IMPORTANT – PLEASE READ:

The application window for the 2024-2025 admissions lottery is now closed.

Applications received after January 31, 2024, will be placed on the waiting list in the order they are received.  DETAILED INFORMATION REGARDING THE ADMISSIONS, LOTTERY & ENROLLMENT PROCESS IS AVAILABLE BELOW.

An admissions lottery is scheduled for Monday, February 5, 2024, at 4:30 pm in the school’s Dining Room. The lottery is open to the public and is drawn to determine who is offered any available spots and the order of the waiting list.

Scholars offered a spot through the lottery will have until 2:00 pm on Thursday, February 8, 2024, to complete an enrollment packet and secure their spot. Any spots that become available after the lottery has taken place will be filled using the waiting list.

We highly encourage families to prepare the enrollment packet, available on the website or in the school’s front office, before the lottery so that they can meet the deadlines set for enrollment. All required documentation listed on the cover sheet of the enrollment packet is due to secure your spot. Due to the volume of our waiting list, the turnaround time for enrollment is three business days. SCA will not be able to accept late or incomplete packets.

Admission Procedures

In accordance with O.C.G.A. 20-2-2066 (1)(A), SCA will admit scholars of any race, color, nationality and ethnic origin, religion, sexual orientation, or gender. SCA shall enroll an eligible scholar, as defined by GADOE, who resides within the attendance zone and submits a timely application unless the number of applications exceeds the capacity of a program, class, grade level, or building. In such cases, all applicants shall have an equal chance of being admitted through a random lottery process. Scholars who live outside of SCA’s attendance zone may apply/enter SCA’s lottery, so long as they are residents of Lowndes or Brooks County at the time of enrollment.

SCA may not use admissions criteria or applications that would not otherwise be used at a traditional public school, including requests for letters of recommendation, essays, resumes, or information regarding a scholar’s school or community activities, grades, test scores, attendance record, or disciplinary history. SCA may use applications to verify the scholar’s residence within the school’s attendance zone.

Priority for enrollment will be given in accordance with the approved charter petition:
1. Currently enrolled scholars
2.  Siblings of currently enrolled scholars.  A sibling is considered any child who shares a legal parent or guardian with an enrolled scholar and who otherwise meets enrollment requirements.  Siblings (older or younger) are admitted without going into the lottery, provided there is space available.
3.  Children of faculty, staff, and governing board members.   Children of faculty and staff and governing board members who have served at least one year on the board will receive enrollment priority.
4.  All other eligible scholars.
To attend Scintilla, scholars must be entering grades Kindergarten through 8th grade at the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year.

Kindergarten scholars must be 5 years old on or before September 1, 2023.

You and your child must live in Valdosta, Lowndes, or Brooks County.  Scholars who live outside of SCA’s attendance zone may apply/enter SCA’s lottery, so long as they are residents of Valdosta/Lowndes or Brooks County at the time of enrollment.  If enrolled families move outside of the attendance zone, they will not be allowed to continue attending at SCA.

SCA does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, religion, disability, national origin, or socioeconomic status. We want our academy to reflect the diversity of our attendance zone.

Scintilla is a free public school.  For complete information regarding the school, please click through our website.

Lottery
The lottery process shall be published in advance and articulated prior to the commencement of the lottery.
The lottery will be drawn in the following manner: Kindergarten, 1st grade, and so on until all spots are filled.
The lottery shall be observed and certified by a third-party individual.  That third party will confirm that all names that were received during the new scholar application window are included in the lottery.  The third party will then draw from those names to fill available spots and to create waiting lists where applicable.

The school shall maintain a written/electronic waiting list of scholars who were not offered enrollment in the school due to lack of space. The school may accept new applications for the waiting list outside of the New Scholar Application period. The school shall follow the same preferences stated above for placing those applications outside of the annual application period on the waiting list. Openings created during the school year shall be filled from the waiting list.

Scholars who are offered the opportunity to enroll according to the above-stated procedures must complete all enrollment paperwork and provide all required documentation by the date given.  Failure to enroll by the date and time provided will forfeit the child’s spot, and that spot will be offered to the next scholar on the waiting list.

If a child is selected to enroll at SCA through the lottery, families will receive an email on the evening of the lottery with the information and procedure for enrolling and securing their scholar’s spot.  If a child is placed on the waiting list, families will receive an email on the evening of the lottery to that effect and may call the school to inquire about placement on the list.

SCA may gather relevant information from scholars after enrollment is determined.

To enroll a scholar at SCA, parents/guardians must provide the following documentation:

  • Copy of original birth certificate
  • Immunization certificate (or religious exemption)
  • Certificate of vision, hearing, dental, and nutrition exam
  • Social security card or waiver form (provided by SCA)
  • Copy of parent/guardian driver’s license
  • Proof of legal guardianship (if applicable)
  • Proof of legal custody (if applicable)
  • Mortgage or lease statement
  • Two additional current proofs of residency

It is imperative that we have updated and accurate contact information on file at all times, so please be sure to call the school if phone numbers or addresses change.
 
Waiting List Procedures
Lottery positions and waitlist positions will not be secured from year to year. Those offered the opportunity to enroll from the waitlist will have three days to complete the enrollment process before the opening is offered to the next scholar on the waitlist.

Siblings of new scholars offered enrollment will be given priority upon full completion of the enrollment packet by the designated date. Siblings will be given priority on the waitlist in an order that matches where they were drawn in the lottery. It is the waitlisted parent or guardian’s responsibility to provide information regarding siblings as well as updated contact information, including a phone number and address, and an email if possible.

Any scholars who apply after the lottery has taken place will complete a post-lottery application.  Submission to the waitlist will be accepted on a first-come-first-served basis.  If a scholar from the post-lottery waiting list is offered enrollment, their sibling will be given priority upon full completion of the enrollment packet by the designated date.

Please be sure to provide an emergency contact person in the event you cannot be reached regarding an opening. Failure to keep updated information throughout the school year resulting in an inability to notify the parent of an opening waives the scholar’s placement on the waitlist.

A school designee shall contact the next person on the waitlist if a slot becomes available. Contact may be made by phone.  Every effort will be made to reach the individual in person; however, a detailed message will be left if this is not possible. The parents/guardians will be given 72 hours to accept the opening and complete the required enrollment packet. If contact and/or an effort to provide enrollment paperwork is not made within this time frame, the next scholar on the waitlist is extended the offer.

If it becomes necessary to pull from the waitlist within the week before school starting or after school has begun, the first 3 applicants on the waitlist will be contacted, and the first one to respond (within 24 hours) will be given the opportunity to enroll – to speed up enrollment.