Enrollment FAQ's
Why can’t RMCA guarantee enrollment to
all current students?
From class to class within a given section of the school (Mom’s
Day Out, Preschool, and Academy), RMCA does guarantee enrollment for
all qualified, current students, and these students have first priority
for enrollment. However, in the transitions from Mom’s Day Out
to Preschool, and from Preschool to Academy, RMCA simply cannot predict
the number of students who will be eligible to move up (for instance,
many 4-year-olds are not yet ready for kindergarten), and who will
be interested in moving up (many families love our Mom’s Day
Out program, but prefer another preschool; or attend our preschool,
but then move to public elementary school). As a result, we cannot
guarantee enrollment to current students in the next level.
If so many students want to enroll in RMCA,
why doesn’t the school
open more classes?
This question comes up most often in kindergarten. RMCA would love
to add an additional class, to accommodate the demand; however, if
we did open a third kindergarten for next year, we would have to open
an additional first grade class the following year, and an additional
second grade class the year after that, and so on. This year we are
using all the available space for classrooms; we have no space for
these additional classes. Expanding our capacity to serve students
is a priority of the board in future planning, but we don’t have
the facilities yet.
If more students from current families enroll than can be accommodated
in the class, how does RMCA determine which students will get in?
RMCA places a very high value on supporting and honoring families,
and enrollment policies strive to keep all students of a family together.
Therefore, siblings of current students have priority for the lowest
level in each section of the school (Mom’s Day Out, 3-year-old
preschool, and kindergarten), and have priority after currently enrolled
students in all other classes of the school. After these commitments
to families are honored, RMCA admits as many students as possible,
selecting based on an established waiting list.
Once children are admitted, how does RMCA determine who gets which
class?
Typically, the overwhelming majority of students request Monday/Wednesday
preschool for three year olds, Monday/Wednesday/Friday morning preschool
for four year olds, or morning kindergarten. Obviously, some students
have to be enrolled in other classes, so RMCA gives first priority
for class preferences to those students who must have a particular
class or time of day to coincide with a sibling’s class time.
The remaining places available in a class are assigned by random drawing
from all enrolled students requesting that class time.
If most students prefer certain class times,
why doesn’t RMCA
offer more classes during those times?
If only we could! The classes RMCA offers are carefully scheduled to
make maximum use of the space available. There simply isn’t room
to offer more classes, or to offer the same classes at different times.
What does RMCA do with special requests relating to preferred times,
keeping students together for carpools, etc.?
Unfortunately, in our attempt to follow our policies and be consistent
and equitable in assigning classes, we are unable to consider these
requests.
