logo
Book A Tour
Enroll today

Enrollment Policy

Policy Statement

Sankofa Montessori shall abide by the provisions stated in Federal and State law regarding enrollment and shall forbid discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age in its programs and activities. As such, Sankofa Montessori will adhere to the following enrollment provisions:

Official Attendance Zone

The official attendance zone of Sankofa Montessori is any residence within the State of Georgia.

Enrollment Eligibility/Criteria

  1. PROOF OF GEORGIA RESIDENCE – Any student who resides with a parent/legal guardian in the State of Georgia and provides a timely and valid evidence of proof of residency in the State of Georgia shall be considered eligible for enrollment except as set forth herein. Valid evidence of proof of residency shall be defined as any one of the following:
    1. a current lease or rental agreement
    2. property tax notice
    3.  homeowner’s insurance bill
    4. mortgage statement (no more than 30 days old)
    5. current vehicle registration form
    6. utility bill (water, power, gas) listing your residence as the service address (no more than 30 days old)
    7. a letter from a shelter
    8. a letter from your employer, if your employer provides housing.
    9. If the parent(s)/guardian(s) are not the property owner/lessee, but parent(s)/guardian(s) and student reside with another person who is a property owner/lessee, an Affidavit of Residency form must be completed as required, notarized, and submitted with the application and all other supporting documentation. 
  2. PROOF OF AGE – Evidence that a student will turn five by September 1 of the year they are enrolling for students enrolling in Kindergarten and evidence that a student will turn six by September 1 of the year they are enrolling for students enrolling in 1st grade. Valid evidence of proof of age are as follows:
    1. Birth certificate 
    2. certified medical records 
    3. Certified school records
    4. Passport
    5. Adoption record
    6. Religious record
The enrollment criteria above notwithstanding, Sankofa Montessori may restrict a student from enrolling under O.C.G.A. § 20-2-751.2 when Sankofa Montessori determines that:
  1. The student is currently subject to a disciplinary order in another school or school district, including a long-term suspension or expulsion; OR the action which led to the suspension or expulsion in the other school or school district was an offense for which suspension or expulsion could be imposed pursuant to Sankofa Montessori Discipline Policies; OR
  2. The student has been convicted of or has been adjudicated to have committed an offense which is a designated felony act under Code Section 15-11-63.
In such cases, families will have a meeting with the Executive Director and/or his/her designee to holistically review the circumstances and determine whether the student can enroll. Sankofa Montessori shall not have any other enrollment criteria.

Enrollment Priority

As a CSP SE subgrantee, Sankofa Montessori must adhere to enrollment preferences allowable under the Charter School Program during the term of its subgrant. For that reason, Sankofa Montessori will offer the following limited set of enrollment preferences allowable under CSP:
    1. A sibling of a student already admitted to or attending the same charter school;
      1. Siblings are defined in Georgia Department of Education in SBOE Rule 160-4-9-.04: a child who shares at least one common biological or legal parent whether through natural or adoptive means, including:
        1. biological siblings that share parents
        2. half siblings that share a single parent
        3. step siblings that share a parent or parents through marriage even if the marriage was terminated by death or dissolution
        4. children who share a parent or parents through adoption or guardianship
        5. foster children awaiting permanent placement
      2. Same-grade siblings will be treated as one single applicant unit, rather than as multiple applicants. When that one applicant unit is drawn in the lottery, the same-grade siblings will be numerically ordered on the waiting list or conditionally accepted, dependent upon where in the lottery that applicant unit was drawn. Siblings of current students must submit an application to the school during the open enrollment period to be considered for admission.
    2. Children of a charter school’s founders, teachers, and staff (so long as the total number of students allowed under this exemption constitutes only a small percentage of the school’s total enrollment);
      1. Upon the parent or guardian’s separation of employment with Sankofa Montessori or conclusion of membership on the governing board, the established enrollment policies will govern the enrollment of future students but shall not impact the enrollment status of any current student.
      2. Founder is defined as any member of the Sankofa team who served as an employee of Sankofa or served on its Board during its founding year of School Year 23-24.

Applications

  1. Applications for each school open in November
  2. Applications can be completed online. Parents/Guardians who need access to other alternative means of completing the application should contact the school at enroll@sankofamontessori.org 

Lottery

  1. As defined in the Sankofa Montessori charter, a random lottery process will be implemented to fill student vacancies in such cases where the numbers of pre-enrollment applications exceed the capacity of any Sankofa Montessori program, class, grade level, or building in accordance with SCSC Rule 691-2-.03. 
  2. To participate in the lottery, a student’s application must be received by 11:59 PM before the January 31st application deadline of the enrollment year. 
  3. Sankofa Montessori Charter School conducts the lottery in a fair and transparent method in a public setting open to the public. There is no requirement for applicants and/or their representatives to be present for the lottery to receive an enrollment offer. Sankofa Montessori Charter School uses computer-generated randomization as it is often more mathematically random than human randomization methods.
  4. The lottery will be held virtually on the Monday following the application deadline at 10 AM.

