REPORT ON CHARTER SCHOOL WAITLISTS
July 2013
Commonwealth charter schools are open to all residents of Massachusetts, with preference given
to siblings of current students and residents of the district where the school is located or, for a
regional charter school, students who reside in any of the districts in the school’s region. If the
number of students applying to a school exceeds the number of spaces available, the school must
select students by lottery. Students who have applied but are not admitted through a lottery are
placed on a waitlist maintained by the school. If additional spaces for admission occur prior to or
during the school year, either because an admitted student chooses not to attend or because a
student leaves the school, students are admitted from the waitlist. Students who apply for
admission after the initial lottery are added to the end of the waitlist, with their position
determined using supplemental lotteries. Each spring, every charter school reports to the
Department the number of students admitted for the following school year and the number of
students on the school’s waitlist.
Some students apply for admission to more than one charter school. Amendments to the charter
school statute in 2010 included a new provision requiring charter schools to submit their waitlists
to the Department. The Department would use the waitlists submitted by schools to create a
consolidated list of students seeking admission to charter schools by city or town. See G.L. c.71,
§ 89(n) (as amended by St. 2010, c.12, § 7). Students appear only once on the consolidated
waitlist.
The Department requested the submission of waitlist data in May 2013.1 Because waitlist data is
generally maintained separately from schools’ student information management systems, the
Department collected the data through the upload of spreadsheet files using a security portal.
Seventy-two of the 81 Commonwealth charter schools submitted data.2 Of the nine schools that
did not submit data, seven did not have a sufficient number of applicants to require a waitlist.
The remaining two schools, Community Charter School of Cambridge and Berkshire Arts and
Technology Charter School, were not able to provide the data in the format requested.3 Both
schools have provided assurances that they will be able to report in the next reporting cycle.
The Department’s Education Data Services office conducted the matching process, using
students’ names (first, middle, last), dates of birth, towns of residence, and grades. Partial
matches were manually reviewed to identify obvious data entry errors, such as transposition of
digits in dates of birth.4
The 72 waitlists contained 52,583 entries, distributed by grade as shown in this table:
1
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Grade
PK
K
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Total
Number of Students
2,127
5,823
4,530
5,269
3,855
4,337
5,083
6,385
4,612
2,997
5,350
1,284
581
350
52,583
The matching process identified 40,376 students within the 52,583 entries. Of these 40,376
students 6,916 students (17%) appeared on more than one waitlist:
Number of
Students
(N)
33,460
3,920
1,685
770
307
113
71
23
18
7
2
40,376
Number of Waitlists Total Entries on
Student Appears On
All Waitlists
(W)
(W*N)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Total
33,460
7,840
5,055
3080
1535
678
497
184
162
70
22
52,583
The appendix to this report contains the total and unduplicated numbers of students on waitlists
for charter schools by city and town.
2
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
It is important to note that not every student on a charter school waitlist would accept an offer of
admission if it were proffered. Some students may have been admitted to other schools that meet
their needs, while others may be reluctant to switch schools after the beginning of the school
year. This is particularly true for those charter schools that carry their waitlists from one year to
the next, so that students can remain on the waitlist for several years.5 It is impossible to quantify
this factor without making speculative and arbitrary assumptions, which we have chosen not to
do.6 As a result, the unduplicated waitlist counts should be taken as rough approximations of
demand rather than exact numbers.
Our current plan is to update this report in the fall, after enrollment for the new school year has
stabilized. We are exploring options for automating the collection of this information because the
current collection process requires significant resources of both schools and the Department. We
also recommend that the charter school statute be amended to change the reporting requirement
from monthly to semiannually, as it does not appear that the extra value of monthly reports is
commensurate with the extra effort required.
For further information regarding this report, please contact Robert Curtin, ESE Director of
Education Data Services.
Published: July 30, 2013
1
Amendments to the charter school statute in 2010 contained significant number of new administrative requirements
relating to charter schools. Implementation of the various provisions was prioritized and phased in over a multi-year
period.
2
This includes new schools opening in September 2013.
3
Schools were not notified of the new reporting requirement until after they conducted their initial enrollment
lotteries.
