Important Admissions Dates for Students Entering Fall 2023
| Monday, September 26, 2022 | Application window opens |
| Friday, January 27, 2023 | Application window closes |
| Wednesday, February 15, 2023 @ 1:30 PM | Admissions lottery held virtually (Meeting information available on the school’s website) |
| Friday, February 17, 2023 | Families notified of lottery results |
| Friday, March 17, 2023 | Enrollment paperwork due for all students selected in the lottery |
Admissions Process for Students Entering Fall 2023
In order to attend the Freire Charter School, an applicant and his/her legal guardian must perform the following actions:
1. Complete and submit a Freire Application for Admission
For the 2023-2024 School Year, Freire will accept applications for all grades (grades 5 to 12) offered at Freire. Please note, however, that we anticipate most openings to be in grades 5 and 9, the main entry points into the middle school and the high school respectively. Some spaces may be available in other grades, but this may not be assessed until summer 2023, with families not contacted until then (if space even exists).
An individual can obtain and submit an application for admission online at FreireCharterSchool.org. On the main menu of the school’s website, the link to the application can be found through the “Apply Now” link under the Enroll menu. Families are welcome to visit the School for assistance, and families will be provided with information on how to apply and, subject to availability, a computer or tablet to access the online application. The online application is available in English with language assistance options listed on the first page of the application. Freire will provide reasonable accommodations in the event that an individual requests to submit an application in person. Paper applications are available at the School and will be manually entered into the online system by the admissions representative.
The application process only involves submitting the application form by the deadline. No interview, school tour, information session, or fee is required.
Once the application is submitted, the applicant will receive an email or text message confirmation. Applicants who are unable to provide an email address will receive a confirmation of their application submission via postal mail to the address recorded on the application.
All complete applications submitted after the close of the application window may be offered admission to the School in the order received only after Freire has exhausted the waiting list of students whose applications were received by the deadline.
Applicant data will be stored in a secure cloud hosted by PowerSchool Enrollment in accordance with federal and state laws (FERPA, PPRA, COPPA). Applicant data will not be shared with any schools to which the applicant did not apply or to any other entity.
If more applications are received than there are seats available, as required by PA charter school law, Freire Charter School will hold a randomized lottery to determine which applicants are offered a seat for enrollment. All applications submitted within the application window will be referred into the lottery, assuming an application is not a duplicate submission and is otherwise eligible to attend Freire Charter School. The application window for enrollment for the 2023-2024 school year is September 26, 2022, through January 27, 2023.
The lottery for the 2023-2024 school year will be conducted virtually on February 15, 2023. Priority will be given to applicants who currently have a sibling enrolled at Freire Charter School (priority 1) provided there are seats currently available in the sibling’s applied grade, students whose parents have actively participated in the development of the School (priority 2), students who reside in Philadelphia (priority 3), students who reside outside of Philadelphia “out-of-district” (priority 4). The lottery will be conducted by the school through the PowerSchool Enrollment system.
Priority 1: Sibling Preference
In order to be eligible for the sibling preference, the applicant must be related to a current Freire student in one of the following ways: 1.) has a shared legal guardian or there is shared legal custody of both students by a common individual or 2.) is a half sibling, step sibling, or biological sibling. Residing at the same address as a current student alone does not make an applicant eligible for the sibling preference. There will be no sibling preference to those students who apply after the application deadline (see “important dates” above). In order to be eligible, applicants must indicate the sibling preference on their application. Freire will not retroactively apply sibling preference for anyone who did not request the sibling preference at the time of application prior to the application deadline. Freire reserves the right to determine if a student is eligible for sibling preference. Siblings of currently enrolled students will be placed on a priority list before the lottery. No preference will be shown to siblings who apply after this deadline. Preference will be extended from newly enrolled students to their siblings, provided that all siblings seeking enrollment submitted applications prior to the application deadline and indicated the sibling relationship on the original application. Once the sibling selected in the lottery has submitted complete enrollment paperwork to the school, any of his/her eligible siblings will then be placed at the top of the waiting list (by the lottery order of the not-yet-enrolled sibling if more than one such applicant is on the waiting list at a time).
