Lottery Process

Step 1:

All students who submitted an application on or prior to March 20th, 2008 will be included in the lottery for 9th grade admission. The lottery for 6th grade will be conducted on March 27th, 2008. The applicant pool will be divided into three groups: Automatic Admits (see Step 2 for criteria), Morgridge Scholars (low income; same criteria that qualifies students for the Federal Free/Reduced Lunch Program) and General Population.  All Morgridge Scholar applicants will have submitted a financial report as part of their admission application.

Step 2:

It is determined whether any of the applicants are residents of Stapleton (living in the 80238 zip code, WITH PROOF of residency; utility bill and/or purchase contract showing 2 earnest payments), siblings of students currently in attendance at DSST, children of faculty/staff, or “founding families" (children of individuals who participated on one of the four main committees that worked on the establishment of the school…Board of Directors, Advisory Board, Fundraising Board and Admissions Advisory Board).   

They are admitted to the school.

Once the lottery has been conducted, automatic admission no longer affects admission.  Students who fall into the “Automatic Admission” category will be added to the appropriate waitlist, based on the financial documentation provided with the application.

Step 3:

All automatically admitted students will be classified by income as Morgridge Scholar or General Population. We will then  determine the number of students needing to be drawn from the Morgridge Scholars lottery pool to achieve 40% low-income for the incoming class.

Step 4:

The lottery for Morgridge Scholars is then conducted. The number of students admitted will equal the amount of Morgridge Scholars needed to make up 40% of the 130 students. The remainder of the students will be placed on a waitlist in the order of the list generated by the lottery.

Step 5:

The lottery for General Population follows the Morgridge Scholar lottery. General Population students fill the remaining numbers of admission places to reach 130 students. The remainder of the students will be placed on a waitlist in the order of the list generated by the lottery.

Step 6:

During the week of March 31st,  2008, all applicants will be contacted and informed of their status, either via letter sent to applicant home or e-mail.  The correspondence will contain important information regarding additional admission steps.  It is up to each family applying to ensure we have the correct contact information on file and that we are informed of any changes to this information.  DSST is not responsible for notifications not received regarding a student’s admission status and loss of admission may result.   

Step 7:

On April 12th and 19th, 2008, all admitted students will participate in an intake interview.  In order to remain eligible for admissions, students and at least one parent or guardian will need to participate in an intake interview on the designated date.   

Step 8:

Students have until May 2nd, 2008 to notify DSST of their decision to accept or decline the admission offer. No response will be considered a declination of the offer. After May 2nd, 2008, DSST will begin contacting applicants on the appropriate waitlist to fill any slots available.

Step 9:

Students will be selected from waitlists according to the status of the admitted student(s) withdrawing from the admission process or declining the admission offer; maintaining 40% low-income students.  For example, if a Morgridge Scholar declines admission the first student from the Morgridge Scholar waitlist will be offered the spot. If any automatic admits withdraw from the admissions process or decline an admissions offer, students will be taken from the waitlist(s) that correspond with the income status of the automatic admit that is declining the admission offer. 

Note:

All students offered admission into DSST will be expected to complete the entire admission process which includes participating in the 1.)  Intake interview with at least one parent/guardian and submission of any supplemental materials requested at this time 2.) Families must inform us in writing of their admission decision, 3.)  Students will need to complete some incoming student assessments and submit any supplemental materials requested at this time 4.) A parent/guardian needs to attend an orientation session, and 5.) If a student qualifies for any summer sessions they must attend. 

***Failure to complete all admission requirements may result in removal of student from the enrollment roster.***

Sibling Preference for Automatic Admission is defined as an applicant having a currently enrolled sibling in the same household with the same legal guardian in the school 6 months prior to the lottery, or two applicants from the same family applying for the same grade.