If necessary, the 2013–2014 school year lottery will be held on Wednesday, January 16, 2013 at 1:00 PM the Rue Building (3rd and Garden Street) on the 4th floor. Families that have submitted a lottery registration form for the 2013–2014 school year by the deadline of 4PM on Monday, January 14th, 2013 will be included in the lottery. Families may call Lynne Shapiro 201-876-0102 on Wednesday, January 16, 2013 (after 4PM), and any day thereafter, to find out lottery results.

Please note that Elysian accepts lottery registration forms post lottery, from mid January on. Therefore, if a parent misses the lottery deadline, they may still submit a form. These post-lottery registration forms are kept on file and, should openings arise and the wait list be exhausted, these forms come into play.

Prior to the Lottery

• For each grade, the students’ lottery registration forms are divided into two groups: In-District and Out-of-District
• Each child’s name is placed on spreadsheet for their correct grade and residency. At the lottery, grade by grade, each spreadsheet is entered into a computerized “Sorting Hat”. Hoboken residents are sorted first, then out of the district applications.
• The Enrollment Coordinator sends a confirmation of receipt of registration form to each applicant.
• Please make sure the information about your child’s grade and residency are correct in the confirmation communication.
• This communication contains information about lottery time and place. It also includes a schedule for best times to call, post-lottery, for results.
• If you submit a lottery registration form and do not receive a confirmation communication from Elysian Charter School by Monday, January 7th, please call the Enrollment Coordinator immediately. Mark this date on your calendar. Forms submitted after this date also receive confirmation, but since the lottery is so near communication most often happens by phone or e-mail.

The Lottery

• At the lottery, as names are chosen randomly by the “Sorting Hat”, any known openings are filled and, subsequently a wait list is created.
• The lottery results are not posted publicly. Applicants are expected to phone Elysian’s Enrollment Coordinator for results. Parents may phone after 4:00 PM on the day of the lottery, January 16, 2013. A schedule of best calling times is included with confirmation acknowledging receipt of lottery registration forms.

Post-Lottery

• After the lottery, any openings within a grade are filled with applicants from the Hoboken resident list.
• If that list is exhausted, the Out-of-District list follows.
• After the lottery date, anyone else who comes in for admission for the upcoming school year is given a form to complete. These forms come into play when both wait lists (created at the lottery) are exhausted. At this time, a lottery is held for that particular opening. Hoboken applicants are, again, given preference over Out-of-District applicants.
• If we exhaust our waiting lists completely, more likely in an upper grade, it is possible for someone to walk in post-lottery and get a spot.

At the time of the lottery, we have the most open spots (32) in Kindergarten. Sometimes we know of openings in other grades, at the time of the lottery, although most often we find out about openings toward the end of the school year and over the summer. That’s when we go to our waiting list.

Elysian’s policy of sibling preference impacts enrollment at Elysian. Prior to the lottery, spots are set aside for in-coming siblings. Families with children already enrolled in Elysian are guaranteed a spot in Kindergarten for siblings. As well, there is preference for siblings in every grade.

Even though families are on the wait list for a school year, it is recommended they re-register for the lottery by the January deadline in order to get a better spot on the following year’s list. Old waiting lists are destroyed at the end of the academic year.