For new students AND siblings of an existing Foundation Academies student, please submit an online application.

Each applicant is assigned a random number for the lottery, held annually during the month of March. Students are placed in the order in which their number was drawn to fill the available open spaces.

For example:
Your child has applied for a seat in the 5th grade. If their lottery number is selected first in the lottery drawing, he/she will be admitted, as long as there is a space available in 5th grade. 

If a space is not available in the 5th grade, your child will not be admitted, unless and until a seat becomes available (which can happen at any time during the school year). In this case, your child will be placed on the wait list. 

Your child will remain on the waiting list until the end of the school year, at which time the waiting list expires.

The wait list DOES NOT roll over: you must complete A NEW APPLICATION for EACH student you wish to enroll for the following school year. 

No. The wait list DOES NOT roll over. If your child isn’t admitted in the school year for which he/she was waitlisted, you must SUBMIT A NEW APPLICATION for the following year for EACH CHILD you wish to enroll.

There is NO fee, tuition or cost to attend Foundation Academies. We are a free public charter school open to New Jersey students. By law, public charter schools cannot charge a fee or tuition. Click here to learn more about charter schools.

Yes! Foundation Academies is a free public charter school, which means it is free and open to ALL students, including those with special needs or those who are learning English. Foundation Academies serves students with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), 504 Accommodation Plans, and English Language Learner (ELL) services. Upon enrollment, your child’s educational plan will be tailored to fit his or her individual needs. 

No, you are not required to live in Trenton to apply. Foundation Academies students can live anywhere in the State of New Jersey. However, Trenton residents get first priority for admission. If spaces remain after the admission of all eligible Trenton residents, non-resident applicants, also selected by lottery, may be admitted.

No, we only hold one open enrollment period annually. 

When applying for multiple children in your household, you must submit a separate application for EACH child.

If your child is already a CURRENT Foundation Academies student and you wish to enroll a sibling, you may now apply online. 

Yes. Your child must be registered in the public school district nearest your home. For students attending private school, being home-schooled, transferring into the district or otherwise unregistered, you must register in your local public school district prior to enrollment at Foundation Academies.

Yes. For admission to the Primary School, your child MUST be 5 years old by October 1. For admission to Foundation Academy Collegiate, students must be under the age of 20, per the State of New Jersey’s maximum age for public school enrollment. 

No. Only ONE application per student will be accepted. Multiple applications do not increase the chances of enrollment, and duplicate applications for the same student will be discarded. 

No. For siblings of current Foundation Academy students, a separate, sibling enrollment lottery is held. Siblings are given preference in the lottery, and so if space is available in the sibling’s requested grade, the sibling is automatically enrolled. However, if there are more sibling applicants than available spaces, the siblings are entered into their own lottery (separate from that of new students) to fill the available spaces. The remaining siblings are then entered into a lottery to determine their position on the wait list. Siblings are defined as a biological brother or sister who lives in the same household as the current Foundation Academies student. 

No. Once enrolled at Foundation Academies, students automatically continue through the K-12 program, including the transition points between the Primary, Intermediate, Middle, and High School levels. 

Attendance at the lottery is not mandatory and has no effect on your child’s potential for enrollment. If your child is accepted, Foundation Academies staff will contact you regarding enrollment and completing the enrollment packet. 

Unfortunately, due to the large number of applications we receive, we are unable to respond to every applicant. You would ONLY be notified IF spaces are available for your child’s grade level and provided information to attend the lottery. If you have not been notified, it is likely that no spaces in your child’s desired grade are currently available and your child has been placed on the wait list.

Beginning March 18, 2021, you may log into your SchoolMint account to discover your child’s position on the waiting list. 

Don’t be discouraged if your child is placed on the wait list, because spaces can become available for a number of reasons at any time during the year.

When a space becomes available, Foundation Academies will contact families on the waiting list in the order in which their applications were drawn during the lottery. Should you be contacted, it is important that you respond QUICKLY, so please ensure we have your most up-to-date contact information. If you fail to respond, the space then becomes available to the next child on the waiting list. 

No. Selection in the lottery does NOT automatically guarantee enrollment. To officially enroll, parents/guardians MUST submit the completed enrollment packet by the date listed on the letter and prior to the first day of school, or your child’s space may be forfeited to accommodate the next student on the waiting list. 

No. Bus transportation eligibility is determined by the Trenton Board of Education. If your child lives more than 2 miles from our West State Street facility or more than 2.5 miles from our Grand Street facility, you may apply for bus transportation. Detailed application information will be provided during the enrollment process. 

Yes. During the first day of school, all students will be sent home with information about our online application. Parents must apply online, and will be notified of acceptance into the program within approximately 7-10 days. Even if your child qualified for free/reduced lunches last year, you still need to reapply each year.

No. After school, all students depart with their parents/guardians or via bus transportation. Students do have the opportunity to join numerous teams that our organization offers – both on-site and through city partnerships. Participation in these activities is at the parent/guardian’s discretion. We offer middle school boys and girls soccer, cheerleading, and basketball. At the high school level, we offer boys and girls soccer, cheerleading, and basketball, as well as girls volleyball. We also partner with Trenton Public Schools for other high school sports such as track, wrestling, and football.