LOTTERY AND ADMISSIONS POLICY

Lakeside Charter Academy (LCA) will hold a lottery each spring pursuant to North Carolina State Law 115C-218.45(f) and the school’s State Board of Education approved charter. 

 

Our Open Enrollment period begins December 9th, 2024 and closes February 28th, 2024 

Lottery Date: Friday, March 7th, 2025

Location: Lakeside Charter Academy, 17609 Old Statesville Road, Cornelius, 28031 

​

*All parents will receive lottery results within 24 hours of the lottery completion via email to their registered email address. It is not required to be physically present at the lottery. 

​

Applications for the 2025-2026 school year are currently available. Applications may be completed online through our website www.lakesidecharteracademy.com  (click "Apply Now" at the top of our homepage). If a family is unable to access the internet we will provide a paper application here at the school. 

​

All applicants to the lottery must be North Carolina residents at time of the lottery with a physical North Carolina address. Children must be 5 years old on or before August 31, 2025 to apply for Kindergarten. 

​

Enrollment Priority: 

• LCA will follow all rules and regulations regarding enrollment priority as specified in North Carolina charter school law 115C-218.45. 

• The Lakeside Charter Academy Board of Directors has decided to offer admissions priority for the following tiers for the lottery:

o School Employees: LCA will offer priority enrollment for children of full-time LCA employees, not to exceed 15% of the school’s total enrollment, as outlined in North Carolina charter school law 115C-218.45. 

o Siblings: Once one child in the family is a member of the Lakeside community, siblings of enrolled students receive preferred enrollment status the following year.

 

Multiple Birth Siblings: 

• If multiple birth siblings apply to the school, their surname will be entered once to represent all of the multiple birth siblings. If that surname is pulled in the lottery all of the multiple birth siblings will be admitted immediately, assuming space availability.

​

Lottery Process: 

• If the number of applications exceeds the number of available spaces for a grade, a lottery will be held to fill vacant seats. 

• After seats are filled, the drawing will continue to determine the order of a waiting list. 

• Any application received after the enrollment period is NOT entered in the lottery, but is added to the end of the grade level waiting list on a first-come, first-served basis. 

• The lottery drawing is randomly generated by a computer program and as outlined in the LCA charter, a random selection of grades will be used to determine the order in which the grade level lotteries will be called. 

• Lottery procedures will comply with NC Open Meeting Law provided in G.S. 143-218.10(a) by publicizing the date and location in advance of the meeting and allowing anyone to attend. 

• Parents may also log onto the school's parent portal website to check the lottery results for their student(s). 

Lottery Results: 

• If a student has been selected in the lottery the parent/guardian of the student will receive an acceptance notification via email. If the parent is unable to receive email, an acceptance letter will be mailed to the child’s residence. 

• The school's waitlist will be updated regularly and parents of students placed on the waitlist will receive periodic communication as to their students place on the waitlist. 

​

Lottery Enrollment Offers: 

• For all seats offered to eligible student applicants a maximum of ten (10) days is provided to make a decision on the invitation to attend the school. The invitation can be easily accepted or declined right from the email notification. If the invitation is not accepted within the ten (10) day period, the seat will be offered to the next family on the school's waitlist.

• After accepting your student's seat, you will then have 5 days to complete the student enrollment packet and provide the documentation needed to complete the enrollment process. 

• The student enrollment packet can be completed online and if you are unable to access the internet we will provide a paper application as requested. Documentation: 

1. Birth Certificate 

2. Proof of NC residency 

3. Proof of Immunization 

4. Guardian's Government issued photo ID 

​

Students Applying after the Open Enrollment Period: 

• Any students applying after the open enrollment period will be placed on the waitlist directly after any waitlisted students from schools lottery in the order the application was received. Each year school leadership determines how far into the year to continue making offers as positions become available. Factors that affect the decision include space, supplies, and grade level.

 

LCA’s School’s Right to Refuse Enrollment: 

• LCA reserves the right to refuse to enroll any student currently under a term of expulsion or suspension by his or her school until that term is over. 

• LCA reserves the right to refuse to enroll a student if a parent willingly and knowingly provided incorrect information on the enrollment application. 

• If a student has accepted enrollment at the school, but does not appear at the school in the first 2 days of school, the school will make reasonable attempts to contact the parents. If there is no response from the parent by the 5th day of school, the school reserves the right to remove the student from their enrollment roster and offer the next student on the waitlist the spot. 

Immunizations: 

• Back to school: Immunizations are required for ALL Students!! 

• North Carolina state law requires families to provide proof of immunizations. Certification must be presented on or before the first day of school. Students will be excluded from school if they do not have proper documentation within 30 days (September 26) of entering school. Medical exemptions must be in writing from a doctor. 

• New students must have a completed health assessment from their child’s doctor. That includes all Kindergarten students, students who previously were home-schooled or attended private school, as well as students new to North Carolina. 

• Be sure to bring all the proper documentation for your child to school prior to the first day of school. 

• If you have questions, please call us at (704) 896-9500 

​

• For a list of immunization requirements and resources, please reference www.immunize.nc.gov or https://www.mecknc.gov/healthdepartment/immunizations