Are preferences given to on-time open enrollment applicants AND late applicants?
No. Preferences can only be applied to on-time applicants that submit their open enrollment applications between the November - January dates listed in the Important Dates section above. Late applicants cannot receive any preferences listed below.
General Preferences:
Preference is given to open enrollment applicants as follows:
1. Sibling preferences are tiered accordingly:
a. A new student, whether they reside inside or outside of the district, whose sibling has been in attendance and will be attending the requested school the following year.
b. A sibling of a student accepting placement during the same open enrollment period.
i. When multiple siblings apply for open enrollment at the same school, they will be linked as siblings in the lottery process.
2. A student of an eligible employee, whether they reside inside or outside of the district. Eligible employees are those who are at the benefit level for each of their respective employee groups, i.e. 20 hours per week or more for classified and .50 FTE for licensed and professional/technical employees.
3. BVSD students wishing to return to their designated neighborhood school.
4. Students who reside within the boundaries of BVSD.
5. Students who reside outside the boundaries of BVSD.
In the case of siblings applying to the same school, if one child receives a Notification of Acceptance, does this mean the others will automatically also be accepted to the same school?
No. If one applicant is offered a seat at the requested school, their sibling(s) applying for the same school (with the intention to attend together in the same school year) will receive a higher preference when placed on the wait list. Acceptance is not guaranteed.
I am a current BVSD employee, does my applicant receive an employee preference to attend BVSD charter schools?
No. Parents/guardians of the applicant must be employed at the charter school of interest at the time of the open enrollment application to receive the employee preference. See the specific charter school's preference section on this website for more details.
*Note: Parent/guardian employment is verified through Human Resources before the open enrollment preference is given to the applicant; substitute teachers/staff are not eligible for any employee preferences for their applicants.
I am a current employee at one of BVSD's charter schools, does my applicant receive an employee preference when applying to other schools in BVSD?
No. Applicants only receive an employee preference to the charter school where their parent/guardian is currently working at the time of the open enrollment application. Applicants will not receive employee preference to open enroll at any other school in BVSD.
*Note: Parent/guardian employment is verified through Human Resources before the open enrollment preference is given to the applicant; substitute teachers/staff are not eligible for any employee preferences for their applicants.
Do students who have special needs or are gifted receive preference in the open enrollment process?
No. Seat offers are based on space availability at the requested school(s)/grade. Students are selected by random lottery without special consideration for needs or ability. Once an offer is made to the applicant, the seat is held until an IEP review is completed by the school.
Does my applicant receive preference in their current school's feeder system? For example, after open enrolling/attending to Louisville Elementary School, I would like my applicant to now attend to Louisville Middle School.
No. Students do not receive preference for open enrollment to the next feeder school.
*Note: After completing elementary or middle levels, students are automatically enrolled to their household's designated neighborhood school at the next level unless they are accepted via open enrollment to an alternate middle or high school. BVSD enrollments for students living out of district will end at the end of the school year at the current level unless they are accepted via open enrollment back into a BVSD school at the next level.
Peak to Peak K-12 Charter School Preferences:
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Children of current or past members of Peak to Peak’s Board of Directors.
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Children of original subscribers.
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Children of staff who are employed at Peak to Peak for an average of 10 hours or more per week and children of teachers who are employed by Peak to Peak.
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Siblings of students attending Peak to Peak during the Open Enrollment application period and will be attending Peak to Peak the next school year.
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Siblings of students who are currently seniors during the open enrollment period.
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Siblings of students who have been selected for admission into Peak to Peak.
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A resident student, who applies during the open-enrollment period, is placed on the waiting list, is not offered admission before the next lottery period, and re-applies for admission in the immediately successive open enrollment period.
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Students who live within the BVSD boundaries.
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Students who live outside of BVSD boundaries who have previously applied to Peak to Peak, is not offered admission before the next lottery period, and re-applies for admission in the immediately successive open enrollment period.
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Students who live outside the BVSD boundaries.
Horizons K-8 Charter School Preferences:
- Children of Faculty (licensed, non-temporary employee) employed in a licensed Faculty position of 0.25 F.T.E. or greater, whether they reside inside or outside the BVSD boundaries.
- Sibling of a student who is attending and will be attending Horizons the following year. EQUAL preference with children of faculty employed in a licensed temporary full-time, temporary part-time or temporary job-share Faculty position, with a one year contract of 0.25 F.T.E or greater (whether they reside inside or outside the BVSD boundaries).
- Sibling of a student who is assigned in the current year.
- Children of non-licensed Staff in their 2nd consecutive year, or subsequent, of employment at 25% or greater (i.e., 10+ hours/week), whether they reside inside or outside the BVSD boundaries.
- Other community preferences as already stated in BVSD Policy JECC-R.
NOTE: If there is an enrollment opening at the time of employment, licensed employee’s children may be enrolled immediately. If there is no space available due to our Charter’s enrollment cap, employee will wait until the following school year or the next available space.
Summit Charter Middle School Preferences:
- Children of school organizers and of present and former Directors.
- Children of Summit current teachers and staff residing in or out of District.
- In District siblings of currently enrolled students and Summit graduates (completed 8th grade at Summit), including those accepted in the current lottery.
- Family Income - This preference applies to in-district applicants for 6th grade who submit an optional current year Family Economic Data Survey as part of their online open enrollment application and qualify as low-income, until 10% of the qualifying entering 6th grade students are enrolled.
- In District with prior application (a student who was placed on the wait list and declined an opportunity to enroll at Summit is not eligible for this priority).
- Students who reside within the boundaries of BVSD.
- Out of District sibling of current Summit student or a former Summit graduate.
- Out of district students.
BCSIS and High Peaks Elementary School Preferences:
1. Sibling preferences as per the regular selection process.
2. Family Income: This preference applies to in district applicants who submit an optional current year Family Economic Data Survey (submitting the survey is optional) as part of their online open enrollment application and qualify as low-income and who reside within a 1 ½ mile walking distance of the Aurora 7 school site (refer to map BCSIS/High Peaks) until 20% of the qualifying entering Kindergarten-aged children are enrolled.
3. Geographic Area: If 20% of the seats reserved for low-income students are not filled, then an additional preference is applied before the regular selection process. In this case, the next tiered preference would be for students eligible for low-income status who reside south of Colorado and west of Cherryvale Rd and east of 4th Ave. (refer to map BCSIS/High Peaks) until 20% of the low-income qualifying entering Kindergarten-aged students are enrolled; transportation would be provided.
4. After these preferences are met, the regular selection process will apply.
Lafayette Area Elementary School Preferences:
Pioneer Elementary School is a Focus School and follows focus school procedures with the addition of the geographic preference below. Lafayette Elementary School, Ryan Elementary School, and Alicia Sanchez Elementary School are Neighborhood Focus Schools. This means that the neighborhood preference applies before the geographic preference for these three schools:
- Sibling preferences as per the regular selection process.
- Geographic Area: This preference applies to applicants who reside inside the boundaries of any of the Lafayette/Erie schools of BVSD; i.e. the attendance boundaries of each school in Lafayette.
- After these preferences are met, the regular selection process will apply.
Are there any special requirements if I am applying to University Hill Elementary School or Pioneer Elementary School?
Yes. Native English speaking students in grades 1st through 5th should have an educational background in a bilingual program and will be assessed by the school to determine program appropriateness prior to final acceptance. Detailed instructions on how to complete the assessment are outlined in the Notification of Acceptance once an applicant is offered a seat.