Priority 2: Actively Participated in the Development of the School
“Actively participated in the development of the School” is defined as: 1.) having served on the founding coalition, Board of Directors, or a School committee or 2.) having made a substantial contribution to the life of the School such as, but not limited to, active participation in the parents organization, advocating for the School, or volunteering regularly in the School.
Lottery Structure
Upon application submission, each applicant is automatically assigned a random lottery number. When the lottery is run, it will take the following into account: first, the priority group an applicant falls into, and, second, the applicant’s random lottery number. Seats will first be offered to applicants who fall into the first priority group in order of lowest random lottery number to highest. The lottery will then offer seats to applicants in the second, third, etc. priority groups in order of random lottery number, until the number of available seats has been exhausted. Applicants who were not offered a seat through the lottery will be waitlisted in order of their priority group first, and their random lottery number second.
Applicants who were offered a seat through the lottery will be notified on February 17, 2023, via email. Applicants will also be able to log-in to their PowerSchool Enrollment accounts on February 17, 2023, to view their application results. Applicants who were offered a seat through the lottery will have until March 17, 2023, to accept their seat offer on PowerSchool Enrollment by clicking “accept” in their account. Applicants will then be required to submit enrollment paperwork to the school by March 17, 2023. Enrollment paperwork will also be collected through PowerSchool Enrollment.
Please note that applications containing Philadelphia addresses have a higher priority than applications with a non-Philadelphia address in the lottery. Any application containing a non-Philadelphia address will be placed at the end of the wait list. If additional applications are submitted with Philadelphia addresses, these applications will be placed above the non-Philadelphia applications on the wait list. Furthermore, proof of residency will be required if your student is selected in the lottery to continue in the enrollment process. Any applicant who cannot provide a Philadelphia address during the proof of residency check will be placed at the top of the non-resident wait list. Freire does not typically accept non-resident wait listed applicants until after August 1st prior to the start of the new school year, and students will be drawn from this list only if spaces are still available in a particular grade level.
In the lottery, Freire will publicly draw random lottery numbers, a unique number assigned to each student who applies, for as many spots as there are available in grades 5 through 12. All students selected will be announced and enrollment paperwork will become available to selected families through the PowerSchool Enrollment website.
All remaining students for grades 5 through 12 that were NOT selected in the lottery will be placed on the waiting list in order of the lottery results. Due to the large number of applicants, the results will only be sent via email unless the applicant was unable to provide an email address. Please do not call the Admissions Office to find out your place on the list.
Any student who applies after the application deadline listed above will be placed on the waiting list after those students who applied before the application deadline on a first come first served basis.
The waiting list is valid for one school year only and is based on current year applications.
We do not require school-wide re-enrollment paperwork for each school year. All students currently enrolled and attending Freire Charter School automatically re-enroll for the following school year.
2. Return required documents by deadline if selected in the lottery in order to hold your spot at Freire
It is important to understand that being selected in a lottery is only STEP ONE of being enrolled at Freire. The next step involves submitting the required documents by the proper deadline or your spot will be forfeited.
If selected in the Lottery, you must submit all documents directly to the school by online form or mail by March 17, 2023 (must be postmarked by this date if sent by mail). Failure to meet this deadline forfeits your spot at Freire. Exceptions will be made only for families with language barriers, and only when those families face extenuating circumstances. You may re-apply and be assigned a new wait list number and placed at the end of the wait list.
The required material to continue the enrollment process is as follows:
- Proof of Age (for example, Birth Certificate)
- Proof of Residency
- Record of Required Immunizations
- Act 26 Form
- Home Language Survey
Students who submit these six required documents by the enrollment deadline are considered enrolled for the 2023-2024 school year.
3. Submit Final Report Card by Friday, July 14, 2023
Once students are enrolled in Freire, we request that each student submit their report card by Friday, July 14, 2023. While submission of this report card is not required for enrollment, it enables us to place students in the appropriate classes. Report cards may be mailed or dropped off in person.
Freire Charter School values diversity and seeks students from diverse backgrounds. Freire Charter School does not discriminate on the basis of age (to the extent applicable), race, color, religion, creed, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, religion, marital status, ancestry, parental status, disability, achievement or aptitude, proficiency in the English language or any other basis that is unlawful in its admission policy.
