In the event the Charter School receives applications exceeding the maximum cap prior to the close of the admissions deadline (March 31, 2020), a public random drawing shall be given to students in the following order:
Sibling Preference
Siblings of enrolled students.
Staff Children Preference
Children of employees of Navigator Schools (limited to 10% of total enrollment).
Residents of the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Preference
Applicants who reside within the city boundaries of Watsonville and Pajaro Valley Unified School District
Other Residents of the Pajaro Valley Unified School District
Residents of Pajaro Valley Unified School District
All Other Applicants Preference
All other applicants.
Waitlist and Lottery Instructions:
How does the Lottery work?
When the Lottery is run on April 11, 2020, at 12:00 PM, the lottery is run by grade level starting with 3rd grade and finishing with Kinder. Applicants are randomly sorted in each grade level, in order of preference, starting with sibling preference, staff children, Residents of Pajaro Valley School District who reside within the city boundaries of Watsonville, Other residents of Pajaro Valley Unified School District and all other preference. All preferences are validated via proof of documentation by the Lottery Coordinator.
Example: If there are 200 applicants for Kindergarten and there are only 60 available slots, Schoolmint will randomly sort all 200 student names and the first 60 by preference will be offered a seat. The remaining 140 students will make up the waiting list, in the order in which they were randomly sorted by preference.
Who has to apply for the 2020/2021 Lottery? (If you have an incoming sibling or employee kinder they will need to be placed in a lottery as well)
Who can apply for the preference of Residents of the Pajaro Valley Unified School District who reside within the city boundaries of Watsonville?
Can I put a PO Box as my address?
Please enter the address that you reside in, as our preferences are based on address. We will be checking the address and if we come across a PO box, we will contact you to get your home address.
How many openings are there in each grade? How is the number of openings determined?
For 1st through 3rd-grade openings, the number of available seats is determined by current K through 2nd-grade families who have completed an Intent to Re-Enroll to Watsonville Prep Form for the 2020-2021 school year. This commitment occurs in September and normally all parents notify us that their student will return in the upcoming year.
The number of applicants and available openings in each grade that will be offered on the day of the 20-21 lottery.
What happens if all current K-2 students commit to remaining at Watsonville Prep School and there are no openings in 1st through 3rd grades at the time of the lottery?
The lottery will still be held; however, the applicant names that are randomly sorted in each grade will create the waiting list, based on preference. PLEASE NOTE: The summer months can be extremely active with all grades waiting lists, so please do not be discouraged if there are only a few or no openings at the time of the lottery in grades 1st – 3rd. You can monitor your student’s progression on the waiting list via the SchoolMint website 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
I live in ANOTHER city other than Watsonville. Can my student still attend Watsonville Prep School if selected?
I applied last year for the lottery. Do I need to apply again?
For example, if you applied for the 1st Grade 2019-20 School Year Lottery, you would need to log into your SchoolMint account and apply for the 2nd Grade 2020-21 School Year Lottery for your child.
How can I verify/check on my applications/results for the lottery or position on the waitlist?
You can check your student’s status 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by logging into your SchoolMint parent account. Login to your SchoolMint account by the link on the Admissions tab of www.hollisterprep.org or go directly to https://navigator.schoolmint.net .Once logged on, go to your STUDENT DASHBOARD your student’s name will be on the screen, you will be able to see your student name, the school which you applied to, grade, the school year you applied for, Last updated, status, action.
I applied on the first day the enrollment lottery applications were available. Does that make a difference in the lottery?
May I add a cousin, grandchild, or friend as a sibling under my Parent/Guardian SchoolMint account?
No, all children attached to the Parent/Guardian account in SchoolMint must be the child of the Parent/Guardian who created the account. All children attached to the Parent/Guardian SchoolMint account must be siblings. If you have relatives or friends who are interested in Watsonville Prep School, their parent/guardian must be the one representing their child in the lottery process. If a non-sibling is offered and accepts a spot due to sibling misrepresentation in the SchoolMint account, it will be discovered during the school registration paperwork processes when the parents/guardians do not match. The spot offered to the non-sibling will be forfeited and offered to the next student on the waiting list.
