The mission of Sterling Montessori is to create a diverse educational community, grounded in the Montessori philosophy and teaching practices, that fosters curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking in its students. We strive to empower each student to become life-long learners who respect themselves, others and their environment.
The 2025/26 Lottery Application Window opened at midnight on Thursday, January 9, 2025, and closed on Friday, February 14, 2025 @ 11:59pm. The Public Lottery will take place on Friday, March 7, 2025.
Click HERE to access the Post-Lottery Application
Please visit our FAQ page for specific questions, including information on our Post-Lottery Application Process.
STERLING'S LOTTERY PROCESS
After the program has selected students for all available spaces and parents are notified, the drawing will continue to determine the order of a waiting list. The school’s wait list will be updated regularly and parents of students placed on the wait list will receive periodic communication as to their student’s place.
If a student has been selected in the lottery, the parent/guardian of the student will receive an acceptance notification via email. If the parent is unable to receive email, an acceptance letter will be mailed to the child’s residence. The lottery results and waiting lists are then posted on this website, and updates are provided as changes occur. Parents may also log onto this website to check the lottery results for their student(s).
ENROLLMENT
Offers of enrollment will be delivered to lottery-selected children through the emails that were provided on their digital application. Placement of students in the 1st–8th grades will begin when the current school year ends in mid-June. Prospective families are required to either accept or decline the offer via email or in writing, to document their response.
Parents who accept enrollment for their child/children to attend Sterling, must be able to provide transportation to and from school, as there are no transportation services available from the school.
Parents, or appointed or court appointed legal guardians of prospective students, will have 7 calendar days to communicate their decision to either accept or decline Sterling’s offer of enrollment. If Sterling Montessori does not receive a written response to the offer of enrollment by the close of business (4pm) after 7 calendar days, the lack of response will be considered an effective “declining” of the offer, the student’s name will be placed at the end of the wait list for their grade level, and the offer will be presented to the next prospective student on that specific grade’s waiting list.
- Thirty (30) days prior to the first day of school, parents or court appointed legal guardians of prospective students will have 3 calendar days to reply to an offer.
- Beginning one week prior to the first day of school and through the thirty fifth (35th) academic day, parents or court appointed legal guardians of prospective parents will have 24 hours to accept or decline Sterling Montessori’s offer of enrollment.
Families who accept an offer of enrollment must submit required enrollment documents. These include a copy of their student’s birth certificate, proof of residency, as well as the student’s immunization records, all of which must be submitted to the school within 7 days after receiving the offer. If we do not receive these enrollment documents within 7 days, the student’s offer/seat may be forfeited, and the seat will be offered to the next student on the waiting list.
If the number of applications exceeds the capacity of the program, class, grade level, or building, a lottery will be held (NC G.S. 115C-218.45h). The lottery is publicly noticed annually, and open for public observation. Since the number of applications Sterling receives each year far exceeds the spaces available, Sterling Montessori Charter School holds a lottery each spring.
All students are required by NC Charter School law to complete an application for admission. Sterling’s Lottery is now conducted electronically. Applications completed online through this website are digitally recorded and made available for the program we use to randomly select the students who will be offered a seat here at Sterling. The moment the program is activated by the push of a button, successful candidates for admission will be informed via the email addresses that were supplied on the digital application. Although this eliminates the necessity for parents to come to campus to be notified of the results, anyone interested is still welcome.
All applicants to the lottery must be North Carolina residents at time of the lottery with a physical North Carolina address. Children must be 5 years old on or before August 31 of the enrollment year to apply for Kindergarten (NC G.S. 115C-364).
ENROLLMENT PRIORITY
Sterling Montessori Charter School follows all rules and regulations regarding enrollment priority as specified in North Carolina Charter School Law 115C-218.45. The Sterling Montessori Charter School Board of Directors has decided to offer admissions priority for the following tiers in the lottery:
- SCHOOL EMPLOYEES: Priority is given to children of full-time Sterling Montessori employees.
- BOARD MEMBERS: Priority is given to children of Sterling Montessori LHU Board Members. (Total numbers of Tiers 1 & 2 are limited to no more than 15% of the school’s total enrollment, unless granted a waiver by the State Board of Education.)
- SIBLINGS: Once one child in the family is a member of the Sterling Montessori Charter School community, siblings of enrolled students receive preferred enrollment status. The term “siblings” applies to any of the following students who reside in the same household: half-siblings, step-siblings, and children residing together in the same family foster home. If multiple birth siblings (twins, triplets, etc.) apply to the school, their surname will be entered once to represent all of the multiple birth siblings. If that surname is selected in the lottery, all of the multiple birth siblings will be admitted immediately, assuming space availability.
- SIBLINGS OF STERLING ALUMNI: This tier refers to siblings of students who have completed the highest grade offered by Sterling Charter School and were enrolled at least four years at Sterling.
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GRANDCHILDREN OF SCHOOL EMPLOYEES: Priority is given to grandchildren of current full-time Sterling Montessori employees.
Please note... parents who accept enrollment for their child(ren) to attend Sterling, must provide transportation to and from school.
STERLING’S RIGHT TO REFUSE ENROLLMENT
Sterling Montessori Charter School reserves the right to refuse to enroll any student currently under a term of expulsion or suspension by his or her school until that term is over.
Sterling Montessori Charter School reserves the right to refuse to enroll a student if a parent willingly and knowingly provided incorrect information on either the student’s application for admission, or on the documents submitted at the time of enrollment.
PER CHARTER LAW:“A charter school serves students in grades K-12 only, so if it has a pre-K, it must be separate from theapproved public school (with no preference to get into the lottery).Parents that choose to enroll in thepreschool must be informed from the beginning of the separation between the charter school and thepreschool. In the event preschool parents decide to apply for enrollment in the charter school, theirchildren will go through the same enrollment and lottery process as any other student seekingadmission. Preschool parents are not afforded an exemption from the lottery or any type of immediateentry into the school. After school programs are offered according to the school’s charter. Inquire withthe individual school about its program offerings.”