Innovations PCS

Applications for SY 2012-13 - New deadline dates

IMPORTANT ADMISSION INFORMATION FOR PARENTS

Kindergarten: Innovations follows the August 1 Federal age requirement for enrollment. Children entering Kindergarten must be five (5) years old by August 1 to enroll. Applications for children who do not meet this age requirement will not be accepted.

First Grade: Children entering first grade must be six (6) years old by August 1. Children who are younger may be developmentally unprepared to enter our program. Parents with children who meet the Hawaii age requirement of being age 6 by December 13 (rather than the Federal age requirement of August 1) may submit an application for their child. However, if their child is selected for enrollment via the lottery, a team from Innovations will assess the child to determine if they are developmentally ready to enter our first grade program. If a child is denied entry based on their developmental age, and they wish to enroll the following year, they will need to reapply and go through the lottery process again the following year.

Open Application Period: February 1, 2012 to March 22, 2012

Deadline for Applications: March 22, 2012 - 3 p.m.

Enrollment Draw / Lottery: April 5, 2012 - 9:00 a.m. at IPCS

IPCS Student Code of Conduct

• Regular Attendance - Students are expected to attend school regularly.

• Punctuality - Students are expected to be on time for school and classes; parents are expected to have their child to the campus no later than 7:45 a.m.

• Work Habits - Students are expected to be prepared for and to participate in each class, to meet performance standards, to have the necessary class materials, to complete class work and homework accurately and on time.

• Respect for Authority - Students are expected to comply with all school rules and to obey all laws. Students are expected to respond in a respectful manner to adults and peers.

• Respect for Property - Students are expected to treat all property belonging to the school and to others with care.

• Freedom from Fear - Students are expected to contribute to a safe school environment free from fear.

