Lottery

The Lottery

a) Lottery Procedures and Timing:

1. If there are more applicants than seats available, Parker will hold a single lottery in which every application is randomly drawn and assigned a lottery number.
2. The lottery will be conducted on the Thursday of the first full week of February, unless that is more than seven days after February 1st, in which case the lottery will be held on the Tuesday of the first full week of February. Each year’s lottery date and time will be posted on the school website and in each year’s informational materials; at least one week’s notice will be given of this date. If the lottery needs to be moved because of a weather event (e.g., snow day), that information and the postponed lottery date will be posted on the school website as soon as possible.
3. The lottery itself is held at the Parker School (49 Antietam Street, Devens, MA) and is open to the public. A neutral person will draw the lottery. All applicants for the enrollment window will be drawn by name in the lottery and assigned a lottery number in the order that they are selected in the lottery process.
4. Applicants who do not want their name read aloud at the public lottery must inform the school directly of this preference, in which case, the applicant’s initials will be read aloud.

 b) Post-Lottery Procedures and Timing:

1. After each applicant is assigned a randomly-drawn lottery number through the lottery process described above, admission preferences based on state regulations are then applied in the following state-mandated order: 1) siblings of actively enrolled students; 2) residents of the school’s region (listed above); 3) non-sibling, non-residents of the region.
2. Offers of admission are made to students in the order determined though the above process, based on number of openings in each grade each year. Students who are not offered admission after the initial lottery draw are placed on a waitlist in accordance with the preferences identified above and the order their names were drawn.
3. All applicants are notified by email of their enrollment status not later than February 15. Students either receive an offer of admission or a waitlist number for their grade.

c) Offers of Admission:

1. When a student is offered a spot at Parker, they become admitted students; the offer of admission is extended via email. If email is not available or no response is obtained via email, an offer is made via phone call and/or US mail. It is the responsibility of the applicant/applicant’s guardian to make sure that The Parker School is made aware of any changes to email, phone, or address so that the applicant can be contacted.
2. Admitted students must accept or decline the spot they have been offered in writing. While return of the formal accept/decline form is preferred, email correspondence indicating decline status is also accepted (no proof of residency is required with a decline).
3. Admitted students are required to provide proof of residency. Valid proof of residency can be presented in the form of:
   • a utility bill (dated within the last 60 days)
   • a deed or mortgage payment (dated within the past 60 days)
   • a property tax bill (dated within the last year)
   • a current signed lease, Section 8 agreement, or residency affidavit
   • a W-2 form (dated witin the year) or a payroll stub (dated within the last 60 days)
   • a bank or credit card statement (dated within the past 60 days)
   • a letter form an approved government agency (dated within the past 60 days)
4. An accept/decline form and an explanation of proof of residency requirements are sent to each admitted student. The completed accept/decline form (along with proof of residency for students who wish to accept) should be returned to the school within the window of time indicated below, depending on when in the school year the offer is made:
   • Initial Offers (approx. February 15):
     • Applicants who are offered admission for the following school year through the initial lottery must accept or decline the offer no later than March 10, though earlier notification is appreciated.
   • Offers made March 15-August 15
     • Applicants who are offered admission for the following school year between March 15 and August 15 must accept or decline the offer within two weeks from the date the offer was made.
   • Offers made August 15-February 15
     • Applicants who are offered admission for the current school year (after August 15 or once the school year is in session) must accept or decline the offer within one week from the date the offer is made.  A one-week extension of the deadline will be granted to any family who requests more time to consider the offer (request should be made in writing, via email.
5. Admitted students who accept the offer of a spot at Parker become accepted students (they do not become enrolled students until they attend their first day of school). Upon receipt of acceptance of an offer and proof of residency paperwork, accepted students will be sent further enrollment paperwork, including but not limited to school registration paperwork and a records release form for the sending school.
6. All reasonable attempts will be made to reach the family of an admitted student, but if no response is received from a student for whom an offer of admission is made by the response date stated in the original offer letter, then that student will be considered to have declined the spot. When an admitted student accepts an offered spot, that student must begin attending school within ten (10) days of the agreed upon start date (generally the first day of school in the following school year); if an admitted student does not do so, then that student will be considered to have declined the spot.

d) Notes and Definitions:

1. Sibling/sibling preference: As defined by Massachusetts statutes, siblings must share a common biological or legal parent. Proof of sibling status under this legal definition will be required upon the offer of admission. To receive sibling preference, a student must be a sibling of a student who is actively enrolled at The Parker School at the time an offer of admission is made. Siblings who are concurrently applying to the school do not receive preference, and an offer of admission does not give sibling preference to other siblings on the waitlist. The sibling preference is activated for enrolled students, not for admitted students. Therefore, the sibling preference is activated on the first day of attendance at Parker by an admitted student. Legal documents (e.g., birth certificates, court papers) must be submitted upon acceptance of a seat made available via sibling preference.
2. Applicant: An eligible student who submits a completed application and is then assigned a number through the lottery draw process.
3. Admitted student: A student who receives an offer of admission to the school.
4. Accepted student: A student who accepts the offer of admission and indicates the intention to enroll at Parker.
5. Enrolled student: A student who matriculates at Parker and actively attends a first day of school.