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Enrollment Policies and Procedures

A public school of choice, RMSEL is a vital partnership of five Denver area school districts— Aurora, Cherry Creek, Denver, Douglas County, and Littleton — and a non-profit organization actively involved in the renewal of public education — the Public Education and Business Coalition. Expeditionary Learning captures the power of Outward Bound principles and research about best practices and combines them in the classroom to promote high academic achievement and character development.

Who Can Apply

Students entering Kindergarten through 11th grade and who are residents of the Aurora, Cherry Creek, Denver, Douglas County or Littleton school districts are invited to apply. Twenty-six kindergarten positions are available, and are split into two classes of thirteen students each. For fall enrollment, we anticipate 6th grade openings; typically, there will be a number of positions open in various other grades. We do not accept students entering the 12th grade. Positions in other grades become available when students currently attending the school elect not to return. Students of any grade are not accepted after October 1st for that school year. Students applying for the 5th, 8th or 10th grades will be enrolled in the Fall contingent on a review of student's academic work, family's understanding of the portfolio process and willingness to take on the acceleration of portfolio development and completion.

Grounds for Denial of Admission

Subject to the school's responsibilities under the Exceptional Children's Educational Act and applicable federal, state and local laws, the following will constitute grounds for denial of admission to the school:

• Failure to meet age requirement.
• Having been expelled from any school district during the preceding twelve months.
• Having engaged in behavior in another school during the preceding twelve months that is detrimental to the welfare or safety of other students or of school personnel.
• An applicant who is not a resident of one of our five sponsoring districts, unless otherwise entitled to attend, is not eligible for the initial lottery.
• Failure to comply with the immunization provisions. (Families who choose not to immunize their children must sign an immunization waiver.)
• Falsification of application or failure to upload required application documents.
• A determination by RMSEL's administration that the Expeditionary Learning model or the school's culture would not contribute to the applicant's success as a student or that the school is unable to meet the student's special needs.  In this case, administration will advise the family of other options.