Application, Lottery and Selection Process

Sarasota School of Arts & Sciences, Inc. (SSA+S) will accept admission applications beginning August 1st through December 1st of each year for eligible students entering sixth through eighth grade and applying for admission for the following school year.  For example, the application window for the 2012-2013 school year is August 1, 2011 through December 1, 2011. 

If the number of applications received does not meet the maximum enrollment capacity of students for each grade level by December 1^st, SSA+S will give sufficient public notice and extend the application deadline until capacity is met.  If the number of applications received by December 1^st 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 Statute 1002.33, subsection (10), article (b).   

Enrollment offers are also contingent upon review of 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.

Students enrolled in SSA+S the prior year are not subject to the lottery process each year and do not need to reapply.

Lottery Process - Random Draw

1. All applications that are turned in between August 1st through December 1^st are logged and assigned a confirmation number.
2. After the December 1^st deadline, SSA+S will assess how many applicants turned in completed applications as compared to openings in that particular grade level.
3. 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.
4. The random draw, or lottery process, starts with putting all confirmation numbers of eligible applicants into a container.
5. 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.
6. 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 1^st to December 1^st.  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.
7. Any application received after the December 1^st 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 1^st deadline into a lottery system to fill openings at that grade level.  It is not first-come/first-serve, but an additional lottery for all applicants who turned in an application after December 1st.
8. 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.
9. Students not offered admission may reapply for the subsequent school year during the next enrollment window beginning August 1^st.  Applications and all associated confirmation numbers and waiting list positions expire after one school year. 
10. If any information on the application is false or not openly disclosed, it will be grounds for immediate withdrawal.