EAST TAMPA ACADEMY
ADMISSION AND ENROLLMENT PROCEDURES
Families: Please take a few minutes to review these procedures for enrolling your student at East Tampa Academy.
These procedures outline the admission and enrollment process are for all new students who apply to enroll at East Tampa Academy. They include information about:
Applying and enrolling at East Tampa Academy at any time during the school year.
Applying for admission to East Tampa Academy during the Open Enrollment period from March 15 to April 15.
East Tampa Academy complies with Florida Statutes 1002.33 and all other applicable federal and state statutes related to student admissions and enrollment for charter schools. All admission and enrollment procedures are aligned with federal and state requirements.
If you have any questions, please contact East Tampa Academy at (813) 816-2100.
CURRENTLY ENROLLED STUDENTS RETURNING THE NEXT SCHOOL YEAR
Students currently enrolled at East Tampa Academy are guaranteed a seat for the upcoming school year. Families should not submit an application.
In the spring, East Tampa Academy will send an Intent to Return form to our families with a reminder to return the form to the school by the designated date.
ADMISSION PROCEDURES
New students are invited to APPLY NOW.
NEW students are invited to apply to East Tampa Academy. We accept admission applications for kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grades throughout the school year.
The parent/guardian of a new student can submit an Admission Application to enroll in kindergarten, 1st or 2nd grade during the school’s Open Enrollment period or at any time during the summer or the current school year.
Important: Submitting an admission application may not guarantee that a student will be able to enroll at East Tampa Academy. We must follow the federal and state enrollment guidelines for charter schools. These include:
- If the school is at capacity, we cannot enroll additional students.
- If the number of applicants exceeds the number of available openings for any grade level, a random lottery must be held to determine the students who will be invited to enroll for the upcoming school year.
OPEN ENROLLMENT PERIOD FOR NEW STUDENTS
Annually, the Open Enrollment period will begin March 15 and close April 15. A notice will be posted in advance on the school website announcing the Open Enrollment period.
The Open Enrollment Admission Application will be posted on the school’s website beginning March 15 at 8:00 a.m. On April 15 at 6:00 p.m. the Open Enrollment Admission Application will be removed from the school website.
During the Open Enrollment period, all eligible students who submit an Open Enrollment Admission Application during the designated period of March 15 – April 15 will have an equal opportunity to be admitted to East Tampa Academy, regardless of whether the application is submitted on the first day or the last day of the Open Enrollment period.
Once the Open Enrollment period has closed, the school will post the Admission Application on the website at 8:00 a.m. on April 16. The Admission Application will remain on the school website and available at the school office until the next Open Enrollment Period the following year.
Please note: The only difference between the Open Enrollment Admission Application and Admission Application is the title.
Any student who is not submitting an application during the Open Enrollment period should complete and submit the Admission Application.
At the close of the Open Enrollment period on April 15 if the number of students who apply is less than the number of openings available, by grade level, no lottery will be held. East Tampa Academy will notify parents and provide information on accessing and submitting the enrollment packet to the school. Forms will be available online and through the school office.
Enrollment will continue until the number of students reaches grade level capacity. Students who submit an application after grade level or school-level capacity is reached will be placed on the wait list in the order in which their application is received. All applications are time and date stamped.
LOTTERY RULES AND PROCEDURES
If the number of students who apply during the Open Enrollment period exceeds the number of openings at any grade level, all eligible students who submit an application during Open Enrollment will be included in a random lottery and have an equal opportunity to be selected to enroll at East Tampa Academy for the upcoming school year. [s. 1002.33(10)(b), F.S.]
The lottery will be held in April at East Tampa Academy and is open to the public. The exact date and time will be posted on our website. The school will notify all parents of the lottery results by April 30.
Any student who is not selected to enroll through the random lottery process will be placed on a waitlist in the order in which his/her name was drawn.
OFFER TO ENROLL AFTER THE RANDOM LOTTERY
Following the lottery, East Tampa Academy will notify the parents of the students who were selected to enroll for the upcoming school year through the random lottery. Parents will be notified by email.
Once the notification has been emailed to the parent, the parent will have five (5) business days from the date the offer to enroll is made to accept or decline the enrollment offer. If the school does not receive a response, we will make several attempts to contact the parent by phone.
If the parent does not respond within five (5) business days, the student will be placed at the bottom of the wait list and the school will contact the next applicant on the waitlist.
Parents who receive an offer to enroll their student following a random lottery will be mailed an enrollment packet. All forms and required documentation should be returned to the school by the date designated in the packet.
WAITLIST
A student who submits an application may be added to the wait list under any of the following circumstances.
- A random lottery is held for all students who submit an application during the Open Enrollment period because more students applied for the upcoming school year than the number of available seats, either by grade level or school capacity. During the lottery, the student’s name is not drawn before all seats are filled by grade level or school capacity. The student’s name will then be put on the waitlist in the order in which his/her name was drawn.
- A student submits an application after the open enrollment period closes and the student’s grade level is full, or the school is at capacity. The student will then be put on the waitlist in the order in which the application was received. All applications are date and time stamped.
- A student’s name is drawn in the lottery, the parent is notified, but does not respond within the five (5) day window.
If, at any time an opening becomes available, the school will contact the next student on the waitlist. East Tampa Academy will make several attempts to contact the parent by phone and email. The parent will have 48 hours to accept the offer to enroll their child. If the parent does not respond, we will contact the next family on the waitlist.
The waitlist does not carry over from one year to the next. Any student who remains on the waitlist for a given school year must reapply for the next school year.
ENROLLMENT PREFERENCE
In accordance with s. 1002.33(10), Florida Statutes, East Tampa Academy will give enrollment preference to the following student populations:
- Students who are siblings of a student enrolled in the school.
- Students who are the children of an employee of the school.
- Students who are the children of a member of the governing board of the school.
- Students who are the children of an active-duty member of any branch of the United States Armed Forces.
- Students who have successfully completed a voluntary prekindergarten education program under ss. 1002.51 – 1002.79, Florida Statutes provided by the charter school or the charter school’s governing board during the previous year, or a voluntary prekindergarten provider that has a written agreement with the governing board.
- Students who attended or are assigned to a failing school pursuant to s. 1002.38(2), Florida Statutes.
CONTROLLED OPEN ENROLLMENT
In accordance with s. 1002.31(2)(b), Florida Statute, a child who resides outside Hillsborough County and is not expelled or suspended may enroll at East Tampa Academy if the school has not reached capacity. East Tampa Academy provides preferential enrollment under its Controlled Open Enrollment Plan to students who reside in Hillsborough County. For more information, please contact Ronald J. Anderson, School Director, at (813) 816-2100 or rjanderson@easttampaacademy.org.
East Tampa Academy Non-Discrimination Notification
East Tampa Academy does not discriminate nor tolerate harassment on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identification, gender expression, disability, age, marital status, pregnancy, military status, socioeconomic status, genetic information, or any other reason protected under applicable federal, state, and local law in the provision of educational programs, services or activities, or in its hiring or employment practices. Immediate action will be taken to eliminate such harassment, prevent its recurrence, and address its effects. East Tampa Academy also provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other patriotic youth groups, as required by the Boy Scouts of America Equal Access Act.
Contact Information
The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies: Ronald J. Anderson, School Director, East Tampa Academy, 4309 N. 34th St., Tampa, FL 33610, (813) 816-2100.
tampalearns.org 