4
It is likely that at least some matches were not identified due to less obvious transcription or data entry errors.
5
Charter schools have the option of using a waitlist for the current year only, in which case all students not admitted
must reapply for the following year and go through another lottery, or carrying students on their waitlist from one
year to the next.
6
For example, parents may choose to keep their child on a waitlist even after securing a spot at another charter
school. They may prefer one charter school over another due to a variety of factors including performance, mission,
and geographic location.
3
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Appendix
Consolidated Waitlists by City/Town
City/Town Name
City/Town
Code
Boston
Springfield
Lawrence
Malden
Worcester
Brockton
Lynn
New Bedford
Everett
Chelsea
Medford
No Town Code
Randolph
Haverhill
Newburyport
Attleboro
Fall River
Holyoke
Lowell
Revere
Mansfield
Melrose
Plymouth
Salem
Franklin
North Attleborough
Barnstable
Marlborough
Norton
Cambridge
Northampton
035
281
149
165
348
044
163
201
093
057
176
XXX
244
128
204
016
095
137
160
248
167
178
239
258
101
212
020
170
218
049
210
Total Number of
Students
Reported on
Charter School
Waitlist(s)
26,390
4,069
2,899
1,475
962
874
753
674
609
553
487
485
463
455
448
439
412
391
342
337
302
301
294
272
209
207
205
194
183
181
178
Number of Unique
(Unduplicated)
Students on Charter
School Waitlist(s)
16,864
3,808
1,942
1,356
910
757
677
662
544
395
430
484
339
440
444
438
389
386
336
246
298
295
290
252
205
201
204
185
183
156
173
4
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Somerville
Stoughton
Stoneham
Foxborough
Weymouth
Amesbury
Norwood
Sandwich
Billerica
Saugus
Framingham
Quincy
Wakefield
Dracut
Chicopee
Methuen
Yarmouth
Shrewsbury
Chelmsford
Bourne
Winthrop
Newbury
Wareham
Walpole
Tewksbury
Falmouth
Tyngsborough
Amherst
Middleborough
Rockland
Canton
Kingston
Taunton
Bellingham
Marblehead
Easthampton
Grafton
Sharon
Littleton
274
285
284
099
336
007
220
261
031
262
100
243
305
079
061
181
351
271
056
036
346
203
310
307
295
096
301
008
182
251
050
145
293
025
168
086
110
266
158
178
167
162
161
154
152
141
129
122
121
117
115
114
110
105
93
92
89
88
85
80
72
71
69
68
66
66
64
62
62
60
60
59
57
57
55
55
55
51
164
157
150
161
126
152
119
125
121
115
107
83
110
108
101
71
92
87
85
82
50
72
69
63
67
66
65
59
61
59
47
58
59
51
55
51
54
54
49
5
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Ashland
Carver
Pepperell
West Newbury
Brewster
Peabody
Waltham
South Hadley
Abington
Easton
West Tisbury
Dennis
Wrentham
Marshfield
Mashpee
Salisbury
Harwich
Milford
Westford
Scituate
Acton
Bridgewater
Groton
Swampscott
Braintree
Plainville
Avon
Dedham
Edgartown
Medway
Newton
West Springfield
Milton
Natick
Northborough
Woburn
Ayer
Chatham
Clinton
014
052
232
329
041
229
308
278
001
088
334
075
350
171
172
259
126
185
326
264
002
042
115
291
040
238
018
073
089
177
207
332
189
198
213
347
019
055
064
49
49
48
48
47
47
46
44
43
43
43
41
41
40
40
39
37
37
37
35
35
34
34
34
31
31
30
30
30
30
30
30
29
29
29
29
28
27
27
45
48
41
47
47
43
37
42
43
43
42
40
37
38
40
39
37
31
36
32
34
34
31
34
30
31
30
23
21
27
20
30
18
27
27
21
28
27
27
6
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Norfolk
Upton
Belchertown
Bolton
Raynham
Tisbury
Williamsburg
Hudson
Watertown
Greenfield
Harvard
Holbrook
