Enrollment Procedure

Young Scholars strives to reflect the community we serve. This means we are open to any resident of McKeesport School District first. 

Dear families,

Thank you for your interest in enrolling your child in Young Scholars of Greater Allegheny Charter School (YSGA). Enrollment for the 2024-25 school year begins on October 2, 2023 and will close on March 11, 2024. Applications received between these dates will be entered into our lottery system. Here is how it works:

  1. We begin re-enrollment for our existing students on January 1 of every calendar year for the upcoming academic year. Re-enrollment ends on February 23, 2024.
  2. All enrolled students keep their seats until they graduate, provided their parents or guardians submit a re-enrollment form each year before the re-enrollment deadline.
  3. Open enrollment for non-YSGA students begins July 1st and ends on February 23, 2024.
  4. Any child who resides in the state of Pennsylvania is eligible for enrollment at Young Scholars. Parents and guardians can apply online.
  5. Parents and guardians of current students who are not re-enrolled by February 23, 2024, must re-apply. Application guidelines apply.
  6. If there are not enough seats for the number of applicants, Young Scholars will conduct a lottery to select applicants for admission. The lottery will be conducted at 5.30 p.m. on March 14, 2024. See the “Lottery Rules and Procedures” section for more information.
  7. Once the lottery is complete, we ask the parents and guardians of selected students to complete the enrollment package to register their child at Young Scholars. We place all students who are not selected on a waiting list and then notify their parents/guardians that we will contact them if a seat becomes available.
  8. Registration for an admitted student is complete once we receive his or her full enrollment package. Mandatory information that is to accompany the enrollment package includes a birth certificate, two proofs of residency, and a completed immunization record. Limited additional information will be requested, but not as a condition of enrollment (e.g., picture ID, former school information, academic, and special education records).
  9. Young Scholars also accepts applications outside of our open enrollment period. We admit new students on a first-come, first-serve basis after the waiting list generated by the lottery has been exhausted.  YSGA does not discriminate in its admission policies or practices based on intellectual ability, measures of achievement or aptitude, status as a person with a disability, English language proficiency, or any other basis.  

If you have not received an email from YSGA, want to check the status of your student’s enrollment, or have any questions regarding the enrollment process, please don’t hesitate to contact us at  info@ysga.org or call 412-673-7300.

Apply online now to complete the enrollment process and provide the necessary documentation as seats are limited and fill up fast!

Click Here to Apply
Click Here to Register for Open-House

Our enrollment process is ongoing throughout the school year. Here is how it works.

  1. The re-enrollment process will be conducted for existing students for the upcoming year, beginning on January 1st and ending on February 23, 2024.
  2. Provided students submit the re-enrollment form by the February 23 deadline, students who were enrolled for the current school year are guaranteed a seat for the upcoming school year.
  3. Students who do not submit a re-enrollment form by the deadline of February 23 must re-apply. All aforementioned applicant rules will then be enforced.
  4. The open enrollment period is available until March 10, 2024.
    If on March 10, 2024, there are sufficient seats for all applicants to attend, the applicants will be asked to complete registration paperwork for admission.
  5. If there are not enough seats, Young Scholars conducts a lottery to select applicants for admission. This will be conducted on March 14, 2024, at 5:30 PM.
  6. All applications received after the open enrollment period ends will be accepted on a “First-Come, First-Serve” basis, after the waiting list, which is generated by the lottery, has been exhausted.
  7. All students selected in the lottery are enrolled upon submission of birth of age, residency, immunizations, enrollment acceptance form, and home language survey only.
  8. Limited additional information will be requested, but not as a condition of enrollment (e.g. picture ID, former school information, academic, attendance, and special education records).
  • Enrollment preference will be given to siblings of currently enrolled students, children of staff and members of the board of trustees, and the chartering district’s students (McKeesport Area School District).

 

  • Sibling preference: Charter school law allows us to give siblings of current students priority at the time of our lottery. Please apply for any siblings that are not currently attending the school and mark that they are a sibling of a current student. If we have more siblings that apply for a grade than there are spots available, we will hold a sibling lottery prior to the open enrollment lottery. To be eligible for our sibling lottery, you must enter an application for the siblings during the open enrollment period. Any applications received after the open enrollment period will be placed in the next available spot on the waiting list. A sibling is defined as a biological or legally adopted brother or sister who lives in the same household as the current YSGA student. To receive sibling preference, parents or guardians must bring a completed application to YSGA by the enrollment deadline. If your sibling application is received after the enrollment deadline, the sibling’s name will be placed at the end of the waiting list.

 

 

YSGA maintains a waiting list for all grades. To make sure all children are treated fairly, we use the following process:

  • Assign a number to each child on the waiting list by lottery.
  • Send you a postcard or email message after the lottery to tell you your child’s place on the list.
  • Move children into a class as space becomes available, starting with siblings of current YSGA students and then children with the lowest waiting list number for each grade.
  • Inform you of your child’s acceptance to YSGA.

All applicants offered a seat shall be required to affirmatively respond to an offer for acceptance and complete enrollment documents within five (5) calendar days. Families who decline the acceptance offer will be removed from our waiting list. Families who do not respond to the acceptance offer within five (5) calendar days will be moved to the end of the waiting list.
If your child is on our waiting list, please be patient. We typically do not know about any available space until the end of June or later in the summer. To make sure we can get in touch with you, please update us regarding any changes in address or phone number.

YSGA does not keep waiting lists from year to year. If your child is still interested in attending YSGA, you must resubmit a completed application each year.

The open enrollment period is available until March 11, 2024.

Current students who do not submit a re-enrollment form by the deadline of February 23, 2024, must re-apply.

The Lottery, if necessary, will be conducted on March 14, 2024, at 5:30 PM.

You will be able to submit a school application online at www.ysga.org, or you will be able to obtain a hard copy of the application form at the front office and submit them in person.

The Lottery, if necessary, will be conducted by March 14, 2024, at 4:30 PM. All outlined lottery rules and procedures will be enforced.

  • Lottery refers to the selection of applicant names by a random method electronically. In order to be included in the lottery drawing, submit a complete, accurate application and all required documentation by the lottery deadline.
  • All applicants participate in the lottery based on the priority categories previously listed: siblings and children of staff or board members first, McKeesport Area School District students second, and then students from all other districts.
  • The lottery will be open to all and will be easily understood and followed by all observers and participants.
  • Only applications received prior to the end of the “open” enrollment deadline, February 23, are eligible to participate in the lottery.
  • All applications received after the “open” enrollment period will be accepted on a “First-Come, First-Serve” basis after the waiting list has been exhausted.
  • All applicants offered a seat shall be required to affirmatively respond to an offer for acceptance and complete enrollment documents within five (5) calendar days. Families who decline the acceptance offer will be removed from our waiting list. Families who do not respond to the acceptance offer within five (5) calendar days will be moved to the end of the waiting list.
  • Only one (1) lottery shall be conducted by the school to include all grades in which the number of applicants exceeds the number of expected seats available.
  • If the number of applicants is less than the number of seats anticipated to be available, no public lottery shall be conducted for that grade.
  • Should a seat become available, the next student in line according to the results of the lottery shall be offered enrollment.
  • All offers of registration shall be made in the order of the lottery results and established waiting list.

 

NO OFFER SHALL BE MADE TO A STUDENT NOT PROPERLY ENTITLED TO THE NEXT AVAILABLE SEAT.