Admissions – Sarasota School of Ars + Sciences

Open Applications

Applications for the 2025 – 2026 school year for new entering grades 6th through 8th grade, will be available online:

August 1st, 2024 through December 1st, 2025

Application Process

Sarasota School of Arts & Sciences, Inc. (SSA+S) accepts applications beginning August 1st through December 1st of each year for eligible students entering sixth through eighth grade, for the following school year.

If the number of applications received does not meet the maximum enrollment capacity of students for each grade level by December 1st, SSA+S will give sufficient public notice and extend the application deadline until capacity is met. If the number of applications received by December 1st exceeds the capacity of the grade level, all applicants will have an equal opportunity of being admitted through a random selection process in accordance with Florida Statue 1002.33, subsection (10), article (b).

** State Statue 1002.22, subsection (10), article (b), governing charter school enrollment policies; (b) The charter school shall enroll an eligible students who submits a timely application, unless the number of applications exceeds the capacity of a program, class, grade level, or building. In such case, all applicants shall have an equal chance of being admitted through a random selection process. (d) A charter school may give enrollment preference to the following student populations:

1. Students who are siblings of a student enrolled in the charter school.

2. Students who are the children of a member of the governing board of the charter school.

3. Students who are the children of an employee of the charter school.

Enrollment offers are also contingent upon review of records and any special resources a student may require. With the appropriate documentation, enrollment preference may be given to siblings (brother/sister/same household) of students currently enrolled in the school, to the child(ren) of employees of the school, and to the child(ren) of current governing board members of SSA+S. Students who are enrolled and attend SSA+S currently, are not subject to the lottery process each year and do not need to reapply.

**Sarasota School of Arts and Sciences offers enrollment to all students that they can serve appropriately. Review of discipline, attendance, and exceptional student education records may negate enrollment at our school based upon an inability to serve the student’s needs. Students whose records are in violation of our student contract, as supported by our Reassignment Form, and Charter will not be admitted. Students that are expelled from a public school, are on a settlement agreement, or on a deferred expulsion will not be admitted to SSA+S during the duration of their expulsion.

Thank you for your interest in SSA+S!

Application

FAQs

Who can apply?

As early as 5th grade, a student may apply for their 6th grade year of enrollment during the application window. Students in 6th – 8th grade may apply for the current and/or following school years as necessary, and as applications are available.

When can we apply?

Our preferred application window is August 1st through December 1st each year.

If we made an error on the application, how do we correct it?

Please email our Registrar as soon as possible to correct items on your application.

How long is our application active?

Your application will expire at the end of the school year requested. If we are unable to reach you to make an offer of enrollment, due to bad contact information or returned mail, your application will be removed from our list. If you do not respond to an offer of enrollment based upon instructions received in an initial offer or email, your application will be removed from our list.

Can we apply each year?

If you are not offered enrollment the first year you requested it, you are welcome to apply for the next school year during that application window. Current SSA+S enrolled students do not need to reapply each year and are continuous students with SSA+S until time of graduation or withdrawal.

What should we do if we do not receive an email confirmation that our student’s application was submitted successfully online?

Contact our Registrar to check status of your application.

What is a lottery?

If the number of applications received exceeds the openings in a given grade level, applications will be enrolled through a random selection process based upon Florida Statute 1002.33, subsection (10), article (b). as noted:

**In accordance with State Statute 1002.33, subsection (10), article (b), governing charter school enrollment policies; The charter school shall enroll an (b) eligible student who submits a timely application, unless the number of applications exceeds the capacity of a program, class, grade level, or building. In such case, all applicants shall have an equal chance of being admitted through a random selection process.

A charter school may give (d) enrollment preference to the following student populations:

Students who are the children of an (3) employee of the charter school.

Students who are siblings of a (1) student enrolled in the charter school.

Students who are the children of a (2) member of the governing board of the charter school.

Should we apply multiple times to increase our odds of an enrollment offer in the lottery?

Only one application will be entered into the lottery per student. Any duplicates will be removed from our list and are not considered.

My current SSA+S student has a sibling (brother/sister), are they automatically enrolled into SSA+S?

If they apply by the December 1st deadline, only siblings (brother / sisters) of currently attending students would be exempt from the lottery process and enrolled automatically. Sibling applications received after the December 1st deadline may be enrolled automatically, provided there are openings in their requested grade level and there is room in the schedule to accommodate their academic needs.

Our family has a student in high school that used to attend SSA+S, does our elementary school student automatically get enrolled as a sibling?

We cannot offer a legacy policy for sibling enrollment. If there is no other family student currently attending SSA+S at time of the lottery, then the application would be entered into the lottery process.

When is the lottery conducted?

After the December 1st deadline, a random, manual draw lottery will be conducted of applications received during the August 1st through December 1st window.

My student is on the waiting list or we applied too late, what should we do now?

Your application with SSA+S is information only and does not conflict with other application processes or programs, such as McKay, school choice applications, magnet programs, other charter schools, or private school registrations. We encourage all families to visit their district’s websites to review all programs and schools available to them, including other charter schools. Sarasota County – www.sarasotacountyschools.net & Manatee County – www.manatee.k12.fl.us

Are there qualifications for a student to be accepted?

