ADMISSIONS PROCESS
Lottery to be held on April 1st.
Our Admissions Policy
SouthSide Elementary is a public charter school open to Providence students from K to 5th grade. In accordance with the RI Board of regents promulgated "Regulations Governing RI Public Charter Schools", students are admitted to SouthSide Elementary by lottery. This lottery determines which applicants are enrolled the following school year. The lottery takes place at the beginning of April of the year prior to the enrolling school year. All families will be notified of the results of the lottery by mail and/or email.
The Acceptance Process
SouthSide Elementary admissions applications are available exclusively through the ENROLLRI website (ENROLLRI.ORG). This website was created by the RI Department of Education to provide families with easy access to information about RI schools and the programs they offer, giving them the knowledge needed to determine what schools would be the best fit for their children while providing the school districts with information about students who would like to attend their schools. ALL APPLICATIONS MUST BE COMPLETED ON THE ENROLLRI WEBSITE – PAPER APPLICATIONS ARE NO LONGER AVAILABLE. Applications are open on the website from mid-November through mid-March of the school year prior to the one you are applying for. Actual dates for the application window will be posted on the ENROLLRI website each year.
Rhode Island charter schools will hold their lotteries at the beginning of April. The date of the lottery will be posted on both the school’s website and the ENROLLRI website. After the lottery is completed, offers of admission will be made to those chosen in the lottery. Those who are not chosen through the lottery process will be placed on the waitlist for the upcoming school year.
The Offer and Acceptance Process
Once an applicant is accepted to SouthSide Elementary, we will send acceptance/offer letters and a Confirmation and Reservation Form by mail and email. The Confirmation and Reservation Form confirms your acceptance of the offer made to you and solidifies your child’s enrollment at SouthSide. Families will have fifteen (15) business days from the postmarked date on the notification letter or the date of the sent email to return this form to the Admissions Office. If we do not hear from you within fifteen (15) days, we will make every attempt to contact you by the deadline. If we have not received a confirmation form by the deadline, the student’s space will be given to the next eligible student on the waiting list. Parents who are not available at the home address or email address listed on the application form during the notification period should contact SouthSide Elementary to make other arrangements.
If you choose to decline the seat offered to your child, please let us know as soon as possible so we can move on to the next student on the waitlist.
Accepted Students
After returning the Confirmation/Reservation Form, new SouthSide Families will be given an enrollment packet to complete and return to the Admissions Office along with a list of REQUIRED documents which includes a current document that provides proof of residency in Providence.(A list of documents that are considered acceptable forms of proof will be provided in the packet.) ALL forms and documents must be submitted before the given deadline in order for your child to start the school year at SouthSide Elementary.
Kindergarten Age Requirement
It is SouthSide Elementary's policy that children applying to kindergarten must be 5 years old by September 1st of the year they will be starting kindergarten.
Siblings Preference Policy
SouthSide Elementary has implemented the Sibling Preference Policy to help families with more than one child in school. Enrollment preference is given to applicants whose siblings are enrolled at SouthSide. We define siblings as children that share the same parent, guardian and/or caregiver, and reside in the same household.
When the lottery takes place, siblings will be admitted first, if space is available. When a waiting list exists for a particular grade, siblings will be placed 1st on the waiting list. If there is more than one sibling to be placed on the waiting list for a particular grade, a siblings’ lottery will be done in order to assign them a position on this waiting list.
Children of Employees Admissions Policy
The children of SouthSide Elementary employees are given preference in the admissions lottery in the same way that siblings are given preference. The employee must be full time and a Providence resident in order for her/his child to be given preference in the admissions lottery.
When the admissions lottery takes place, current students’ siblings and children of employees will be admitted first, if space is available. When a waiting list exists for a particular grade, siblings or children of employees will be placed 1st on the waiting list. If there is more than one sibling and/or child of employees to be placed on the waiting list for a particular grade, a sibling/children of employees’ lottery will be done to assign them a position on this waiting list.
Leaving SouthSide Elementary
When a student leaves SouthSide Elementary and is interested in returning to our school, an admissions application has to be completed and will follow the same lottery process as the rest of the applicants.
If at that time, SouthSide Elementary has a waiting list and is not accepting applications, the parent is welcome to apply for the following school year when applications are available. Please remember that an admissions application has to be completed and returned before the deadline in order to participate in the lottery.
To request more information:
Contact
Tina Hawksley
Mon-Fri 8am - 4pm
401-270-9007
You can also request more information with this form:
SouthSide Elementary Charter is a K-5 charter public school that provides students a solid step towards college and community leadership.
Students will learn to read, write, think logically, and problem solve on grade level within a curriculum that emphasizes academic rigor, excellence, and community engagement in an extended school day and year.