Admissions and Graduation Requirements

As a public charter school, TEP is open to all New York City students and will not limit the admission of any student on the basis of disability, race, creed, gender, national origin, religion, ancestry, athletic ability, or intellectual aptitude or achievement.

However, TEP will, as permitted by section 2854(2)(b) of the New York State Charter School law, fill the first 30% of each 5th grade cohort with students who are at-risk of academic failure. TEP defines “at-risk of academic failure” as any student who meets at least ONE of the following criteria at the time of TEP’s application deadline: (1) a student who scored a 1 or 2 on the most recent New York State English Language Arts exam for which that student’s score is available or (2) a student who scored a 1 or 2 on the most recent New York State Mathematics exam for which that student’s score is available.
In addition, TEP will utilize 3 admissions preferences in admitting students:

(1) Beginning in TEP’s second year, all returning students will be automatically assigned a seat in the school (unless the student’s guardian withdraws the student voluntarily).

(2) Any sibling(s) of a student already enrolled at TEP who applies to TEP by the application deadline will, provided that space is available, be automatically assigned a seat in the school and will not need to enter into the admissions lottery. TEP defines “siblings” as two or more children that are related either by birth by means of the same father or mother or by legal adoption. Note: This preference also applies to siblings applying for the same grade-level (e.g. twins); if one sibling is admitted, his or her siblings are automatically admitted as well.

(3) All students residing in NYC Community School District 6, TEP’s proposed location, will also be given an admissions preference in TEP’s admissions lottery.

Admissions Lottery

TEP' s 2011 admissions lottery to fill its 120 student 5th grade cohort was conducted on April 4, 2011.

How TEP's lottery works:
Any student who submitted an application to TEP (we are still accepting applications!) will have one ticket entered into the drawing. An individual unaffiliated with TEP will select tickets, one at a time, until all tickets have been drawn.

Students will be assigned numbers based on the order of selection (the first ticket drawn will be student #1, etc.) creating ONE ordered list of ALL students in the lottery. After the list of ordered names has been created, three columns will be added to the list to indicate (a) the district of residence of each student, (b) whether the student meets TEP’s at-risk criteria (based on evidence provided voluntarily by the student’s parents and verified by TEP administrators), and (c) whether the student has a sibling currently enrolled at TEP. TEP will use the ordered list to admit students using the following process:

FOR FIRST 30% OF OPEN SEATS – TERMED “AT-RISK SEATS”

STEP ONE: Students At-Risk of Academic Failure from any NYC Community School District will be admitted first, in order of their appearance on the list, until 30% of the total seats in a grade-level cohort (which equals 36 students) have been filled. If there are not enough students on the list who meet the at-risk criteria to fill 30% of the cohort’s seats, the unfilled portion of these “At-Risk Seats” will remain open until such time as they can be filled by students who meet TEP’s at-risk criteria.

FOR REMAINING 70% OF OPEN SEATS – TERMED “GENERAL SEATS”

STEP TWO: Students Who Have a Sibling Already Enrolled at TEP will be admitted, in order of their appearance on the list. The process continues with step three.

STEP THREE: Students Residing in NYC Community School District 6 (whether they are "at-risk" or not "at-risk") will be admitted, in order of their appearance on the list. If, after this step, any of the “General Seats” are not filled, the process continues with step four.

STEP FOUR: Remaining Students (from other NYC Community School Districts) will be admitted, in order of their appearance on the list.

Once a student has been admitted to TEP, he or she is automatically guaranteed a seat at TEP for all subsequent grade-levels, unless that student withdraws from TEP.

---

FOR STUDENTS NOT ADMITTED THROUGH THE 5TH GRADE LOTTERY:

After each TEP 5th grade cohort has been filled through the process described above, there may be instances when new seats open up in a particular cohort (such as when a student withdraws from TEP). TEP utilizes a waiting-list process to fill these openings.

All students who enter the 5th grade lottery but are not admitted to TEP will be entered onto the TEP waiting list in the order of their assigned number in the lottery. In addition, 5th grade students who apply to TEP after the application deadline will be added to the end of the waiting list on a first-come, first-served basis. Older students who are applying to enter TEP in the 6th, 7th or 8th grade will be added to the waiting list of the appropriate cohort on a first-come, first-served basis. Each wait-listed student will remain on the appropriate cohort waiting list until the student graduates from 8th grade or until the student’s parent or guardian voluntarily removes the student from the waiting list. In the event that there are any open seats in a particular cohort, TEP will offer these seats to students on that cohort’s waiting list as follows:

If the newly open seat is an “At-Risk Seat” (i.e. the seat was vacated by a student who occupied one of the “At-Risk Seats” that comprise the first 30% of the cohort), TEP will fill this seat with the first student on the cohort’s waiting-list who meets TEP’s at-risk criteria. If no student on the cohort’s waiting-list meets TEP’s at-risk criteria, TEP may fill this “At-Risk Seat” with an already-enrolled student who filled one of that cohort’s “General Seats” but who met TEP’s at-risk criteria at the time of admission. (This will have the effect of opening up a “General Seat” in that cohort.) Note that TEP will NOT fill an open “At-Risk Seat” with a student from the waiting list who does not meet TEP’s at-risk criteria; the “At-Risk Seat” will remain open until it can be filled by a student who meets TEP’s at-risk criteria.

If the newly open seat is a “General Seat” (i.e. the seat was vacated by a student who occupied one of the “General Seats” that comprise the final 70% of the cohort), TEP will fill this seat with the first student on the cohort’s waiting list who has a sibling who is already enrolled at TEP. If no such student is on the cohort’s waiting list, TEP will fill this seat with the first student on the cohort’s waiting list who resides in NYC Community School District 6. If no such student is on the cohort’s waiting list, TEP will fill this seat with the first student on the cohort’s waiting list.