Enrollment

Enrollment

The VillagesCharter School(K-12) operates by a Charter Agreement approved by the Sumter County Board of Education and the Florida State Department of Education.  Unlike traditional county schools, our enrollment criteria are based upon one of the parents/guardians/ place of employment rather than geographic address of their home.

Qualifying Employment

Employment is verified on each new applicant, and will be verified on a quarterly basis for all enrolled students.

Category I - Direct employee of The Villages

Category II -Employee of a Direct Sub-Contractor of The Villages. Employee must receive a W-2 form from the sub-contractor. Sub-Contractor's who are paid by residents or businesses of The Villages do not qualify. Sub-Contractor's who do not have a direct contract with The Villages do not qualify.

Category III-Employee of a business on Villages Property.

Please call the Enrollment Office (352-259-2350) to determine if a business is qualified for enrollment.

Parents who work full-time (40 hours per week) are given priority over parents who work part-time (less than 40 hours per week).

2008-2009 New Enrollment

Enrollment applications for new students will be available on January 7, 2008. 

Placement of new students will not begin until after the 2007-2008 school year has ended on May 30, 2008.  This is a process that continues throughout the summer until school begins. 

Placement is based on the category of employment for the parent.  Priority is given to full-time employment versus part-time employment.  Also, priority is given to students who have siblings already enrolled in the CharterSchool. 

Parents are notified by phone if we have a seat for their child. They are given 5 working days to provide the documentation required for enrollment (see list below).

• Birth Certificate
• Immunization Record
• Report Cards
• State Testing Scores
• Transcript for High School Students
• Social Security Card
• Recent Physical
• Individual Education Plan (IEP)
• Court Order Papers (if legal guardian)   
• Marriage License (if step-parent is the qualifier or if step-parent will be performing Parent Involvement Time.)

After all spaces have been filled in a given grade level, letters are mailed to the parents of students who will be held on a “waiting list”.   Students may be placed in any newly available seats even after the new school year begins.

Re-Enrollment for the upcoming 2008-2009 School Year

In years past, we have required each student to return a re-enrollment application if they wish to return the following school year.  For the upcoming 2008-2009 school year, we are not going to require this application.  With the exception of PK-4 going into Kindergarten, all students will automatically be re-enrolled into the next grade level.  If you know your child will not be returning for the 2008-2009 school year, please notify the Enrollment/Central Office as soon as your plans are firm. 

Employment of the parents/legal guardians will continue to be verified throughout the remainder of the school year. 

Forms:

Pre-Enrollment Eligibility Application-One application per household (covers all children in the household).

Authorization for Release of Employment Information-Signature of qualifying parent. This form gives the Enrollment Office permission to verify employment. The form must be notarized.

Proof of Employment-This form is filled out by the employer. It also requires notarization of the supervisor, business owner, or authorized representative.

Petition for Continued Enrollment-This form is required when the qualifying parent no longer has qualifying employment.  You may “Petition” the school for continued enrollment until qualifying employment is obtained.

Employment Changes

It is very important that you notify the Enrollment/Central Office immediately should your employment status change.  Our school board policy states that upon the parents/legal guardian termination of employment, the student is immediately not eligible for enrollment into the CharterSchool. A new Proof of Employment must be submitted on your new employer if you have gained new employment.  If you have not gained new employment, then you may petition for continued enrollment until the end of the “school term”.  “School Term” may be the 9-week grading period or the end of the Semester.

If you do not have employment on the last day of the 2007-2008 school year (May 30, 2008), then your child will not be enrolled for the 2008-2009 school year.  You will be required to go through the New Enrollment process again. 

If you have enrollment questions, please contact Debbie Paxton, Enrollment Coordinator, debbie.paxton@thevillagescharterschool.org

Phone:  352-259-2350              Fax:  352-259-3850