be given the option to put their name on a wait-list according to their draw in the public random drawing. This wait-list will allow students the option of enrollment in the case of an opening during the current school year. In no circumstance will a wait-list carry over to the following school year. The order of admission of students at any time during the year shall be based solely on the order of applicants on the admission wait-list. Applications received after the application deadline will be added in abeyance for a subsequent lottery, if needed.

Admission to the Charter school is offered to students according to their numerical ranking (based on preferences) until capacity is reached. All remaining names are placed on a waiting list in order according to their numerical rank. Families of students who are offered admission will have two weeks to confirm in writing their intent to enroll and submit an enrollment packet including proof of age, proof of address, immunization records. Any families who decline admission or who fail to confirm will lose their position to the next name on the waiting list. It is the responsibility of the family to ensure that up-to-date contact information is on file with the Charter School and no exceptions to the two-week deadline will be made for families that fail to respond within the two-week period due to incorrect contact information.

The preferences in the public random drawing as listed above are consistent with Education Code Section 47605(e)(2) and applicable state and federal law as well as non-regulatory guidance, and have been approved by the Board of Directors in public hearing. The preferences in no way will result in limiting access for students with disabilities, students who are academically low-achieving, English Learners, neglected or delinquent pupils, homeless pupils, economically disadvantaged pupils, foster youth, or pupils based on nationality, race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. Should preferences require modification, for example in order to meet requirements of a state or federal grant program, Alpha understands that this requires a material revision of the charter.