How long does it take to get enrolled?

Once families have become familiar with WestSide the first question they usually ask is, "How long does it take to get enrolled?"  Unfortunately, we can never give a specific answer because there is so much to consider.   Usually we answer by saying we will try to get you enrolled as soon as an opening comes up.  We keep a waiting list of all students who apply to go to our school and try to bring students in as we have an opening "for them." "For them," is when it gets complicated.  This is hard to understand so we want to try to explain why this is such a difficult question to answer.

There are several things to consider when selecting new students to enroll in our program.

For example:

Completed applications:

1. All students who are enrolled in our programs must fill out and complete an application packet.

2. All applications must be completely fill out or they will not be accepted.  We have staff ready to assist you with every step in the application. Incomplete applications are one of the biggest reasons for delayed enrollment.

3. Updated immunization records, updated transcripts from your previous school, and much more must be included. It is all listed in the application, please pay close attention when applying.

4. Incomplete applications will not be considered for enrollment.

5. Any falsified information listed on the application will result in immediate denial of enrollment or if discovered after enrollment immediate removal from our program.

Age:

1. Is the student 14 through 20? We do not serve students who are younger than 14 and students who are 21 or over.

2. Does the student have enough tme to finish?  Sometimes we have students who apply who are older and have little to no credits. For example: 1 credit and they are 20 years old. That leaves us 1 year as we can only serve students up to age 21. Given the average number of credits students earn per year is 6 to 7 and 22 credits are required to graduate, it is unlikely this student could finish in 1 year. In this case, a better placement for a high school diploma would be the college adult learning program or maybe the student should look at a GED program.

Grade level:

1. At a minimum, has the student completed middle school or is the student not finished with high school?

2. Is the student coming to us directly out of middle school - If coming directly from middle school, does the student have a recommendation from their middle school principal (required for enrollment directly out of middle school)

3. How many high school credits does the student have? This determines grade level.  We try to balance each grade level (9-12) offered in our program. This allows our teachers to balance our curriculum and provide a better experience. This means we may have openings for enrollment at one grade level and not another.

Special needs:

1. We have limited special education services which limits our enrollment for students who are on an I.E.P. (Individualized Educational Plan)

2. We do not serve ELL students in our day program with less than a score of 4 on the WLPT test. This is due to limited resources to serve these students. However, we have an excellent program for these students in our night school ELL program.

3. Most of our facility does not allow for wheelchair access. We have two floors in most of facility which makes it difficult to accomodate students with this need.

Safety issues:

1. We do not enroll students are currently under an emergency expulsions. These expulsions must be lifted by the school who placed the student on this disciplinary action in order for us to enroll the student.

2. Students who have a history of violent behavior must meet with the pricnipal prior to being considered for enrollment.

3. Students who are on probation for any reason must disclose this prior to enrollment.  Probation officers may be contacted prior to enrollment. Any failure to comply with probation criteria will be reported to probation officers immediately.

4. If there is a restraining order on the applicant or a student who is currently enrolled in the program, that may cause difficulties amongst students, this issue must be addressed before enrollment is considered.

Limited enrollment:

1. For over 20 years our program has been housed in a remodeled college dorm. Our classrooms are half the size of a regular high school classroom. This limits the number of students we can take in one program at a time.

2. One program may have room while another may not. Our day program is by far our most popular program and we have many requests for enrollment. Our night program is for older students who typcally finish quickly. This allows for quicker enrollment in our night program, as students finish they have room for more.

3. The Fall enrollment is the best time to get enrolled quickly.  We typically graduate 60 or more students each year leaving several openings in the Fall. Once we fill up, enrollment slows down considerably.

Monthly enrollment in our day program:

1. Our day program enrolls students once a month, at the end of each month. We need time to process all enrollment applications to be sure we have what we need to start your student sucessfully.

2. The number of students we take in each month is limited to openings.  Openings are usually created by students who fail to meet standard and are dropped, students who have moved, or students who have graduated. Due to all these unpredictable reasons for openings, we can not predict the number available seats we will have each month.

3. Each month we hold an orientation for new students. Our counselors and principal meet with both parents and students at that time.  We introduce parents and students to WestSide procedures, assistance, and expectations.

4. Night School enrollment typically only takes a week.  Night school is for older students. Check out program descriptions at, what program is best for my student?

No school wants to turn away students who want to learn.  We work hard at getting your students in as soon as we can.  Please be patient when waiting to enroll, we think you will find we are worth the wait.

If you have more questions please feel free to call (509) 663-7947