New Student Admissions and Enrollment
Any student who is a resident of the District of Columbia is eligible to apply to either campus of Washington Latin. As open enrollment public charter schools, there are no admissions requirements except DC residency. We are not allowed to – and do not – consider test scores, past grades, or other academic factors.
Washington Latin participates in MySchoolDC, the District-wide common lottery for K-12 education for all DC residents. The lottery deadlines for the current school year (for enrollment in the following school year) are noted below (these are approximate dates; please see the Latinpcs.org Apply page or the MySchoolDC site for specifics) :
- December (Saturday) Virtual Ed Fest (all-DC school information fair for families)
- Mid-December MySchoolDC applications open
- February 1 – Deadline for submitting applications for grades 9-12
- March 1 – Deadline for submitting applications for grades PK3-8
- April 1 – Lottery results released (accepted or waitlisted)
- May 1 – Deadline for accepting seat at Washington Latin or any other MySchoolDC school
- May 31 – Deadline for returning enrollment forms to Washington Latin to secure a spot for the next school year.
Washington Latin primarily accepts new students in grades 5-9; we generally do not accept new students after 9th grade due to the Latin language requirement for graduation. The largest number of openings is generally for 5th grade (95 slots on each campus).
Equitable Access Seats
Washington Latin participates in Equitable Access, administered by MySchoolDC, which allows us to set aside seats for students whose families are:
- Receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
- Receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP)
- Experiencing homelessness
- In the District’s foster care system
- Over-age and under-credited for high school
Washington Latin allocates a certain number of seats at specific grade levels for this preference at both campuses. Students eligible for this preference will automatically appear on the list for these reserved seats. Equitable Access-eligible students will have other enrollment preferences applied, as well (see below). For more information about this program, please contact our student recruiting team at admissions@latinpcs.org.
Enrollment Preference Policies
For all student applicants, both those who are eligible for Equitable Access and those who are not, Washington Latin grants enrollment preferences in this order:
1. Sibling-Attending Preference: Siblings of attending (current) students – the sibling must be enrolled and attending at the time of the lottery.
2. Faculty Preference: Children of current full-time employees who are DC residents
3. Sibling-Offered Preference: Siblings of newly-admitted students – also called matched sibling preference
To enroll a sibling of a current Latin student, the parent or guardian must complete and submit an enrollment application through MySchoolDC. A sibling is defined as a biological, adopted, foster, or step-brother or sister with the same primary residence as the current Washington Latin student. Cousins, nieces, nephews, and unrelated children sharing an address with a Washington Latin student are not considered siblings UNLESS there is a documented legal guardianship in place.
If, for any reason, the current Washington Latin student on whom the sibling preference was based withdraws from Latin before the start of the school year, the newly-enrolled sibling may be removed from enrollment and placed on the waiting list.
Washington Latin also offers a sibling-offered preference to students whose siblings are offered a seat at our school through the MySchoolDC lottery. Once a student is offered a seat, the sibling-offered preference is applied by MySchoolDC to any qualified siblings on our waitlist. Note that the sibling-offered preference does not always result in the sibling securing a seat at Latin.
Enrollment preferences are not a mandated policy for DC public charter schools. If Washington Latin does not offer any of these enrollment preferences during an enrollment period, siblings and employee children will be treated like all other applicants through the MySchoolDC lottery.
Faculty Preference
Children of faculty, who are full-time and salaried employees and DC residents at the time of the lottery are eligible for our staff preference for grades 5-9. This preference is applied after the sibling-enrolled preference and before the sibling-offered preference. Employees’ children may not exceed 10 percent of a school’s total student body. To be considered for the employee preference, an employee must return for the following year of employment when the child will begin attending Latin. Independent contractors, hourly employees, on-call employees, and non-DC residents are not eligible. To learn more or request this preference, employees must contact admissions@latinpcs.org.
Re-Enrollment of Current Students
Re-enrollment for the next school year is not automatic for current students.
Please note the following:
- Parent(s)/guardian(s) must submit re-enrollment documentation in the spring by the deadline set by the school administrators (generally in late May) to reserve their place at Washington Latin. If not submitted by the deadline, that student may be dropped from enrollment at the school for the next academic year.
- Submission of the enrollment form only holds a space for a student. Enrollment is not complete until Latin receives the residency verification documents and immunization information, as required by law.
- Students who do not re-enroll for the next academic year are NOT eligible for summer opportunities funded totally or in part by Washington Latin or afforded through a partnership with our organization. If a student participates in a summer program funded by Latin and does not re-enroll for the next academic year, his/her family will be responsible for reimbursing the school for the cost of the summer program(s) and any other related costs.
- Parents/Guardians of currently enrolled students can expect an email with information on re-enrollment in the spring with details on completing the necessary requirements. If you have questions, please contact our Enrollment Teams (2ndStEnrollment@latinpcs.org or AJCenrollment@latinpcs.org).
Withdrawing a Student
As a charter school, we value the ability of parents/guardians to make choices regarding their children’s educational placement. We recognize that for a variety of life situations a family may choose to withdraw their child from Washington Latin Public Charter Schools. Although we regret seeing any member of the Washington Latin community leave, we will assist parents in the transition.
To withdraw a student, parents must complete and sign a Withdrawal and Exit Interview Form and Student Withdrawal Form with the Enrollment Team. Once a decision on the student’s next school has been finalized, the Student Withdrawal Form or Verification of Enrollment form must be completed by the receiving (new) school and returned to the Enrollment Team before the official educational records will be released. Washington Latin will send the academic files to the receiving school within five business days after receipt of the Student Withdrawal Form or Verification of Enrollment Form. However, official educational records will not be released until all outstanding materials and other obligations have been settled.
Once a student has formally withdrawn, the student forfeits her/his assigned enrollment space at Washington Latin Public Charter Schools and may not be eligible to re-enroll. The parents or guardians who withdraw a student before graduation will be asked to participate in an exit interview with a member of our Senior Leadership Team.
Re-enrollment after a period of absence
In certain circumstances and with express written approval from the Principal prior to a student’s departure, Washington Latin allows for re-enrollment of students outside of the MySchoolDC lottery. These limited circumstances include:
- For the student to receive extended health treatment*
- For a student to participate in an educational exchange (such as a study abroad program)
- For a temporary family relocation outside of DC for either professional or personal reasons, such as an overseas posting or care of a family member)
* In cases where a student is at a healthcare facility and able to receive academic instruction, Washington Latin works with the team at that facility to ensure continuity of the student’s education until their return to campus.
Washington Latin will only grant re-enrollment outside of the lottery for students who will be out of DC for one year, except for government service or military orders that are for up to two years. This is on a case-by-case basis and depends on their being space available in the grade.
For requests to be allowed to re-enroll after a departure, the parents/guardians must seek prior approval from Washington Latin, not later than before the start of the school year of the student’s absence, by sending a written request to Peter Anderson, Head of Schools (panderson@latinpcs.org) and the campus Principal with the following information:
- Reason for the request
- Estimated period of the absence
- Contact information for the parent/guardian to stay in touch with Washington Latin throughout the period of absence
Students may return to Washington Latin at the start of the school year after completing the re-enrollment process. Re-enrollment will not be allowed mid-year.
This re-enrollment exception does not apply to families who continue to reside in Washington DC and are electing to enroll their children in other DC schools (or homeschool them) for one year. The request for re-enrollment may be voided if the student enrolls in a different DC school during the absence.
