Students & Parents » Admission Requirements and Rights

Admission Requirements and Rights

Central City Value High School primarily recruits students from the neighborhood in which it is located. As is true for surrounding schools, the student population is largely socio-economically disadvantaged (as defined by eligibility for free or reduced price meals). There are also a significant number of English language learners. The traditional public schools in the surrounding area have low achievement profiles. Central City Value reaches out to students from these schools to inform them of their educational choices. Recruiting, advertising and outreach materials make it clear that Central City Value High School welcomes all students, including those with disabilities.

The requirements for admission to Central City Value High School are as follows:

  1. The student must be a resident of the state of California.
  2. The student must be eligible to enter the ninth grade.
  3. The student must not have completed the twelfth grade

In the event that there are more youth seeking enrollment in Central City Value High School than there is space available, students will be admitted according to the following priorities:

Lottery Exemptions

Students currently enrolled in Central City Value High School are exempt from the lottery.

Lottery Preferences

  1. Students living within LAUSD boundaries are given first preference in the lottery as required by Ed. Code §47605(d)(2)(B).
  2. Second preference is given to siblings of children currently enrolled in Central City Value, to promote educational continuity and family convenience.
  3. Third preference is given to children of Central City Value’s staff or of members of the Value Schools Board of Directors up to 10% of enrollment, to promote board involvement, regular attendance and staff retention.
  1. Parents who are seeking to enroll a new student in the school submit a lottery application. Lottery applications for the upcoming year are available throughout the year at the school and on the school’s website. Enrollment is open all year except from the close of business on the Monday before the lottery draw to the morning following the draw.
  2. The lottery application asks for the student name, parent contact information, the grade level for which admission is sought, the birth date of the student and information that would indicate whether the student is eligible for preference in the lottery.
  3. At least fifteen days before the lottery draw, parents of students who are currently enrolled are asked if they plan to have their children return in the following year. If they say “yes,” or fail to return the form, those students are counted as returning for purposes of calculating the number of available seats.
  4. The lottery draw is held in January, typically on the second Friday of the month. The specific date, time and location are noted on the lottery application; the first lottery draw of the new charter term, if needed, will occur at 8:00 AM on January 11, 2019. The lottery is held at Central City Value High School in its Community Room unless the number of attendees necessitates a move to a larger area on the campus. Attendance at the lottery is not required for admission to the school.
  5. The lottery draw is conducted by the principal or the principal’s designee. One staff member chosen by the faculty and one parent representative chosen at a parent meeting oversee lottery procedures, reviewing stated procedures beforehand and verifying that the procedures are properly executed. District representatives are invited to attend lottery drawing.
  6. If the number of applicants exceeds the available seats on the lottery date, a lottery is conducted by the principal or principal’s designee by randomly drawing names of applicants with preferences, in the order of priority listed above. The names drawn first are accepted for admission until all seats are filled. The remainder of the names are drawn to create the waiting list.
  7. Once the waiting list of students with lottery preferences is established, the principal or principal’s designee randomly draws names from the remaining applicant pool and places them on the waiting list in the order the names are drawn.
  8. Once all seats are filled and a waiting list established, applications are still accepted, and assigned a waiting list number in the order in which they are received.
  1. All applicants to Central City Value High School are given a written description of the rules governing the admission process when they submit a lottery application.
  2. The lottery application notes the place, date and time of the lottery. This information is also posted in a prominent place near the entrance to the school most commonly used by the public and on the Value Schools website.
  3. Within twenty-four hours after the lottery, names of those selected by lottery are posted in the same location as the notice of the lottery.
  4. As noted in “Admission Process” above, attendance at the lottery is not required for admission to the Charter School. Parents may contact the Charter School’s main office to learn the outcome of their child’s lottery application, i.e., admission or place on a waiting list.
  1. Before a student attends Central City Value High School for the first time, but only after the student has been admitted, the family is asked to complete an enrollment form by which the school obtains additional information about the student and family.
  2. A member of the school’s clerical staff notifies those selected for admission, in the order of their lottery draw, to notify them of admission and begin the enrollment process. If the staff member is unable to reach a parent directly, he or she will leave a message asking the parent to call for an appointment. If the parent fails to respond within two business days, that student loses his/her place and is moved to the end of the waiting list.
  3. At the time of contact with a parent, an appointment is scheduled for the parent to meet with Charter School staff to complete the enrollment form. Appropriate accommodations are made for parents/guardians who cannot attend an appointment during regular office hours, including extended office hours and the opportunity to submit the enrollment form by mail. Charter School staff offer assistance to parents, in person or on the telephone, who need help filling out the form. If the parent fails to keep the appointment and does not appear for a rescheduled appointment date, or fails to submit the enrollment form within five business days that student loses his/her place and is moved to the end of the waiting list.
  1. The waiting list governs the order in which openings are filled.
  2. If a parent applies after the lottery and all seats have been filled, the parent is orally notified at the time of application of the position that the student will be assigned on the waiting list.
  3. If a seat becomes available at a later date due to the departure of an enrolled student, a member of the school office staff calls parents in the order of placement on the list. Parents are given email and telephone contact information and directed to contact the school within three calendar days by one of those methods, or in person, to indicate interest in the position.

