Admissions

Application Information

Applications for the 2027–28 school year will open November 1, 2026.

The Hawbridge School uses Lotterease, an independent enrollment system, to manage applications, the enrollment lottery, and post-lottery waiting lists. Registered users may log in to their parent or guardian account at any time to review a student’s application or waiting-list status.

Apply through Lotterease

Families who would like a visual guide to the application process may review the Lotterease Parent Manual.

Admission Policy

Approved by the Board of Directors September 24, 2014; amended February 7, 2020.

The Hawbridge School 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 and traditional school attendance areas do not affect charter school enrollment.

The Hawbridge School does not limit admission on the basis of intellectual ability, measures of achievement or aptitude, athletic ability, disability, race, creed, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, or ancestry.

Applying Through Lotterease

Parents and guardians should carefully review the following steps before beginning an application.

1. Create a parent or guardian account.

   Visit the Parents section of Lotterease, select the login option, and then choose registration.

2. Enter the parent or guardian’s information.

   Do not enter the student’s information on the initial account-registration screen. The contact information entered here is the information Hawbridge will use if a student is selected. Please review it carefully and keep it current throughout the school year.

3. Add the student.

   Select “Add Child” and enter the appropriate student and lottery information.

   • School name: Select The Hawbridge School. The school may be listed under “T” for “The,” rather than under “H.”
   • Lottery name: Select the appropriate grade and school year.
   • Review the selected grade and preference level carefully: A student entered in the wrong grade or preference category may be placed in the incorrect lottery. If an offer is made through an incorrect lottery, the offer may be forfeited and the student may need to join the waiting list for the correct grade.

   Proof of residency and any documentation supporting an enrollment preference will be required before enrollment.

4. Review the application preference groups.

   Select each preference group that applies to the student. When no preference applies, submit the page without making a selection. Enrollment priority criteria are also listed below.

5. Add siblings when applicable.

   Families applying for more than one child may use the “Add Sibling” option. Students who are already enrolled do not need to reapply. Only siblings should be linked through the same Lotterease account; other relatives or friends should not be added to the account.

6. Watch for confirmation.

   Confirmation will be sent from The_Hawbridge_School@lotterease.com. When a confirmation does not arrive within a few minutes, check the spam or junk folder.

After the lottery is conducted, families will receive an email and text message when a student is selected. Families of students placed on a waiting list will receive an email.

Please add The_Hawbridge_School@lotterease.com to your email contacts and keep all contact information current. Hawbridge cannot be responsible for communications or deadlines missed because contact information was incorrect or messages were directed to a spam folder.

Application Accuracy

Parents and guardians are responsible for reviewing all application information for accuracy.

If information is falsified during registration or enrollment, the student’s application will be considered null and void, and any offer of admission may be revoked. Applications determined to contain falsified information may be placed at the bottom of the waiting list.

Enrollment and Lottery Procedures

1. The Hawbridge School shall offer enrollment to an applicant who submits a completed application during the application period and meets all legal admission requirements, unless the number of eligible applicants exceeds the capacity of the grade level for which admission is requested.

2. When the number of eligible applicants exceeds the available capacity of a grade level, admission to that grade shall be determined by lottery.

3. Applications received after the lottery has been conducted will be added to the end of the waiting list for the appropriate grade level. Lottery procedures will comply with the North Carolina Open Meetings Law as provided in G.S. 143-318.10(a).

4. When a place becomes available before the end of the applicable enrollment period and a waiting list exists for that grade, the school may offer enrollment to the next eligible applicant on the waiting list.

5. The waiting list will remain in effect only for the applicable enrollment period. A new waiting list will be created for the following school year, and interested families must submit a new application each year.

6. Once enrolled, students are not required to reapply during subsequent enrollment periods. To support enrollment planning, the school may ask families to submit a letter of intent indicating whether a student plans to return the following year.

Enrollment Priority

The Hawbridge School may provide enrollment priority in certain circumstances permitted under G.S. 115C-218.45(f). Priority may be given to:

• Siblings of currently enrolled students who were admitted to the charter school in a previous year.
• Siblings applying for admission beginning in the same school year, including circumstances in which one sibling was not initially admitted because of grade-level capacity.
• Children of Hawbridge faculty members or members of the Board of Directors.
• Students who were enrolled during either of the two previous school years but left to participate in an academic study-abroad program, a competitive-admission residential program, or because of the vocational opportunities of the student’s parent or guardian.
• Siblings, half-siblings, and step-siblings of currently enrolled students who reside in the same household as the enrolled student.
• Siblings of students who graduated from Hawbridge after attending at least four grade levels offered by the school.

Priority enrollment for children of staff and Board members shall not exceed 15% of the total student body.

Admissions Contacts

Families with questions about admissions, applications, or the enrollment process are encouraged to contact the appropriate school director.