Will my child get into PACE?

The weighted lottery process explained.

Understanding Priorities

  • During the Charter application process, PACE Academy defined several criteria to ensure that we can meet or exceed our operational goal in serving students with dyslexia, Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) in reading or other documented reading difficulties.
  • To handle this, our board has established several priorities: No Priority, Single Priority, and Double Priority.

Double Priority

Double Priority

A child will have double priority if he/she meets the requirements for Single Priority category AND one of the following:

  • A sibling enrolled in the school (must share 1 common parent by birth or legal adoption)
  • A parent employed by the school
  • A parent on the Charter Planning Committee

** If a child has double priority, he/she will automatically be enrolled in PACE Academy. **

Single Priority

Child has a diagnosis of dyslexia or Specific Learning Disability (SLD) in reading or has proof of reading struggles as the primary concern.

If your child’s name is selected for the lottery, you will have 2 weeks to provide proof of the following:

  • Diagnosis of dyslexia by a licensed psychologist.
  • IEP with Specific Learning Disability in Reading
  • 504 with accommodations for reading struggles
  • RTI/MTSS documentation for reading struggles
  • Screener documenting characteristics of dyslexia (may be done by PACE if requested and completed prior to 2-week deadline).

No Priority

Child has a primary diagnosis of dyslexia or Specific Learning Disability (SLD) in reading or has proof of reading struggles as the primary concern.

If your child’s name is selected for the lottery, you will have 2 weeks to provide proof of the following:

  • Primary diagnosis of dyslexia by a licensed psychologist.
  • IEP with primary diagnosis of Specific Learning Disability in Reading
  • 504 with primary accommodations for reading struggles
  • RTI/MTSS documentation for reading struggles
  • Screener documenting characteristics of dyslexia as primary area of concern (may be done by PACE if requested and completed prior to 2-week deadline).

*Documentation of diagnosis of dyslexia or SLD in reading must be provided within 2 weeks of lottery drawing, or student will be placed at the botoom of the waiting list.  

Frequently Asked Questions

Charter schools typically only take a certain number of students. If more students apply than the school has open spots, a lottery will need to take place.  A lottery is a random drawing of students for a specific grade level.

At PACE Academy, we have designated 32 spots for each grade level. If 32 or fewer students apply for a specific grade, nothing extra will happen; all students will be accepted. However, if more than 32 students apply for a specific grade, a lottery will occur.

  1. Register for the lottery – Fill out the lottery form to register for the lottery.
  2. Provide documentation – Send documentation of dyslexia, specific learning disability in reading, or struggles with reading to PACE Academy. Documentation includes the following but is not limited to: IEP, 504, Evaluation by licensed Psychologist, MTSS/RTI documentation, report cards, MAP scores, state assessments, student work samples, teacher recommendations and/or a completed screener given by PACE.
  3. Complete Enrollment – Complete enrollment application. The Enrollment Packet will consist of the following: Application, Proof of Residency, Immunizations, Media Release, Home Language Survey -if first time in public school, Records Release, Birth Certificate, Family Volunteer Form, Student Health Information, Recent Academic Information if available
  4. Attend Open House – Attend open house and meet your new teachers!

PACE Academy will begin accepting entries for the lottery on July 1, 2020. The lottery application period will close on October 31, 2020.

In November 2020, a special public meeting will be held to draw names for the lottery. Parents will be notified their child’s name was selected if they cannot attend the meeting.  It is recommended for Parents to attend this meet, but is not required. Parents will have 2 weeks to provide the school with proper documentation of the child’s reading disability to be eligible for enrollment. If PACE does not receive the proper documentation within 2 weeks, the students name will be dropped to the bottom of the list and an alternate will move up.