How will I be notified where my student ends up in the Lottery process?
How will I confirm or decline the enrollment spot if one is offered to me?
My student was selected in the initial lottery ran on Saturday, April 11, 2020. What is the next step?
What is the time frame to confirm or decline a spot when it is offered to me?
Why do you give such little time for the families to decide?
We work very hard to afford families opportunities to learn about Navigator Schools. We have had a very long waitlist every year, and we feel that it is respectful to the families on the waitlist for us to ask families to decide whether they want to accept the seat or no. We give families up to 24 hours from being contacted via phone or voice message to accept the seat and up to 5 business days from accepting the seat to turn in all required information.
What happens if there are not enough openings for enrollment preferred applicants defined in the charter?
When can I tour the school and/or have my student shadow?
Gilroy Prep offers tours in February and/or March. Check the admissions section of the website for tour sign-ups and dates. They are usually posted at the end of December. Tours are usually in the morning.
Can I attend the lottery?
Watsonville Prep uses Schoolmint, a web-based system, and the running of the lottery is completed within a few minutes per grade. Your attendance at the lottery has no impact on the results.
If you do wish to attend, the Lottery will be located in room 24 at Watsonville Prep and will run four lotteries (K-3) on a laptop. The doors will be opened at 11:45 AM for the lottery; please do not arrive at our campus prior to 11:35 AM. No tours of the school will be available at this time. Once the lottery for all grades is run the school will be closed for the day. The results of the Lottery will be available by logging on to your SchoolMint parent account shortly after the lottery process is complete on April 11, 2020.
What if I decline and then change my mind?
Unfortunately, once you decline the offer, the next student on the waiting list is immediately offered the spot via the SchoolMint system. You can re-apply again for Hollister Prep, but your student’s name will be added to the end of the waiting list, based on their preference.
What if I want to confirm attendance but don’t do it within the time frame defined in the offer email?
You forfeit your slot if you do not respond within the time frame outlined in your email. There are no exceptions to the deadline. Once the defined timeframe has passed, the slot is offered to the next student on the waitlist via the SchoolMint process.
How long are the waitlists valid?
Waitlists for each school year are used up through the end of each school year. For example, I ended up in waitlist position #1 on the day of the 2019-20 enrollment lottery. This means that the specific grade is at full enrollment and I am waiting for a student to withdraw from that grade at some point in the 19-20 school year. As soon as a student withdraws (whether it is the summer, first day of school or midway through the 19-20 school year up through the last day of school) the vacancy will be filled by the 19-20 waitlist for that grade.
Can I apply for the waitlist after the lottery? Will my preference still be taken into account?
You may apply for the waitlist for the current school year after the lottery, your student will be placed on the waitlist on a first-come, first-serve basis.
What happens if one of my children gets offered a spot at WPS, will my other child be moved based on his new preference?
How am I notified if there is an opening that comes up?
SchoolMint will automatically generate an e-mail to notify you of an offer of an open position at the school. Parents have a set window outlined in the email in which to confirm or decline attendance. Hollister Prep office staff will also call to let you know there is an opening for your child.
I registered for the Watsonville Prep Lottery via SchoolMint, but I’ve changed my mind and do not want my students to be entered in the lottery. What should I do?
Please log in to your SchoolMint account and make any updates (canceling account, removing a student from the lottery, etc.) before March 31st.
You may also contact our staff at wps_admissions@navigatorschools.org to request removal (requests must be sent in writing and not via phone calls).
My e-mail address has changed and I need to revise it so that I receive e-mail notices from you. What do I do?
May I enter my child more than once in the Enrollment Lottery?
Can I put my child in the lottery for All of your schools?
You can place your child in the lottery for all of our schools. However, if you get accepted to one of our schools you will not be able to transfer to another one of our schools. You will need to apply for the school's waitlist.
If my child goes to another charter school anywhere in California, can they automatically transfer to HPS?
Additional questions?