All applications have equal opportunity to apply and participate in the lottery. All offers of enrollment are subject to a records review by administration prior to finalizing an enrollment offer.

If my student is gifted, receives ESE services or has a 504 plan, does this move them up the waiting list to get enrolled?

All applications have equal opportunity to participate in the lottery. We do not accept the McKay Scholarship, nor is it leverage for enrollment preference.

What is a records review before finalizing enrollment offers?

Sarasota School of Arts & Sciences offers enrollment to all students that they can serve appropriately. Review of discipline, attendance, and exceptional student education records may negate enrollment at our school based upon an inability to serve the student’s needs. Students whose records are in violation of our Charter and student contract – as supported by our Reassignment Form – will not be admitted. Students that are expelled from a public school, are on a settlement agreement, or on a deferred expulsion will not be admitted to SSA+S during the duration of their expulsion.

Is there transportation provided?

Sarasota County School District Transportation offers pocket pick-up throughout Sarasota County based upon your residence address on file. SSA+S will receive Manatee County transportation requests and are subject to a lottery to fill the one bus route we currently offer. Transportation for Manatee families is not guaranteed and may need to be provided by the families.

How does SSA+S contact families to offer enrollment?

After the initial enrollment offers are mailed on or before the second week of January, any individual vacancies that occur afterward are filled through telephone call offers made to the home number referenced on the application, followed up with a formal email describing the offer and the deadline for response. If no email is available, a hard copy of the offer will be sent postal mail to the address on file.

How long do we have to respond to an offer of enrollment?

December lottery results that include initial offers to lottery winners are mailed on or before the second week of January. These offers include a directive to attend a mandatory registration day in February. If you do not attend this registration day, your spot will subsequently be filled by a family on our waiting list. Any offers made after this February date have 48 hours to respond to an offer of enrollment.

How do we update our contact information so that we do not miss an offer of enrollment?

Please keep all contact information – address, home phone and email addresses – up to date, by contacting our Registrar with your new information.

I missed the deadline to respond to an offer of enrollment, has my child lost their seat?

If you do not respond within the required window noted on your enrollment offer, your seat will be filled with another student from our waiting list.

I declined an offer of enrollment, but now have changed my mind. Can I still get my student enrolled?

If you have declined an offer of enrollment, your application has been removed from our records. You will need to reapply online.

Do you follow the same calendar as Sarasota County Schools?

Yes, here is a link to the school calendar and Sarasota County School Calendar.

Do you participate in statewide testing assessments?

Yes, we follow and complete all FAST (Florida Assessment of Student Thinking) and EOC requirements.

Where can I find school accountability information about SSA+S?

School accountability and comparative school information can be found at http://schoolgrades.fldoe.org/.

Lottery Policy

Selection & Lottery Process
If the number of applications for enrollment received exceeds the openings in a given grade level, applications will enter a random selection process based upon Florida Statute 1002.33, subsection (10), article (b). Our guidelines for lottery selection are as follows:

All applications that are turned in between August 1st through December 1st are logged and assigned a confirmation number.
After the December 1st deadline, SSA+S will assess how many applicants turned in completed applications as compared to openings in that particular grade level.
If the number of applications exceeds enrollment capacity, SSA+S will hold a random draw (lottery) to fill the available vacancies. If the number of applications received is less than the number of openings, then all eligible students are admitted.
The random draw, or lottery process, starts with putting all confirmation numbers of eligible applicants into a container.
A designee, who is not an employee of SSA+S nor a current governing SSA+S Board member, will draw one confirmation number at a time out of the container, starting with the lowest grade level for which there are openings (sixth grade). This confirmation number is then checked against the application list for sibling applicants to allow older sibling applicants an automatic position, if there are openings at that other grade level.
After all vacant seats have been filled at each grade level, SSA+S will then continue the lottery process by drawing from the remaining confirmation numbers of applicants who submitted their applications during the priority window of August 1st to December 1st. These applicants will be assigned a waiting list number in the order that they are drawn. If openings occur during the summer or the school year for which the applicants applied, these applicants will be offered a position in the order of their lottery assigned waiting list number.
Any application received after the December 1st deadline will be accepted but will not be considered unless all applicants from the first lottery have either filled vacancies or turned down offers of enrollment. After that time, SSA+S will put all applications received after the December 1st deadline into a lottery system to fill openings at that grade level. It is not first come, first served, but an additional lottery for all applicants who turned in an application after December 1st.
Students drawn for the first round of admissions (and their siblings, if applicable) will be notified by the second week in January. If offers of enrollment are turned down or there is a vacancy identified for some other reason, additional applicants will be notified in the order of their lottery assigned waiting list number.
Students not offered admission may reapply for the subsequent school year during the next enrollment window beginning August 1st. Applications and all associated confirmation numbers and waiting list positions expire after one school year.
If any information on the application is false or not openly disclosed, it will be grounds for immediate withdrawal.