Lottery Procedure
If Golden Charter Academy (GCA) receives a number of eligible applications that meet the preferences and exceed the number of available spaces a public random drawing will be held, with a weighted preference for available spaces given to students in the following order until capacity is reached and the lottery must occur for all other remaining and all other California residents that have applied by the deadline:
Children of GCA employees or Board members (not to exceed 10%).
Siblings of students currently attending GCA.
Students who reside in the Fresno Unified School District (FUSD) and qualify for Free Reduced-Price Meal Programs (FRPMP).
Students who reside in the FUSD.
All other student applicants.
The lottery will be led by the school administration. Given the native languages of the anticipated target community, all proceedings will be conducted in English and Spanish. The names of each prospective student will be assigned a numerical value which will be reflected by a lottery ball. The ball’s numerical value will also indicate if the applying student has any siblings that are applying for admission the same year. The person leading the lottery will receive the ball from the person that is drawing the balls one at a time and read the number on the ball. As each ball is pulled, it will be posted visibly on display in the order it was chosen. Numbers will be placed in GCA classes based on the order they were chosen. The drawing will continue until all balls have been drawn and all students have been assigned a numerical ranking. These rankings will be recorded in an electronic database that will be double-checked by the administration.
Separate lotteries shall be conducted for each grade in which there are fewer vacancies than eligible students interested in attending. All lotteries shall take place on the same day in a single location. Lotteries will be conducted in descending order beginning with the highest applicable grade level. Due to the preference given of siblings of Golden Charter Academy students, if a number is drawn and that student has an eligible sibling (of any grade) that is also applying, the sibling will be assigned the next available numerical ranking for the appropriate grade level.
The lottery will be open to the public and families will be encouraged to attend, however, families are not required to be present at the time of the drawing to be eligible for admission. Results will also be published in English and Spanish and will be posted online and in hard copy in public locations.
Admission to the school will be offered to pupils according to their numerical ranking until capacity is reached. All remaining names will be placed on a waiting list in order according to their numerical rank. Families will be notified of acceptance within three (3) business days of the lottery. Families who are offered admission must confirm their intent to enroll their student(s) at Golden Charter Academy within two (2) weeks of the lottery’s results. Any families who decline admission or who fail to confirm will lose their position to the next name on the waiting list. The waiting list will be kept on file at the school and will be valid for the duration of the school year. If a student withdraws or is expelled from the school, that seat will be offered to the next eligible student on the waiting list as long as it is within the vacancy-filling timelines.
Applications received after the posted Registration Deadline will not be placed in the lottery, but will still be marked with the date and time of receipt and will be added to the waiting list on a first-come-first-served basis in the order they were received.