Enrollment FAQs

Applications for the 2026-2027 school year will be available November 1, 2025 at the Family Support Center or online.

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The enrollment application is a one-page form that asks basic information about your child, and must be completed in its entirety.
 
Proof of residence may also be needed, but only if you live in the Kenmore-Tonawanda School District. This could be a mortgage statement, lease or rental agreement, utility bill showing the service address, property tax bill, etc. 

If the applicant has sibling(s) who currently attend CSAT, you will be asked to submit the applicant's birth certificate for verification.

If your child has an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), you will be asked to submit the first page of the IEP with the application.

You can complete the online enrollment application and submit it electronically, or you can complete a traditional paper application and submit it in one of the following ways:
 
 - Hand-deliver to the Enrollment Office. 
 - Mail to Enrollment Office via USPS, UPS, FedEx, etc.
 - Email to enrollment@csat-k12.org.
 - Fax to (716) 303-7216

Enrollment Office Address
317 Vulcan Street
Buffalo, NY 14207 
Office hours are 7:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m., Monday - Friday (unless school is closed for holiday recess, emergency closing, etc.). 

**Please note that a receipt of application submission for paper applications will only be given if
the application is submitted in person; receipts will not be mailed.** 

Students entering Kindergarten for the 2026-2027 school year must be five years old on or before December 1, 2026.

YES! Applications from previous years do not roll over into the following school year. All 2025-2026 applicants MUST reapply if they are interested in enrollment for 2026-2027.

Applications received by the April 1, 2026 deadline will be included in CSAT's Enrollment Lottery being held on April 2, 2026.
Applicants receive “preference” in the lottery for the following criteria:

• Residing in the Kenmore-Tonawanda School District. Proof of residence is required.
• Having one or more sibling(s) currently enrolled in CSAT. The applicant's Birth Certificate is required.
• Having a parent or legal guardian who is an employee of CSAT.
• Holding an Individualized Education Plan (IEP)/receive Special Education Services (Consultant Teacher, Speech, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, etc.) The first page of the applicant’s IEP is required.
• English as a New Language (ENL) student. The applicant’s home language must be provided on the application.

Applications submitted after April 1, 2026 are added to our waitlist in the order they are received.

By law, charter schools' enrollment population is completed through a random lottery system.
Completed applications received by the April 1, 2026 deadline will be entered into the lottery scheduled for April 2, 2026. Applicants in each point and/or weight preference group are randomly selected and enrollment openings in each grade level are filled first. The remaining applicants are placed onto that grade level's 2026-2027 waitlist in the order in which they are selected. 

Only the child(ren) chosen in the lottery is/are offered enrollment. However, in subsequent years, your other children would be given Sibling Preference in the lottery if their applications are received by the lottery deadline.

Yes. Each child needs their own, individual application to be eligible for the lottery and admission.

This is an impossible question to answer with 100 percent certainty as it depends on many factors.
1) How many openings there will be in 2026-2027. 
2) How many applications CSAT receives for that grade level.
3) If your child has one or more enrollment preference points and/or weights.

Applications may be submitted after Open Enrollment (November 1, 2025 - April 1, 2026), however they are placed at the end of the waitlist in the order that they are received. 
Please note that preferences are only given for applications received during Open Enrollment -- there are no preferences given after the Open Enrollment period has ended (April 1, 2026).

CSAT will host three Open Houses for prospective students and families in the Winter of 2026.
Families can also call (716) 871-7400, option 4 to schedule a tour. 

OPEN HOUSE
Elementary School (Grades K-5): Wednesday, March 4, 2026
Middle School (Grades 6-8): Wednesday, February 25, 2026
High School (Grades 9-12): Thursday, February 26, 2026

All Open House are from 5-7 p.m. with tours running continuously.

There are no admission requirements to attend CSAT, or any charter school. There are no entrance exams and no cost to attend. Additionally, special education and ENL services are offered at CSAT.

Students accepted in the lottery will be notified by automated phone message and/or email message immediately following the lottery. All applicants included in the lottery will be notified by mail in the days following the event if they have been selected for enrollment or placed on the waitlist (including their number on the waitlist.) 
Future notification of acceptance (acceptance after the initial results of the lottery) is made by phone call and/or email only (no letters). It is imperative that you inform the Enrollment Office at (716) 871-7400, option 4 of any changes to your phone/email contact information.

No, once a child is enrolled at CSAT, no matter the building (grade level), he/she has first priority in enrollment for the following year. 

Not all students who are offered placement at CSAT accept the offer. The waitlist remains in place for the entire school year. As openings become available at each grade level, offered are made to the next student on the waitlist. You will be notified by telephone and/or email if an opening becomes available for your child. Please keep in mind that applications from previous years do not roll over into the following school year. If you child is still on the waitlist, you must re-apply if you want your child to be considered for the next year.