Enrollment Process

Enrollment Policy

Under Minnesota law, Cornerstone's enrollment process starts with an enrollment period.  The enrollment period will be February 1 - March 31. Notice of this enrollment period will be made public through postings in community centers and newsletters targeting the Phalen Village community and the school's website.

The enrollment model for each grade will be approved by the Board of Directors prior to the start of the Open Enrollment period. This enrollment model will accommodate slight over-enrollment to account for likely student attrition.

Enrollment Preference:  As required in Minnesota Statutes, section 124E.11, Cornerstone Montessori Elementary School must offer preferential enrollment to siblings of students currently enrolled and to a foster child of that pupil's parents at Cornerstone Montessori Elementary School.  As allowed for in Minnesota Statutes, section 124E.11, Cornerstone Montessori offers preferential enrollment to children of school employees.  Cornerstone Montessori Elementary School may not and will not give preference to students of the private pre-school Cornerstone Montessori School. Any family from Cornerstone Montessori School who wants their child to attend Cornerstone Montessori Elementary School must participate in the enrollment and lottery process.  Cornerstone Montessori Elementary School is a public school and as such, the enrollment process may not consider eligibility based on intellectual ability, aptitude, measurement of achievement, athletic ability or any other specific characteristic of children whose enrollment application is received in a timely manner.

Enrollment Process:   

Current students of Cornerstone Montessori Elementary School are considered enrolled for the purpose of determining the number of openings for the following year. On the first day of the Open Enrollment period, the number of openings in each grade level will be determined and the Open Enrollment process will begin. Prospective new students must submit enrollment applications by the Open Enrollment deadline.   

If openings still exist in any grade after the Open Enrollment deadline, enrollment applications received after the deadline will result in admission on a first-received, first-enrolled basis.  In the event post-deadline enrollment results in a full class and later enrollment applications are received, those students will be placed on a waiting list in the order in which the applications were received.

Lottery Process:    If more enrollment applications are received during the open enrollment period than available openings in any grade, a public lottery for those openings in those grades must be held.  Each of the grades is subject to the lottery process.  

The lottery, if necessary, will be conducted in April of the current school year.

The lottery will be conducted by a third-party, unrelated to school staff, board, or applicants. It will occur in a public meeting with adequate notice. The students who are not chosen will be placed on a waiting list in the order their names are drawn.

Upon admission, Cornerstone may require additional information about enrolling students including information on special education needs, health care summaries, family background, and family routines and habits.

Kindergarten Enrollment: Prospective students entering kindergarten must be five years of age on or before September 1 of the kindergarten year.

Non-Discrimination Statement:   No child may or will be denied admission to Cornerstone Montessori Elementary School on the basis of gender, religion, ethnicity, or intellectual or physical ability. Cornerstone Montessori Elementary School is a tuition-free school.  Students from all backgrounds are encouraged to apply.
 
Board Approved:  August 28, 2012
Board Amended:  January 22, 2019
Board Revised: October 20, 2020
Board Revised: January 19, 2021