Waitlists

Continue the Drawing Process Sankofa Montessori Charter School continues the lottery’s drawing process after the lottery slots are filled to determine the order of students on the waitlist. Each family is made aware of the position of its student(s) on the waitlist within 3 business days of the lottery. Update the Wait List and Maintain Accurate Records
  1. Sankofa Montessori Charter School will maintain accurate records related to the order of the waitlist. 
  2. Students who are not offered seats for the academic school year for which the lottery was held will remain on the waiting list until the end of that academic school year unless otherwise requested by the parent/guardian to be removed. The waiting list shall be cleared at the end of the academic year for which the lottery was drawn and shall not carry over from one year to the next; students who remain on the waiting list at the end of the academic year will be required to submit an application again for the next school year.

Notification

  1. Sankofa Montessori Charter School offers of enrollment to families selected by lottery are made in writing by email within 24 hours of posted lottery. 
  2. All applicable deadlines will be communicated to parents throughout the entire enrollment/lottery process.
  3.  If a parent or guardian fails to accept or decline an enrollment offer within the 3 calendar day window, this will be considered as a declination of enrollment.

Acceptance of Applications post Annual Lottery

  1. Sankofa Montessori Charter School will continue to accept applications from prospective students throughout the school year even after the school reaches capacity. 
  2. Applications received after the lottery will be placed at the end of the waiting list, in the order in which they were received. If a grade is not at capacity at the end of the lottery, additional students will be added as qualified applications are received, in the order they are received.
  3. If additional seats become available after the Lottery, they will be filled from the applicants, in order, on the waiting list. Sibling preference and student of staff members and Board members will be applied to the waiting list after acceptance of the application.

Forfeiture of Seat

  1. Families forfeit their seat if they have not submitted all documents in enrollment checklist based on the timelines below:
    1. Applicants who accepted an offer between 2/3/25 – 3/7/25 Deadline is 4/18/25
    2. Applicants who accepted an offer between 3/8/25-5/26/25   Deadline is 6/27/25
All other applicants after these application windows must have all documents in on or at 11:59 PM on July 20, 2025

Re-Enrollment

  1. Students who have been attending the charter school and have not withdrawn from the school at any point in the school year do not need to reapply and participate in the lottery. 
  2. Families will complete a mid-year survey to collect data regarding the affirmation of re-enrollment for the next school year to help the administration estimate the number of seats available per grade level.

Enrollment Checklist 

 
All Required Documents 
All children attending K-12 programs must have a Certificate of Immunization (DPH Form 3231). The Certificate of Immunization must be on file within 30 days of the start of the student’s program.    Exemptions: All students, regardless of grade and including foreign exchange students, must have the Certificate of Immunization (DPH Form 3231) on file unless any of the following situations exist:
  • Medical exemption authorized by a medical doctor. This must be indicated on Form 3231, a letter is not sufficient. Medical exemptions must be kept on file, are valid for one year, and may be reissued from year to year until a physician determines immunizations can be completed.
  • Conflict with religious beliefs verified by parents’/legal guardians’ sworn affidavit. The only affidavit that may be used to register a religious objection to required vaccinations is DPH Form 2208. The affidavit does not expire. 
  • Proof of Age Documentation 
  • Social Security Card (application will ask you to enter number only – must verify with original during registration) Providing the Social Security number is voluntary. No student shall be denied enrollment in any public school of this state for declining to provide a Social Security number to the local unit of administration (LUA) or for declining to apply for such number. The Social Security number shall be used to verify a students identity. The provision of law that authorizes the LUA to request the provision of the student social security number is (OCGA 20-2-150(d).
  • Signed acknowledgement of Community Handbook
  • Signed acknowledgement of Attendance Policy
  • Signed acknowledgement of Code of Conduct
  • Verification of attendance at Virtual Orientation or a School Tour
  If applicable:
Required Proof of Residency 
What documents are required to prove residency?
The person with whom the student(s) lives must attach proof of residency, dated within the last thirty (30) days and must show parent/guardian legal name and street address. Please note that a P.O. Box is not acceptable as a residence address. Please carefully read the scenarios listed below and provide the documentation that applies to your student’s living situation.
Possible Living Situation #1 – If you own and live in the resident property, you will need to provide:
  • One document in your name showing the residence property address.
    • Deed or a Mortgage Statement 
    • Utility bill (power, water, gas) for the current month 
    • If none of these are available, the family can complete a Notarized Affidavit of Residency (top portion only)
Possible Living Situation #2 – If you rent and live in the rental property, you will need to provide:
  • One document in your name showing the residence property address.
    • Copy of the lease/rental agreement (or current HUD Certificate of Compliance/Annual Renew Notice)  
    • Utility bill (power, water, gas) for the current month 
    • If none of these are available, the family can complete a Notarized Affidavit of Residency (top portion only)
Possible Living Situation #3 – If you are living at a property with the owner or being rented by another person, you will need to provide: 
  • One document in the owner or primary renter’s name showing the residence property address.
    • Deed, Mortgage Statement, Lease/Rental Agreement, or current HUD Certificate of Compliance/Annual Renewal Notice) 
    • Current utility bill (power, water, gas)
  • One supporting document in your name showing the residence property address.
  • Notarized Affidavit of Residency (*both* top and bottom portions)
What can I bring in as supporting documents?
  • Bank statement,loan documents, credit card statement, voided check
  • Health Insurance. Previously issued W-2 or Form 1099, pay stub
  • Voters Registration Documentation 
  • A current motor vehicle registration (tag receipt)
  • Cable Bill, telephone or cell phone bill, gas bill
  • Receipt to have utilities connected 
  • Mail delivered by the United States Postal Service