Enrollment Applications for City Neighbors Hamilton Charter School will be accepted from     December 1, 2011 through 3:00 PM on February 17, 2012.  Enrollment Application deadlines will not be extended in the case of inclement weather and/or school closings due to inclement weather or for any other reason.  In order to ensure your child’s inclusion in the lottery draw, please do not wait until the last minute to submit Enrollment Applications. 

To apply for enrollment to City Neighbors Hamilton Charter School (CNH), a separate Enrollment Application must be completed and submitted for each child you wish to enroll.  Only one application per child will be accepted.  This Enrollment Application is for CNH only.   Application to City Neighbors Charter School (on Raspe Avenue) must be made separately.  The schools do not share an applicant or waiting list. 

Getting Informed

It is strongly recommended that interested families attend an Open House, which consists of an information session and school tour.  Open Houses are held prior to the application deadline date.  In order to accommodate working families, both evening and daytime sessions will be made available.  Due to volume of interest, we are unable to accommodate individual information sessions and school tours.  Click here for Open House dates and times.

Who Can Apply?

Enrollment preference is given to residents of Baltimore City.  If your child is selected for enrollment, you will be asked to supply proofs of residency.  If your child’s application is selected in the lottery, a list of acceptable documents to prove residency will be provided to you, or you can find the list on here:    Click here for a list of acceptable documents to prove residency.

Applications from families who live outside of Baltimore City will be placed at the end of the waiting list.  If the pool of Baltimore City applicants is exhausted and a non-Baltimore City applicant is selected from the waiting list, tuition will apply. 

Application must be made by custodial parents or legal guardians only.  Enrollment Applications will not be accepted from siblings or any other non-custodial relatives or friends. 

Submitting Completed Applications

Be sure to complete the Enrollment Application thoroughly, neatly, and accurately.  Incomplete Enrollment Applications will not be considered.  City Neighbors Hamilton will not be responsible for incorrect, inaccurate, or illegible information.  Inaccuracies or misrepresentations on the Enrollment Application will adversely affect the applicant’s placement on the acceptance/waiting list. 

Enrollment Applications will be accepted in one of four ways:

·         hand-delivered to City Neighbors Hamilton Charter School, 5609 Sefton Avenue, Monday through Friday, between 8 AM and 3 PM (recommended); or

·         scanned and emailed as an attachment to applications@cityneighborshamilton.org; or

·         mailed to City Neighbors Hamilton Charter School, 5609 Sefton Avenue, Baltimore, MD  21214; or

·         faxed to City Neighbors Hamilton Charter School:  410-426-0190. 

Hand-delivery:  Because the enrollment period includes Winter Break, other school holidays, and possible school closings due to inclement weather, please contact the school office first to ensure school is in session:  443-642-2052. 

Email:  City Neighbors Hamilton will not be responsible for delays, interruptions, or malfunctions of the receipt or transmission of email, or for the quality of the scanned image.  An automated delivery message will follow all correctly emailed Enrollment Applications. 

Mail:  City Neighbors Hamilton will not be responsible for lost, delayed, damaged, or misdirected mail.  Please call to verify receipt of applications one week after mailing the Enrollment Application.  All Enrollment Applications must be received by 3 PM on February 17.  THIS IS NOT A POSTMARK DEADLINE.  Mailing of Enrollment Applications less than one week prior to the deadline is not recommended. 

Fax:   City Neighbors Hamilton will not be responsible for mechanical or equipment failure, or for the quality of the faxed image.  Please call to verify receipt of fax 24-hours after sending.

Late Arriving Applications:    Enrollment Applications received after 3:00 PM on February 17, 2012 will be placed at the bottom of the waiting list in the order they are received and will not be included in the lottery draw, should one be necessary.

Enrollment Lottery

If the number of applicants for a given grade does not exceed the number of available spaces, all applicants in that grade will be offered admission to the school. 

If the number of Enrollment Applications for a given grade exceeds the number of available spaces, students will be selected for admission by random lottery on a grade-by-grade basis, beginning with kindergarten and moving up each consecutive grade, i.e. kindergarten, first, second, third, etc.  Students are selected in the lottery per grade level using the information supplied on the Enrollment Application.  Inaccurate information regarding the applicant’s grade level or age will adversely affect the applicant’s placement on the acceptance/waiting list. 

The enrollment lottery will be conducted by staff of City Neighbors Hamilton and witnessed by a representative of Baltimore City Public Schools.

The enrollment lottery draw will be held at 1 PM on February 24, 2012 at City Neighbors Hamilton Charter School, 5609 Sefton Avenue, Baltimore, MD  21214.   All interested parties are invited to attend the enrollment lottery draw. 

