FAQs on School Choice
This information is current as of April 2025
Does Monomoy Regional School District participate in the school choice program?
MRSD currently participates in the school choice program at all grade levels and in all schools, as voted on each year by the Monomoy Regional School Committee (File JFBB). More information is also available on our website here. School choice students are accepted on a space-available basis.
What is the process for school choice?
The district determines each year how many available slots there are at each grade level, in each school, while limiting elementary class sizes (where possible) to 18 students and middle and high school class sizes to 19+/-1. The window for School Choice applications generally opens in April each year. Families apply via a website form, a lottery is held where necessary, and families are notified of their status (accepted, declined, waitlisted).
Is there school choice at all Monomoy schools?
Yes, both Monomoy elementary schools as well as the middle school and high school participate in the school choice program, both for interdistrict and intradistrict students.
How is school choice availability determined?
School choice spots are determined by reviewing the number of enrolled students from within the district. Available seats will vary from year to year, depending on the size of grade level cohorts. The district strives to keep class sizes at the elementary level at or slightly below 18 children per classroom and to keep grade level class sizes as equal as possible between Harwich Elementary and Chatham Elementary. Any available seats below 18 are made available for school choice students.
There is a legal requirement that the district accommodate all resident students, and the district must plan to have enough flexibility to accommodate resident students before giving spots to school choice students, allowing for families who may move into the district over the summer or during the school year.
There is frequently a waitlist for choice families at the Kindergarten level, as many families do not register their children for Kindergarten until the summer, therefore the district needs to hold a conservative number of spots open for those resident Kindergarteners. If those numbers are lower than predicted, any students on the waitlist are then offered a spot.
State law specifically requires the district to provide siblings of current choice students preference in filling available seats over all other applicants.
Which of Monomoy’s elementary schools receives the most applications for school choice?
Monomoy generally receives more school choice applications for Harwich Elementary School than Chatham Elementary School, and this is simply because of geography. Both schools offer the same curriculum and educational support for students, so it is not the families’ preference for Harwich Elementary’s educational program driving this trend. Rather, the town of Chatham is wrapped on all borders by Harwich or the ocean, and transporting school choice children to Harwich Elementary School is easier for most choice families than transporting them through Harwich to Chatham Elementary. Unless a parent is working in Chatham, Chatham Elementary is often less convenient for choice families.
Does everyone who applies get a school choice spot?
No. If the number of applicants exceeds the school choice spots available, a lottery for the open school choice seats is conducted. Those families not receiving a spot via the lottery will be placed on a waiting list. Preference will be given – in order – to siblings, intra-district students and staff children prior to the need for a lottery (based upon the school choice policy of the School Committee). The only reason students are not accepted for school choice is if there are not enough open spots at that grade level.
Generally, if a grade level is full or becomes filled in either of our elementary schools in kindergarten, there will not be an available seat at that grade level for the next four years (Grades 1 through 4) unless families move out of the town. Next year, both Chatham Elementary and Harwich Elementary will have full kindergarten cohorts. Families may reapply for school choice in Grade 1 next year, but will likely find no seats available ... perhaps until the middle school years.
There are times when families request a school choice placement at an elementary school where there is not an available seat, but if a seat is available at the other elementary school at the grade level, the district extends an offer to them at the other elementary school.
Do other neighboring school districts participate in school choice at the elementary level?
The towns making up the Nauset Region DO NOT participate in school choice at the elementary level, doing so would create a situation where cooperating member towns would be cannibalizing from the enrollment of their partner towns. The decision was made by the town school committees and Superintendent years ago to not pit one town elementary against the other in the “no win” game of school choice, where one elementary may benefit at the expense of a partner. The Dennis-Yarmouth district allows for interdistrict and intradistrict school choice at the elementary level, following the same procedures as Monomoy.
Do any students from Harwich attend Chatham Elementary and vice versa?
Yes.
With recent concerns about declining enrollment at Chatham Elementary, why not just accept more school choice students to fill those classrooms?
There is a misconception that the district has enough school choice students applying at any grade level to grow Chatham Elementary. In the past few years, there simply haven't been enough Chatham resident students and families interested in Chatham Elementary through school choice (either intra- or interdistrict) to add an additional section at any grade level.
While any available seats are open to school choice applicants (both from Harwich and other towns), creating classrooms solely from school choice students is not a fiscally responsible decision. School choice students bring in approximately $5,000 per student, while the per pupil costs are roughly three times that. Therefore, it is not sustainable financially or logistically to create entire classrooms from school choice students.
Why are some Harwich families not able to attend Chatham Elementary via school choice?
Unfortunately, enrollment numbers will mean that each year some families are turned away from school choice if all available seats have been filled at their desired grade level, even resident families within the district wishing to attend the elementary school in the other town. If there are open spots, Harwich families are welcome to attend CES and vice versa.
What can’t the district encourage more school choice applications from all over the region to bolster enrollment numbers, especially at CES?
With demographics changing across Cape Cod, there are fewer families with young children in nearly all towns. That means there are fewer total numbers of students of elementary school age, thereby decreasing the pool of school choice families overall. Additionally, the fiscal reality is that creating entire classrooms of school choice students is not responsible. School choice students bring in approximately $5,000 per student, while the per pupil costs are roughly three times that.
How many families are denied admittance to Monomoy Schools via the school choice program each year?
For a listing of the numbers of applications received each year for the past few years, see the chart below. At the elementary level, families from outside the district who are not able to get into one elementary school are given the opportunIty to attend the other if there is space available. Not all families are interested in that option, whether because of travel time or other considerations. Additionally, not all families who are offered a spot end up accepting it. Since a waitlist is formed when grade levels are full, at that point families on the waitlist would be offered a spot. Again, not all waitlisted families accept the spot at that point. It’s also important to remember that some families may believe they were “turned away” because they heard anecdotally that school choice was closed, or they called/applied after the deadline, or were otherwise advised there is no space at a certain grade level. Those are not true applications for school choice and that data is therefore not recorded.