Admissions & McKinney-Vento

2025-2026 Lottery Application Process

The lottery application window for the 25/26 school year closed in January of 2025. The lottery was held virtually in February. Each school held separate lotteries The lotteries were used to make offers for open seats and randomly waitlist all other applicants. As open seats become available, offers will be made based off of the waitlist.

Please note: Families can apply for MaST, MaST II, and MaST III through Apply Philly. Each school held separate lotteries. Each school will also have a separate waitlist.

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Lottery Application for 2026-2027

• September 19, 2025 – Applications open for the 2026–27 school year on Apply Philly Charter (APC)

• January 20, 2026 (Tuesday) – Lottery application deadline

• January 21 – February 22, 2026 – Application pause period

• February 4, 2026 – Lottery Day

• February 6, 2026 – Lottery Notification Day

• February 20, 2026 – Deadline to accept lottery offers

General Enrollment Information

• An application is not a guarantee of admission.

• Only one application will be accepted per child.

• Children must be five years of age by September 1st of the school year.

• Siblings: Siblings must apply through the application process. A Sibling Lottery will be held in the event there are more siblings applying than seats available in any particular grade. A sibling is defined as one of two or more individuals having one common parent. Families will have to verify this information through a birth certificate or custodial paperwork.

• Parents/guardians will be notified via email a few weeks after the lottery as to whether or not a child has been admitted.

• If a child is not admitted within the school year, a parent/guardian must re-apply for the lottery for the next school year.

Lottery & Waitlist Information

Full Admissions Policy Link

Applicants who have applied by the deadline have their child’s name input in the lottery. Names by grade, in no certain order, are input into a web-based randomizer and the randomizer generates a list of names in a random order for that specific grade.  Depending on the amount of available seats in that grade, names are displayed to occupy the seats available. Families do not have to be present but are welcomed to attend.

Siblings of current MaST students (residing in Philadelphia) have first preference for available seats. Once sibling seats are filled, additional names are drawn from the lottery until all available seats are filled in that grade level.

The remaining students stay on the waitlist in the order in which they were selected by the randomizer.As the year progresses, and students transfer out, the next student on the waitlist in that grade is called to occupy the available seat. Should they decline the spot, the next person on the waitlist in that grade level is called.

Due to our student turnover rate being so low, there are few opportunities to enroll by June.  However, as students leave, our waitlist is utilized, until the next year’s lottery. Waitlists are purged annually and the process begins again for the next year. Parents/legal guardians will be notified as to whether or not their child has been admitted or not.

MaST Community Charter School does not discriminate against any applicant on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, age, national or ethnic origin, or handicap in admission to, access to, instruction in, or participation in its programs and activities.