Accepting a Space

An acceptance card and registration form will be mailed to all accepted applicants by March 1, 2012.  Both the card and registration form must be hand-delivered by or postmarked no later than March 30, 2012.  If we do not receive this written decision of acceptance postmarked by March 30, 2012, we will offer the available slot to the next applicant on the waiting list.  A verbal decision of acceptance is not sufficient and a space will not be held.  Once accepted, prospective families will receive a list of other documents required, along with associated deadlines, in order to complete their enrollment, per Baltimore City Public Schools. 

CNH will not be responsible for any acceptance notification letters returned to us in the mail due to incorrect, outdated, or illegible information provided on the Enrollment Application.  A reasonable attempt will be made to contact the accepted applicant by other means provided on the Enrollment Application but acceptance deadlines cannot be extended.  If we are unable to make contact after a reasonable attempt, we will offer the opening to the next applicant on the waiting list.

Because of the volume of applications and the quick turnaround time between the lottery draw and parent notification, it is not always possible to disclose acceptance or waiting list placements by telephone or email before notification letters are mailed.  Acceptance and waiting list placements will not be provided to anyone other than the applicant family. 

Waiting List

Wait-listed applicants will be notified of their placement on the waiting list by March 1, 2012.  Wait-listed applicants will be notified when and if an appropriate opening becomes available.  The waiting list for enrollment does not carry over from year-to-year.  Interested families not selected in the enrollment lottery draw must reapply for admission the following year.

CNH will not be responsible for any wait-list notification letters returned to us in the mail due to incorrect, outdated, inaccurate, or illegible information provided on the Enrollment Application. 

Enrollment Priority Policy

Priority in the enrollment process is as follows, in the order listed:

1.  Current City Neighbors Hamilton students

2.  Children of Founders (Enrollment Application required)
3.  Children of current City Neighbors Hamilton Staff (Enrollment Application    required)*
4.  Siblings of current City Neighbors Hamilton students (Enrollment  Application required) **

5.  New applicants (Enrollment Application required)

    *Does not apply to children of staff of City Neighbors Charter School or City Neighbors High School.

**Does not apply to siblings of students who attend City Neighbors Charter School or City Neighbors High School.

Siblings:  At CNH, we understand the importance of families and the convenience of having siblings attend the same school.  Therefore, we employ a Sibling Preference Policy that gives siblings of currently enrolled students preference in the enrollment process.    A sibling is defined as:

·         a brother and/or sister who reside in the same household and share  a common parent, or

·         are legally adopted by the same parent, or

·         are the legal responsibility of the same adult/parent.  

Cousins, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and/or unrelated children sharing the same address with a current CNH student, and who do not meet any of the above criteria, are not considered siblings.  A step-sibling must be legally adopted by the step-parent making application in order to qualify as a sibling under our Sibling Preference Policy.  Proof of legal adoption/legal responsibility will be required at the time of enrollment.  Failure to provide documentation of adoption/responsibility will result in the child’s acceptance to CNH being rescinded. 

A separate Enrollment Application must be completed for each sibling.  If a separate Enrollment Application is not received for each sibling, that sibling will not qualify for the Sibling Preference Policy.  If there are more sibling applications for a specific grade than there are available openings in that grade, a sibling lottery will take place.  The results of that lottery will remain in effect and the siblings ranked in the order drawn for as long as that sibling continues to apply for enrollment at CNH, however, a new application must be submitted each year in order to remain ranked in order on the sibling waiting list.  New sibling applications will be placed on the waiting list in order of receipt, behind those siblings already ranked.  If there is more than one sibling applying for the same grade, there will be a lottery held among those sibling applicants to determine placement on the sibling waiting list.  The Sibling Preference Policy is dependent upon available grade openings and does not guarantee enrollment for each sibling. 

Founder:  Any child of a Founder, as designated by the Board, is automatically given an available space if they indicate interest. 

Age Requirement for Kindergarten

In order to ensure full enrollment, spaces that become available and are offered to candidates on the waiting list during the summer months will require a shorter turnaround time between notification of acceptance and confirmation from families accepting or declining the offer.  This timeline becomes even more condensed as the beginning of the school year approaches and once school is in session.  We will assume that all families who have made application to CNH have explored our website, attended an Open House/school tour, had all of their questions answered at that time, and are prepared to make an informed decision in regard to City Neighbors Hamilton being a good fit for their family.     

Statement of Educational Equality

City Neighbors Hamilton is committed to a policy of educational equality.  Accordingly, the whole school admits students and conducts educational programs, activities, and employment practices without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, marital status, ancestry, disabilities, or any other legally protected classification.        

Applying to City Neighbors Charter School

Application and enrollment for City Neighbors Hamilton (CNH) and our sister school, City Neighbors Charter School (CNCS) are separate and distinct.  The schools do not share an applicant list or waiting list.  If you wish to apply to City Neighbors Charter School, please visit www.cityneighbors.org.

                                                
      
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Enrollment Application

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