Enrollment FAQs
Who is eligible to attend? Envision Academy is open to students coming from any Bay Area city. There are no residency requirements to attend. Students will be considered for admission without regard to ethnicity, national origin, gender, disability, or achievement level or any other characteristic described in Education Code Section 220.
What documents do I need to submit when I apply? Applicants to the 9th grade need to submit the Envision Academy application. Applicants applying to transfer must submit the transfer application and also submit their high school transcripts, attendance, and discipline records. Mid-year transfer students please complete the mid-year transfer application.
Can I apply as part of the OUSD application process? No. Envision Academy’s enrollment process is completely separate from OUSD. We are part of the Enroll Oakland Charters common application instead. If you are applying to OUSD high schools, do not list Envision Academy as one of your choices on the District’s enrollment form.
How does EA select its students? If the number of applications received exceeds the number of spaces available in the 9th grade class, students who applied before the deadline are selected for admission in a lottery. If space is available in the grade level when they apply, mid-year transfer students will be offered a space in that grade. We usually have a few available seats for start-of-year transfer students. These applicants are offered spaces in the order in which they applied.
If I apply, am I guaranteed a spot? No. Envision Academy is a small school with a limited number of spaces in each grade level. Students who apply for 9th grade are entered into a lottery from which the 9th grade class will be chosen. Students who apply for 10th or 11th grades will only be admitted if there is space available in the grade level.
If I am offered a spot, how long will I have to decide? Students must confirm their intent to attend within a month after they are first offered a spot. Families accept offers through the same online system they use to apply. Students who apply after the application deadline and are offered a spot may have a shorter window of time in which to decide. All transfer students will have a personal transfer intake meeting with an Administrator once they receive an offer.
What happens if I miss the 9th grade application deadline? If you miss the deadline your applications will be added to the Wait List. Wait List applicants are then admitted as spots become available. In the past, students added to Envision Academy’s Wait List have had a good chance of gaining admittance, but we still recommend applying as early as possible.
Is there an entrance examination? There is no entrance exam. All students entering 9th grade take an Academic Diagnostic Test to determine their placement in math classes and the Summer Bridge program, but this test has no affect on admission to the school.
Are there any preferences given to students in the lottery process? Yes. If we receive more applicants than open seats, we will run a lottery with a preference for low-income families (defined as families zoned for elementary schools with over 70% free and reduced lunch students). Siblings and children of teachers and staff are exempted from the lottery.
What documents do I need to provide when I enroll? Once you have been offered and accepted a spot, you will need to provide a copy of the student’s birth certificate and most recent vaccination records (including the TDAP whooping cough vaccination), along with the complete Envision Academy enrollment packet. The enrollment packet will be online through the same system families use to apply, and we will host an enrollment day at the school for any families who cannot complete the packet from home.
Does EA admit students during the school year? Yes, if there is space in the grade level.
Does EA have a separate enrollment process for students with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs)? There is no separate application process for students with IEPs. However, we request that any student with an IEP submit a copy of their most recent IEP once they have been accepted to the school.
If EA admits students using a lottery, why is an application required? Our application asks for very basic contact and schooling information; we require this step simply as a way to have a list of everyone who has applied and to be able to contact students and families. Also, if a student who is accepted via the lottery declines, we are able to offer the spot to a student on the waiting list if we have contact info. The application also helps us understand how students hear about us and which middle schools tend to have students interested in EA for high school. This helps us target future outreach efforts to reach more students and families.
Do I have to be “good” at Arts and Technology to attend? No, absolutely not! Our teachers use art and technology as tools for expression and engagement in the classroom. A student might use art to demonstrate understanding of principles or geometry, or create a video on iMovie to show what they have learned in Social Studies. Most students who attend EA do not have special talents in arts or technology, but enjoy using them as tools for showing what they know.