Pelham School Choice

The School Committees of each of the three districts must vote annually to decide whether to participate in the School Choice program.  This vote is generally taken in February or March of the preceding school year.

The number and grade level of School Choice seats is determined annually based on the current and anticipated enrollment in each grade level at each school.  School Choice seats are opened only when enrollment of resident students is low enough that choice students can be accepted without exceeding the class size limits set by the School Committees.

Since there are a limited number of School Choice seats, an application is required for each student applying. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, but they must be received by a deadline, which is established annually and is generally in mid-June of the preceding school year. 
 

Applications from siblings of students already enrolled in the Amherst-Pelham Schools under the School Choice program, and who will remain in the School Choice program during that school year will, by law, receive priority in acceptance for available Choice seats. Once siblings have been placed, or if there are more sibling applicants than the number of seats, a lottery will be conducted to determine placement. 
 

Please be aware that residents of Amherst, Pelham, or the four towns which comprise the Amherst-Pelham Regional Schools who move out of the district but wish to have their child(ren) remain as students in the district do not have any unique claim to the seats their children vacated. Those parents must apply for admission to the School Choice program in the same manner as any other parent who does not reside in town

Should the number of applications exceed the number of vacancies, all applicants not accepted will be randomly selected and placed, in the order of their selection, on a waiting list.

The School Choice Lottery will take place in June, with notifications the following week. Parents will receive a Notice of Acceptance indicating their child's status (tentative seat awarded or waitlist status) via email, along with the Registration information, which must be completed by the deadline indicated in the letter. 
 

Bus Transportation is not available for School Choice students. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the parents/Guardians to provide daily transportation and to ensure students arrive at school on time and are promptly picked up after school.

No. Starting with the fiscal year 2020, the school year 2019-20, a school choice student admitted to an elementary or K-6 district does not have a right to attend the Amherst-Pelham Regional School District when they complete sixth grade. If they are interested in enrolling in the Regional District, they will have to apply for school choice seats at the 7th-grade level; these choice seats are not guaranteed, nor will graduates of the elementary school districts receive preference.