River Mill Academy is a tuition free public school. Any child who is qualified under the laws of  North Carolina  for admission to a public school is qualified for admission to a charter school. To qualify to attend a North Carolina public school, a student must be a resident of North Carolina. County boundaries or school attendance areas do not affect charter school enrollment. River Mill Academy does not limit admission to students on the basis of intellectual ability, measures of achievement or aptitude, athletic ability, disability, race, creed, gender, national origin, religion, or ancestry. The school may give enrollment priority to siblings of currently enrolled students who were admitted to the school in a previous year and to the children of River Mill Academy staff.

During each period of enrollment, River Mill Academy will accept applications for new students. Once enrolled, students are not required to enroll in subsequent enrollment periods. Open space is determined by the number of current students planning to return. In order to properly plan, the school may routinely inquire with parents in early spring through letters of intent to ascertain if students will retunr to River Mill Academy the following year. Applications for new students are available in the school office.

The enrollment application will begin the first school day of January and end on the close of the school day on the third Friday in March. The school shall enroll an eligible student who submits an application, unless the number of applications exceeds the capicity of a program, class, grade level, or building. If the number of applications exceeds the number of available spaces, a lottery will be held to fill vacant seats for the next school year. After seats are filled, the drawing will continue to determine the order of a waiting list. Any application for enrollment received after the deadline is not entered in the lottery but is aded to the end of the grade level waiting list. Current year waiting lists dissolve when the next enrollment period begins.

Lottery procedures will comply with the NC Open Meeting Law provided in G.S. 143-218.10(a) by publicizing the date and location of the meeting as as allowing anyone to attend.

Lottery Procedure:

Each applicant will have an index card with their name and grade. The selection process will be by random drawing. Upon filling all available posigtions, the acceptance by lottery will continue, thereby, creating a school waiting list. Cards for children of personnel of River Mill Academy will be drawn separately and first; followed by cards for siblings of students enrolled in a previous year. Cards for the general wait list for each grade level will then be randomly drawn one card at a time, starting with the lowest grade level in the school. The lottery process will then proceed for each grade. As openings become available at the applicable grade level, students will be admitted based on their current lottery number. If applicants who are selected for admission decide not to enroll at River Mill Academy, the parents of the next chld on the wait list for that grade will be notified.

After completing the acceptance by lottery, River Mill Academy shall have a specified and reasonable, time frame in which the accepted applicants must reply to the school clarifying their decision to accept or decline continuation of the enrollment proces. The school's enrolment policy, including all time frames, will be declared on the original application completed by the applicant.

If multiple birth siblings apply for admission to a charter school and a lottery is needed under G.S. 115C-238G(g)(6), the charter school shall enter one surname into the lottery to represent all of the multiple birth siblings. If that surname of the multiple birth siblings is selected, then all of the multiple birth siblings shall be admitted.

Questions should be referred to the Administrative Office, 336-229-0909.

Policy approved by the River Mill Academy Board of Directors July 21, 2011.

Admissions Information for the 2012-2013 School Year

River Mill Academy hosts School Tours during the school day for interested parents and students. The walking tours are designed to provide an opportunity for prospective families to learn more about our school and to meet River Mill Academy teachers and students, as well as, the school administration. Tours are held on the first Wednesday of the month at 8:30 am from October through March. Tours are optional and registration is not required. Tours last approximately 45 minutes. Tour dates are: October 5, November 2, December 7, January 4, February 1, and March 7.

Click here to print the 2012-2013 Application

Applications for the 2012-2013 school year will be available beginning Tuesday, January 3, 2012. Application packets are available from the school office during regular business hours (Monday-Friday from 7:30 am to 3:30 pm). Currently enrolled students do not need to complete an application. For the 2012-2013 school year, a child must be five years old on or before August 31, 2012 to enroll as a kindergarten student. River Mill Academy will accept registration forms from January 3, 2012 through March 16, 2012. Registration forms are available at River Mill Academy any time during normal school operating hours. If you are currently on the River Mill Academy waitlist, you are welcome to pick up a registration form any time between January 3 and March 16, 2012 during normal school operating hours. Waiting lists do not carry over from year to year. All registration forms received on or before March 16, 2012 become eligible for the school’s public lottery. Any registration form received after March 16, 2012 is NOT entered in the lottery, but is added to the end of the grade level waiting list. The lottery for the 2012-2013 school year will be held at River Mill Academy on March 30, 2012 at 9:00 am.