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About NCS

ABOUT NATOMAS CHARTER SCHOOL

Natomas Charter School Excellence

Natomas Charter School is made up of five diverse and unique academies. Each academy program acts as a "school within a school," offering a distinctive instructional delivery system. Since the school was founded in 1993, Natomas Charter School has been recognized as a leader and one of the best schools in the Sacramento region. We have won numerous awards including most recently a Niche 2020 Best Charter Schools award and 2021 and 2022 Best Public Middle School in Sacramento County as well as being featured in the Sacramento Bee as one of best high schools in the region for college preparedness and University of California Admissions.

 

Please also take a moment to review our strong academic and school climate performance on our School Success Flyer, California School Dashboard and our College Success page. As a charter school, NCS has the flexibility to adapt and adjust classroom instruction to meet the individual needs of students with some of the smallest class sizes most academic and social-emotional supports in the region.

 

Serving Diverse Students & Families

 

Natomas Charter School welcomes all students and families to join our educational community regardless of race, nationality, religion, gender, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, gender identity, academic performance, special education status or English learner status. Campus diversity is one of our school's strengths and we are excited that you are interested in joining our community. Students applying to Natomas Charter School do not need to submit grades, test scores, transcripts, or IEP/504 documentation as part of their application. All are welcome!

 

Joining Our School Community

 

The process for joining our school community consists of three steps.

  1. Application - Families must complete an online application and submit related documents during an in-person intake meeting. Application information can be found here for all five academies.
  2. Lottery - When academies are oversubscribed, meaning we have received more applications than available spots, the school holds an online, open, and public lottery. This typically happens each year for Star Academy, Leading Edge, and PFAA, as well as certain grade levels for PACT and ECA. After the lottery, families are notified whether or not their child received a spot or might be placed on the waitlist. Waitlists are dynamic and change quickly in the spring and summer, so please check your child's status often. Our lottery policy can be found on this website.
  3. Enrollment - After the application process and possible lottery, families are notified whether or not their child has received an available spot in the school. When this happens families complete a comprehensive online enrollment packet.

ENROLLMENT COMPLAINT NOTICE

Per California Education Code (EC) Section 47605 (d)(4) a charter school shall not discourage a pupil from enrolling or seeking to enroll in a charter school for any reason, including, but not limited to, academic performance of the pupil or because the pupil exhibits any of the following characteristics:

 

  • Economically disadvantaged (determined by eligibility for any free or reduced price meal program)
  • English learner
  • Ethnicity
  • Foster youth
  • Homeless
  • Nationality
  • Neglected or delinquent
  • Race
  • Sexual orientation
  • Pupils with disabilities
 

Additionally, a charter school shall not request a pupil's records or require the parent, guardian, or pupil to submit the pupil's records to the charter school before enrollment. A charter school shall not encourage a pupil currently attending the charter school to disenroll from the charter school or transfer to another school for any reason (except for suspension or expulsion). This notice shall be posted on a charter school’s Internet website and a charter school will provide copies of this notice (1) when a parent, guardian, or pupil inquiries about enrollment; (2) before conducting an enrollment lottery, and (3) before disenrollment of a pupil.

 

Complaint Procedures

If you have any concerns regarding Natomas Charter School's enrollment or disenrollment processes please contact the academy coordinator or school's Executive Director. Additionally, parent/guardians may submit a formal complaint to Natomas Unified School District using the complaint form linked below. Additional information can be found on the California Department of Education's website. 

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