Hanover
Leominster
Orleans
West Boylston
Hopkinton
Hanson
Westborough
Hadley
Maynard
Oak Bluffs
Concord
Holden
Hull
Lexington
Nahant
North Andover
Pembroke
Groveland
Townsend
Eastham
Shirley
Arlington
Beverly
Holliston
Lancaster
Ludlow
Medfield
208
303
024
034
245
296
340
141
314
114
125
133
122
153
224
322
139
123
321
117
174
221
067
134
142
155
196
211
231
116
299
085
270
010
030
136
147
161
175
27
26
25
25
25
25
25
24
24
22
22
22
21
21
21
21
20
19
19
17
17
17
16
16
16
16
16
16
16
15
15
14
14
13
13
13
13
13
13
27
22
25
18
18
25
23
24
22
22
22
22
21
21
21
21
18
19
19
16
16
17
15
16
16
14
11
13
16
13
15
14
14
11
12
11
13
13
13
7
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Montague
Boxborough
Lakeville
Merrimac
Norwell
Oxford
Webster
Whitman
Andover
Danvers
Hingham
Millis
Seekonk
Duxbury
Hatfield
Lunenburg
Needham
Southborough
Sterling
Wellfleet
Deerfield
East Longmeadow
Plympton
Shutesbury
Stow
West Bridgewater
Westport
Plainfield
Reading
Agawam
Burlington
Fitchburg
Georgetown
Northbridge
Brookline
Freetown
Halifax
Hubbardston
Mendon
192
037
146
180
219
226
316
338
009
071
131
187
265
082
127
162
199
276
282
318
074
087
240
272
286
323
331
237
246
005
048
097
105
214
046
102
118
140
179
13
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
11
11
11
11
11
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
9
9
9
9
9
9
9
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
7
7
7
7
7
10
12
12
12
11
12
11
12
10
11
11
7
9
8
9
9
8
10
10
10
8
9
9
7
8
8
9
7
5
8
8
7
8
7
6
7
7
7
6
8
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Monson
Spencer
Westfield
Wilmington
Belmont
Dunstable
Gill
Granby
Leicester
Palmer
Princeton
Rowley
Southampton
Uxbridge
Worthington
Boylston
Buckland
Carlisle
Chilmark
Conway
Leverett
Shelburne
Somerset
Sudbury
Sunderland
Swansea
Wellesley
Out of State
Ashby
Auburn
Berlin
Chesterfield
Cummington
East Bridgewater
Fairhaven
Aquinnah
Gloucester
Goshen
Lincoln
191
280
325
342
026
081
106
111
151
227
241
254
275
304
349
039
047
051
062
068
154
268
273
288
289
292
317
888
012
017
028
060
069
083
094
104
107
108
157
7
7
7
7
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
7
7
7
7
5
5
6
6
6
6
6
5
6
5
6
5
5
5
5
4
4
4
5
5
5
5
4
4
4
4
4
4
3
4
4
4
4
4
4
9
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Longmeadow
Marion
Millbury
Northfield
Rutland
Ware
Westhampton
Athol
Boxford
Charlemont
Cohasset
Hampden
Huntington
Lynnfield
Paxton
Sturbridge
Truro
Wilbraham
Ashburnham
Ashfield
Berkley
Blackstone
Douglas
Heath
Ipswich
Orange
Provincetown
Rehoboth
Rochester
Rockport
Southwick
Westwood
Whately
Winchester
Rowe
Royalston
Southbridge
Sutton
Templeton
159
169
186
216
257
309
327
015
038
053
065
120
143
164
228
287
300
339
011
013
027
032
077
130
144
223
242
247
250
252
279
335
337
344
253
255
277
290
294
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
4
4
4
4
4
3
3
2
3
3
3
3
3
1
3
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
10
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Topsfield
Warren
Wayland
Windsor
Devens
Bernardston
Blandford
Colrain
Erving
Gardner
Hopedale
Nantucket
New Braintree
Oakham
Pelham
Totals
298
311
315
345
352
029
033
066
091
103
138
197
202
222
230
NA
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
52,583
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
40,376
11
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education