	ADMISSIONS Applications for SY11-12 closed March 2011. All openings have been filled and remaining applicants added to the waitlist. Applications for SY 2012-13 - New deadline dates Enrollment Applications for SY 2012-2013 for all grades will be accepted starting February 1, 2012 to March 22, 2012. Applications will be available on our website or at the school office starting February 1, 2012. Once available, the application form can be downloaded as a PDF file, printed, filled out and mailed to the IPCS office. Applications have a deadline of 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 22, 2012. All applications go into a public lottery system as more applications are received than spaces available. The lottery will take place at IPCS on Thursday, April 5, 2012 at 9:00 a.m. Applicants do not need to be present. IMPORTANT ADMISSION INFORMATION FOR PARENTS Thank you for your interest in our charter school. As a school of choice, prospective families will want to explore our website to learn about Innovations' philosophy and instructional program. Information learned about the school will help parents understand the level of participation expected from parents and know if the Innovations' program meets their child's learning style and needs. Enrollment Update: Kindergarten will be added SY2012-13, making Kindergarten the "entry" year. The following summary outlines how children are admitted to our school. If you have further questions, do not hesitate to call our office at 327-6205. Who Can Apply: Innovations has an open admission policy regarding all who wish to attend. It does not target any particular student population. It is intended that all students be admitted in compliance with state and federal mandates. The only eligibility requirements for all students is that families must agree to and support the Innovations' Student Code of Conduct and comply with the No Left Turn Policy (see details below). Minimum Age Requirement: Kindergarten: Innovations follows the August 1 Federal age requirement for enrollment. Children entering Kindergarten must be five (5) years old by August 1 to enroll. Applications for children who do not meet this age requirement will not be accepted. First Grade: Children entering first grade must be six (6) years old by August 1. Children who are younger may be developmentally unprepared to enter our program. Parents with children who meet the Hawaii age requirement of being age 6 by December 13 (rather than the Federal age requirement of August 1) may submit an application for their child. However, if their child is selected for enrollment via the lottery, a team from Innovations will assess the child to determine if they are developmentally ready to enter our first grade program. If a child is denied entry based on their developmental age, and they wish to enroll the following year, they will need to reapply and go through the lottery process again the following year. Parent Volunteers: Innovations is a school of choice open to all. Parents determine if Innovations will provide an appropriate learning environment for their child based on educational setting, expectations for students, and services available. Parents also must determine if they are willing to commit to parent participation expectations. Parent volunteers are valued at IPCS. Parent volunteers help IPCS meet the vision and goals of the school. There are many ways for parents to help. By submitting an application for your child, you are committing to active participation in the school through volunteering. Special Needs Applicants: The Department of Education has developed a policy regarding the enrollment of Special Education students in charter schools. The purpose of this policy is to ensure that students and their families are aware of the services available at the charter school. Students who have been identified as needing Special Education Services, have an IEP, and are selected in the lottery are offered enrollment after it is determined that the staff at Innovations can provide the services needed for that child. Parents will meet with the home school and IPCS teams to determine what services are needed for their child and what services IPCS can provide. SPED students at Innovations receive services from a Special Education teacher using an inclusion model (students are not pulled out of their classroom for servicing; rather they receive services in the classroom in their regular setting.) If SPED services are required that IPCS cannot provide, the child's placement will be at his/her home school where services can be provided. Lottery: Because more students apply for admission than space allows, the school will admit students based on a public lottery system as required by federal mandate. A lottery is a random selection process by which applicants are admitted to the charter school. Each completed application will be drawn in random order to fill the available open slots. Once the openings are filled, the subsequent applicants will be assigned a wait list number. In the event that more than one child from a single family has applied to the same grade level (twins), one child will be placed in the lottery and one number will be assigned to both children. Application and Lottery Dates / Notification of Results: Applications are accepted starting February 1 up to the deadline date of March 22, 2012. The lottery will be held April 5, 2012 at 9 a.m. Parents and applicants do not need to be present for the drawing. Students whose names are drawn in the lottery and space is available, will be offered enrollment on April 5, 2012 via phone call. Applicants drawn and no space is available will have their name added to the existing waitlist. These applicants will be notified via a letter. Lottery Exemptions and Order: The only students exempt from the lottery are returning students, siblings of IPCS students or former IPCS students who apply on their entry year (kindergarten) by March 22, 2012, and children whose parents or guardians are IPCS staff members. The order in which openings are filled is as follows: Returning students from current school year. Younger siblings (including stepchildren) of students/former students, children of IPCS staff. Applicants on wait list from previous year's lottery (if grade level has openings) Applicants for school's entry grade level (kindergarten). If more applicants apply than openings, a public lottery will be held. Ranking of lottery: All non-placed students shall be wait-listed in the order in which they are drawn in the lottery. The starting wait-listed number for each grade level will be determined by total number of existing wait-listed students for each of the grade levels. If after April 5th there are spaces available and no wait-listed applicants, then from that time forth all students shall be admitted on a first-apply, first-offered basis. Parents do not need to be present at the lottery to gain entry for their child. Children accepted for enrollment at the lottery are notified by phone or from the wait list are notified by telephone and/or a mailed letter. If a family cannot be reached by phone and the letter is returned without forwarding information, the school will go to the next child on the list to offer enrollment. Wait Lists: Because there are few openings at IPCS, most applicants will go directly to a wait list. Although your child may not get in via lottery the first year, each year openings do occur and wait listed applicants are contacted and offered enrollment. Names on the wait list roll over to the next year. New names are placed at the bottom of the list. As applicants are called and offered enrollment, your child's name moves up on the list. We have had many success stories of families able to gain enrollment via the wait list. MULTIPLE SIBLING FAMILIES IPCS believes it is important for siblings to attend the same school. It is our desire to keep families together. Our enrollment system is able to honor family enrollment if your child is selected for enrollment in kindergarten and in subsequent years, younger siblings apply for enrollment. Younger siblings are given enrollment preference (see Lottery Exemptions and Order: # 2 above). Older siblings of kindergarten applicants enrolled are not offered automatic enrollment as all grades beyond kindergarten are full and have an existing wait list. There are no openings. Older siblings of kindergarten applicants wishing to enroll need to submit their own application, go through the lottery and receive a wait listed number for their grade level. Wait listed numbers will most likely be different for each child in the family. We regret that in this case, we cannot keep families together as we would desire. Non-discriminatory: Admission procedures comply with the Hawai charter school statutes: enrollment is open to all students and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, sex, ethnicity, mental or other special needs. Applications for enrollment are available here or at the IPCS office. IMPORTANT DATES Open Application Period: February 1, 2012 to March 22, 2012 Deadline for Applications: March 22, 2012 - 3 p.m. Enrollment Draw / Lottery: April 5, 2012 - 9:00 a.m. at IPCS
	IPCS Student Code of Conduct Students, with parent support, must be willing to follow the Innovations’ Student Code of Conduct: • Regular Attendance - Students are expected to attend school regularly. • Punctuality - Students are expected to be on time for school and classes; parents are expected to have their child to the campus no later than 7:45 a.m. • Work Habits - Students are expected to be prepared for and to participate in each class, to meet performance standards, to have the necessary class materials, to complete class work and homework accurately and on time. • Respect for Authority - Students are expected to comply with all school rules and to obey all laws. Students are expected to respond in a respectful manner to adults and peers. • Respect for Property - Students are expected to treat all property belonging to the school and to others with care. • Freedom from Fear - Students are expected to contribute to a safe school environment free from fear.
	NO LEFT TURN POLICY NO LEFT TURNS ENTERING OR EXITING CAMPUS: Safety is a major concern for our IPCS families and the community at large. Crossing over Queen K highway to enter or exit the school campus is not safe during busy school hours. When we obtained our Special Use Permit, one of the conditions for approval by the county was a No Left Turn Policy. No Left Turn Policy: Left turns from the campus on to Queen Kaahumanu Highway or across the yellow striped median into the campus from the Queen Kaahumanu Highway are prohibited during school hours or school events. Entrance to the campus must be from the “north-bound” lane and turning right into campus. Leaving campus, you may only make a right hand turn to exit onto the highway. Parents are responsible to inform family and friends who drop off and pick up children at IPCS that they must follow the No Left Turn policy or they put our school at risk of losing its Special Use Permit that would result in our school’s closure. Failure to abide by the “No Left Turn Policy” may result in reconsideration of your child’s enrollment at Innovations Public Charter School.