Admissions

The Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter School was chartered by the Massachusetts Department of Education in February 2004 and opened in September 2005. AMSA’s teaching model is centered on rigorous college-oriented education for all students. AMSA’s teaching philosophy involves starting challenging abstract learning, typically expected for high school students, early in the middle school grades.

The Founders of AMSA believe that children with a wide range of abilities can achieve a world class education if given the opportunity to apply themselves diligently. AMSA’s goal is to bring quality education, typically available only at exclusive private or exam schools, to an all-inclusive public school setting where children of diverse backgrounds can participate.

AMSA is chartered for up to 966 seats for grades 6 through 12. Applications are accepted for students in grades 6, 7, 8 and 9. Students entering in grades 7-9 are fulfilling backfilling regulations.

AMSA Charter School’s application process is not integrated with that of our chartered districts (603 CMR 1.05(11)).

AMSA Charter School’s application period for the 2023-2024 academic year lottery opens on November 18, 2022 and will remain open until February 3, 2023. Applications for the lottery will not be accepted after February 3, 2023 at 4 p.m. No exceptions will be made.

Public notice of application deadlines is made at least one month in advance of the application deadline. AMSA Charter School posts deadlines for accepting student applications in the Admissions section of the AMSA Charter School website and on the AMSA Charter School official calendar.

Every applicant for 2023-24 must make a NEW application for the 2023-24 lottery.

Note: APPLICATIONS DO NOT CARRY OVER FROM YEAR TO YEAR.

Once a student is accepted, they need not reapply as their seat is protected for as long as they attend school.  If a child has not been accepted and is on the waiting list, you will need to reapply each year as the waiting list is not held from year to year.

AMSA uses a web-based Admissions process. We encourage all applicants to read our complete Enrollment Policy (in Portuguese, in Spanish).

The lottery will be drawn in late February after information on the Net School Spending Cap (NSS cap) has been received from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The new report will be posted on the AMSA website once received, usually by the last week in February.

Students are admitted into AMSA on a space-available basis with preference given first to siblings of current students, then to those applicants from our four core charter towns, which are: Marlborough, Hudson, Maynard and Clinton. In such cases where there are fewer seats than eligible applicants who reside in the region of service, or who are siblings of students already attending AMSA, the charter school shall hold a lottery for all such applicants.

Acceptances are conditional on the completion and verification of all admissions and enrollment material in the Student Registration Package. 

If you have any questions, please email admissions@amsacs.org. We appreciate your interest in AMSA and look forward to hearing from you soon.

All information in the application and enrollment registration form, such as special education or 504 plans, is not intended to be used to discriminate, M.G.L. c. 71, §89 (m); 603 CMR 1.06 (2).

Charter school regulations state that "the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education shall notify each Commonwealth charter school no later than February 15 of any limitation on the number of students from a district that may be enrolled in charter schools for the upcoming year." 603 CMR 1.05(6)(d). 

AMSA Charter School was notified of a limit on the number of applicants from Marlborough in the 2020-2021, 2018-19, and 2017-18 school years because of the net school spending (NSS) cap. In accordance with 603 CMR 1.05(10)(b), the Department recommended that AMSA Charter School "skips" over students who applied and are residents in Marlborough. Marlborough resident applicants were included in the lottery and placed on the waitlist but were ineligible for enrollment in any year when the cap was in effect unless they are a sibling of a current AMSA student. If the Marlborough Public School District is no longer at its NSS cap and a vacancy occurs during the school year, a Marlborough resident applicant from the waitlist might become eligible for enrollment.

More detail and information can be found on the DESE website here. 
(Translation is available using the button at the top right of the DESE page.)

The Notice of Rights to Access and Equity of Educational Services explains the educational rights of students with disabilities to attend Massachusetts charter schools and to receive appropriate special education services in those charter schools.

The Notice of Rights to Access and Equity of Educational Services explains the rights of children who are English language learners to attend and receive language support and other services in Massachusetts public charter schools. As defined in state law, an English language learner is a student who does not speak English, or whose native language is not English, and who is not able to do ordinary classroom work in English.