What To Do After Your Child Has Been Waitlisted for a Public Charter School

All Public Charter Schools have a deadline to communicate application status with applicant families. If your family has not heard back by mid-March, reach out to the school to confirm the status of your child’s application. 

Yes, have hope! It’s important to explore Plan B Options like we’ve listed in our presentation even as you wait. And, be prepared with a plan if you get that first or even second choice school. Remember, you could get a placement offer as late as September so be ready with what you want to do.

Yes, you can accept a school enrollment offer even after you’ve already accepted at a different school. It is important to then also decline your previously accepted offer so that another waitlisted family can accept your place. Because of these kinds of changes, waitlists across schools can have movement and enrollment opportunities for waitlisted families as late as September 30th.

For families with students entering 6th or 9th grades, Baltimore City Public Schools has what’s called the Choice Process for Middle and High Schools.

Families looking at middle schools can still explore traditional public neighborhood schools with middle school grade levels. You’ll want to see what’s convenient for your family, explore schools with programs you’re interested in, and connect with the schools to understand registration next steps. You can also explore specialized or independent schools as well.

Families looking for high schools will want to connect with City Schools’ enrollment to understand your application opportunities. For a list of all the public City High Schools, visit City Schools’ High School Choice page. Private and Parochial Schools are an option to consider as well – admission may not be as out of reach as you might think.

Yes, you do need to select one school by the acceptance deadline. We strongly recommend against accepting multiple offers as they come in. You can wait to respond to placements closer to the acceptance deadline to see what additional placements you receive before making a final decision. Remember, too, that waitlist movement happens so you can always accept a placement at your first-choice school should it come after you’ve already accepted elsewhere.

A requirement for response within 24 hours of notice is unusual and goes against what the City Schools’ district office has shared both with schools and the public. Follow up with the school to find out more information and, if you need more time, you can connect with City Schools’ Enrollment Office to confirm what’s available to you.

Every Baltimore City school provides data for what their school demographics look like. For Baltimore City Public Schools (including Public Charter Schools), you can find the information about a school’s ethnic and racial demographic breakdown on each school’s page on BaltimoreCitySchools.org. Scroll to the bottom of the school page and select the “Data Profile” button.

Private and Parochial schools will present their school’s information in different ways on their individual websites as well. Lastly, we strongly recommend visiting a school to best understand what your unique child’s experience might be.

Public Charter Schools will accept an application after their lotteries have taken place. Placement opportunities, however, will be different at every school after lotteries so be prepared to automatically be waitlisted. 

No. Families can apply to as many Public Charter Schools as they’d like. Baltimore City Schools strongly prefers and recommends that families with elementary-aged children enroll in their zoned neighborhood elementary school. Families with elementary-aged children can also explore enrollment at an out-of-zone Traditional Public School.