It’s never too early to start thinking about the next school year. If you are a parent or guardian considering enrolling your children in a New York City charter school, now is the ideal time to start learning about the application process.
The city’s charter schools are accepting applications until April 1 for the 2025-26 school year. Through the NYC Charter Schools website, nyccharterschools.schoolmint.net, you can apply to several charter schools in your neighborhood and check for virtual information session dates and times using the NYC Virtual Visit Calendar.
The NYC Charter Schools website is easy to use and allows families to apply in 10 different languages.
If you scroll down the main page, you will find four main options: Find a School, Apply, Parent Information, and Virtual School.
The Find a School section, available at schools.nyccharterschools.org, will take you to an interactive map showing all 420 campuses serving more than 150,500 students in the city’s five boroughs. There you can see a list of schools and use filters to refine your search by neighborhood, community school district (CSD), borough, and grade level.
Need to know the basics about charter schools? The Frequently Asked Questions section of the New York City Charter Schools Center website offers answers to common concerns such as “How are charter schools different from traditional public schools?” and “What are the benefits of enrolling my child in a charter school?” It also includes helpful tips for completing the application.
The Virtual Schools section will open a calendar with the dates and times available to virtually visit the schools of your interest. There are events scheduled until April. Clicking on a school will bring up a page with information about the grades it offers, its location, the time of the virtual event, and a Zoom link to join the meeting. There is also the option to add the event to your calendar to receive a reminder close to the date.
To apply for admission, visit nyccharterschools.schoolmint.net, where you will be directed to the login page. There you can create an account and begin the application process.
Once your account is created, the online application form will ask you to complete your profile in three steps.
The first step requests information from the parent or guardian, such as address, relationship to the student, and other basic information. The second step requires student information, such as name, date of birth, and grade. The final step is to select the schools of your choice, complete the application and confirm it.
Applications must be submitted by midnight on April 1. After you submit your application, you can log back in to make changes to your family profile or add new school selections, if necessary. Some charter schools may continue accepting applications after April 1; In those cases, it is recommended that the parent or guardian contact the school directly for specific dates.
If a school receives more applications than there are places available, it is required to hold a lottery to select students at random. Those who are not selected will be placed on a waiting list and may receive an offer of admission if a spot becomes available later.
Each charter school manages its own lottery and enrollment process. Families should expect to hear directly from schools after the application deadline.
For more information, visit schools.nyccharterschools.org.