Central City Value High School maintains in the cumulative files of admitted students a record of how they were selected for admission (e.g., a sibling of a current student or lottery) for as long as the student is enrolled at the school. If the student leaves the school before graduating, the record of how the student was selected is removed from the student’s file and filed with the records of those students not selected in the year the student was admitted.

Central City Value High School maintains for three years a file with the lottery applications for those students not selected for admission. Filed lottery applications indicate the date the application was received, the date of lottery and the waiting list number if one was assigned. A copy of any admission-related correspondence between a family and the school is appended to the filed application.

After the student has been admitted, parents are offered the opportunity to meet with Central City Value High School’s principal or designee. In the conference the Charter School’s expectations for both the student and parent are outlined. Parents are encouraged to identify their children’s current strengths, interests, needs, and potential challenges. They are also asked to identify the challenges they may face in their role as partners in their child’s success at Central City Value. The principal guides the parent through possible solutions to these challenges and describes the parent supports provided by Central City Value. The conference includes an invitation to parents to make a commitment to support the core values and to cooperate with Central City Value in the formation of the student in these values. Students are invited to join their parents at the end of the conference and to commit to the core values.

Although parents and students are invited to participate in the induction conference and to commit to the core values, neither students nor parents are required to participate as a condition of any student’s admission, continued enrollment, attendance, or participation in Central City Value’s educational activities.

Central City Value High School shall adhere to the provisions of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act and ensure that each child of a homeless individual and each homeless youth has equal access to the same free, appropriate public education as provided to other children and youths. Central City Value High School shall provide specific information, in its outreach materials, websites, at community meetings, open forums, and regional center meetings, that notifies parents that Central City Value High School is open to enroll and provide services for all students, and provides a standard District contact number for access to additional information regarding enrollment. Central City Value High School shall comply with all applicable state law regarding homeless and foster youth, including but not limited to the provisions of AB 379 (2015) and Chapter 5.5 (commencing with Section 48850) of Part 27 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Education Code, as amended from time to time. Central City Value High School shall extend its uniform complaint procedure to complaints filed pursuant to the applicable provisions of AB 379.

 

Central City Value High School shall maintain complete and accurate records of its annual admissions and enrollment processes, including but not limited to documentation of implementation of lottery and waitlist criteria and procedures in accordance with the terms of the Charter. These records shall be made available to the District upon request.

Central City Value High School shall not require a parent/legal guardian/student to provide information regarding a student’s disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, nationality, legal or economic status, primary language or English Learner status, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic that is contained in the definition of hate crimes set forth in section 422.55 of the Penal Code, or any other information that would violate federal or state law, prior to admission, participation in any admissions or attendance lottery, or pre-enrollment event or process, or as a condition of admission or enrollment. Central City Value High School may request, at the time of, and as part of, conducting its lottery process, the provision of information necessary to apply specific admissions preferences set forth in its Charter. Central City Value High School shall not request or require submission of a student’s IEP, 504 Plan, or any other record or related information prior to admission, participation in any admissions or attendance lottery, or pre-enrollment event or process, or as a condition of admission or enrollment.