The Hoboken Charter School has established the following policy regarding student admissions:

A public lottery will be held on a predetermined day in January to determine admission to the school for siblings of enrolled students, Hoboken residents, and out-of-district residents.

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To register and apply for the 2025-2026 and/or the 2024-2025 Reserve Pool lottery, [click here].

Admission to kindergarten is based on the student reaching the age of five by October 1, 2025

The following list outlines the priority order for admission with regard to the lottery and the waitlists as well as the reserve pool:

1. The Hoboken Resident Sibling Waitlist

2. The Out-of-District Sibling Waitlist

3. The Hoboken Resident Waitlist

4. The Out-of-District Waitlist

 

Hoboken Charter School provides a 3:1 application weight in the lottery to economically disadvantaged students applying to the K-8 program with proof of certain forms of public assistance. Families who believe they qualify for this lottery weight and want to participate must indicate how they qualify on the application. Proof or verification is required to be submitted to HCS no later than Thursday, January 9, 2025, by 5:00 p.m. sharp.

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Applications received after the application deadline will be held in a reserve pool, which will be established for each of the four waitlists.

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Lottery Procedures

• All information will be treated as confidential. Names will not be made public at the lottery or any other time.
   

• All applications received prior to the established cut-off date will be eligible for participation in the admission lottery.
   

• Prior to the lottery, each applicant will be assigned a unique number, with the exception of twins, who will receive one number. Lotterease will assign the unique numbers. These numbers will be emailed to the address provided during the registration process with Lotterease.
   

• Spaces available in any grade will be filled from the Sibling waitlists before students on the Hoboken and Out-of-District waitlists are offered spaces.
   

• Each lottery number will be sorted with the appropriate priority order lists. When pulled, these numbers will be drawn for the appropriate grade level(s).
   

• Prior to the assignment of open spaces in any classes, all numbers will be pulled from the lottery sorter and ranked.
   

• These rank orderings will be used to assign students to available spaces in classes or, if there are no available spaces, to the respective waitlist in the order that the number was pulled from the sorter.
   

• In the case where two or more siblings (with no siblings enrolled in the school) are applying for admission, and one sibling is admitted to a class, the placeholder on the master-ranking list for the other sibling(s) will be marked “Sibling” only once their admitted sibling completes all paperwork and is fully enrolled at HCS.
   

• Families who are admitted will be sent letters of intent. Families will have two weeks from the date of the January lottery to return their letters of intent. Families who do not return the letter of intent by the end of this two-week period will be dropped from the school’s rolls, and the space will be filled from one of the four standing waitlists. If you are ready to accept the spot, you must sign what’s called a “Letter of Intent.”  Please note that the registration is not complete until all the required documentation is submitted. Failure to submit the documentation by the due date may result in losing your placement at HCS.
   

  • ​If a child, at the time of enrollment, has not passed all grade-level coursework, the family will need to re-apply for the child’s grade. HCS does not promote without proof of having passed all previous grade coursework credits.

  • Proof of residence will be required when the child is admitted to HCS. If there is a misrepresentation, your application may become invalid.

  • During a current academic year (from the first day of summer vacation through the last day of school), when a spot becomes available, the waitlists established at the most current lottery will be used to determine admission to the school. If a family, for whatever reason, chooses not to accept the space, they will be withdrawn from the waitlist.