2024-2025 TCS Enrollment Information

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New for 2024-2025 school year:

All students in grades 9-12 must submit an unofficial transcript at the time of enrollment. Enrollment will be denied pending the receipt of school records.

Thornwell Charter School Lottery Process 

All applicants to Thornwell Charter School must submit a lottery application prior to the published deadline. If the number of applicants received exceeds the capacity of the program, class, grade level, or building, a lottery drawing will be used to determine enrollment. Any applications received after the published deadline will be placed at the end of the wait list in the order in which they were received. The drawing will be duly publicized and conducted in a public meeting. The lottery drawing will proceed as follows: 

  1. For each applicant, a lottery card will be created based on the information provided through the online application. The student information is as follows: 

    1. the name of the student, grade level and date of birth; and 

    2. sibling(s) if applicable, including grade(s) and date(s) of birth. 

  2. The families who submit their name for the lottery will be emailed before the lottery to ensure their information is correct

  3. All students who are currently enrolled in Thornwell Charter School for the 2022-2023 school year and wish to return for the 2023-2024 school year will be placed on the role first for their specific grade levels. 

  4. Students who are in grades that do not require a lottery will be placed automatically as will the siblings of those children. 

  5. Students whose parents are on the Board of Directors or are employees of the school will be given priority in the lottery in the first year they are eligible only. Also, students who have a sibling currently enrolled in the school will be given priority in enrollment. 

  6. The remaining individual cards of students who will be in grades that require a lottery will be placed in an envelope. The outside of the envelope will note only the grade level for which the applicant applied. 

  7. Each envelope will then be placed in a container marked with each grade level. The envelopes will be thoroughly shuffled. The containers will be stored in a securely locked location. 

  8. The lottery will begin with the highest grade that requires a lottery with kindergarten being drawn last. 

  9. A community representative, not associated with TCS, will then draw envelopes from the container until all have been drawn. 

  10. The applicant’s name will be called out and will be placed on a tally sheet for the specific grade level. If the student has a sibling, the sibling will receive priority and will be placed on the tally sheet for his or her grade level. 

  11. In the event a student drawn has a sibling that is on the wait list in another class, the student on the wait list will be moved to the top of the waiting list. This process will be repeated for each grade level until all grades and all cards have been drawn and a list has been created. 

  12. This process is repeated until all names are drawn and assigned to grade levels. As grade levels become full, remaining names will be placed on a waiting list in their lottery order number. 

Following the lottery drawing, Thornwell Charter School will send out acceptance letters to parents beginning at the top of the list for all available student slots. To be enrolled for the following school year, all applicants must satisfy three requirements: 

  1. Sign and return the acceptance letter within 10 business days. If the letter is not returned, then the first student on the wait list will be offered the placement. Upon receipt of the acceptance letter, enrollment packets will be sent to the parents. 

  2. Complete and submit all enrollment packet information within 15 business days. Any enrollment packets that are received late or are not returned to Thornwell Charter School will constitute that slot being offered to the next child on the list. 

  3. Attend one Enrollment Orientation Meeting during the year of application. Dates will be published annually.  

Appeals 

The results of the lottery will be final and binding and may not be appealed to the sponsor. In the event that Thornwell Charter School denies admission of a student for reasons other than the lottery, the student may appeal to the sponsor, The Charter Institute at Erskine College. The appeal must be made within 10 business days of the letter of non-acceptance in writing and state the grounds on which the appeal is based. The decision of the sponsor shall be binding and final without the right of appeal (Section 59-40-50(c) (1)). 

Thornwell Charter School shall be non-sectarian and non-religious and will not discriminate against or refuse to provide educational services to anyone on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, or parental status; and shall comply with all applicable laws and regulations relating thereto including those specifications regarding admission pursuant to South Carolina Code Ann. § 59-40-50 (B)(7) and (8).

Thornwell Charter School will not discriminate against anyone in any aspect of employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, parental status, military service, veteran status, or other non-merit factor (such as political affiliation).