Frequently Asked Questions
Applications
Who can apply? How old must my child be in order to apply?
You can apply to Prospect Schools in the calendar year that your child turns 5-years-old. (In other words, your child must turn 5-years-old by December 31 of the year they start kindergarten.) For Kindergarten, 6th, and 9th grade (5th grade at SYMS for school year 2023-24), families submit an application to be entered in our blind lottery for available open seats. To apply for grades without a lottery (grades 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (DTES & IES), 7, 8, and 10) you must submit a waitlist application.How do I apply?
Applications to Prospect Schools are submitted using SchoolMint at this link . Simply sign up and create an account to get started on your application. You can easily review your application status and/or edit your application at any time by signing back in to your SchoolMint account. Be sure to submit your application before April 1, 2023 @ 5:00PM.When does the 2024-25 application open?
Applications to all seven Prospect Schools will open in October. Be on the lookout for an announcement on our website and through our Interested Families Mailing List (sign up here!).What is the deadline to submit a waitlist application?
There is no deadline. Waitlist offers are made to families as they become available. Most offers will be made between April and September. In general, our schools do not accept new students after December.What if I need assistance with my application?
For assistance or questions about submitting an application, contact our enrollment team at enrollment@prospectschools.org. For SchoolMint specific support, you can call (855) 957-3535 or email support@schoolmint.com.Can I transfer my student mid-year?
All enrollment is done through our waitlist. If you are interested in transferring, submit an application to our waitlist through SchoolMint.
Lottery and Waitlist
How do lottery admission work?
For Kindergarten, 6th, and 9th grade (5th grade at SYMS for school year 2023-24), families submit an application to be entered in our blind lottery for available open seats. To be considered for our lottery, you must submit an application by April 1, 2023 at 5:00 PM. All applications submitted after April 1, will be added to our waitlist and offered a seat as they become available. To apply for Kindergarten, 6th, or 9th grade, you must submit a lottery application between October and April. In April, we will run a lottery for these grade levels.What are lottery preferences?
Although our lottery is blind, it gives higher preference to families with the following priorities if they:
1. Have a child who is already enrolled at Prospect Schools (Sibling Preference)
2. Are employed by Prospect Schools (Employee Preference)
3. Qualify as transient
4. Have a child who qualifies for Free and Reduced Price Lunch (FRL Preference - learn more here)
5. Reside within the district of the school they are applying to. (In-District Preference - check your district here).Who is eligible for sibling priority?
If a child has a sibling who is either currently enrolled with Prospect Schools or has an active offer to enroll at Prospect Schools, that child qualifies for sibling preference. Siblings are defined as two students who share a guardian and a primary household.How do I know if my child qualifies for Free and Reduced Lunch?
Qualifying for free and reduced lunch is based on income and household size as determined by the state of New York. Use the following table to determine your child eligibility:Household Size Annual Monthly Twice per Month Every Two Weeks Weekly 1 $26,973 $2,248 $1,124 $1,038 $519 2 $36,482 $3,041 $1,521 $1,404 $702 3 $45,991 $3,833 $1,917 $1,769 $885 4 $55,500 $4,625 $2,313 $2,135 $1,068 5 $65,009 $5,418 $2,709 $2,501 $1,251 6 $74,518 $6,210 $3,105 $2,867 $1,434 7 $84,027 $7,003 $3,502 $3,232 $1,616 8 $93,536 $7,795 $3,898 $3,598 $1,799 Each Addíl person, add $9,509 $793 $397 $366 $183
You can view this document for more details as established by the State of New York.How do I know my child qualifies for I qualify for in-district preference?
To receive this preference, students must reside in the district in which the school building is located (District 15 for Brooklyn Prospect High School, Sunset Yards Middle School, and Sunset Yards Elementary School, or District 13 for Downtown Elementary School, International Elementary School, Clinton Hill Middle School, and Windsor Terrace Middle School). District preference is solely determined by where the student resides and not where the student attends pre-k, elementary or middle school. The authoritative site for determining school district is *Residence must be confirmed at the time of registration. Families who are unable to document in district residence will be placed at the end of the waitlist.How is my child’s waitlist position determined?
Our intake grade lotteries determine the waitlist order. Families will move to the top of the waitlist if they: 1 have a child who already attends Prospect Schools, 2 are employed by Prospect Schools, or 3 Qualify as transient. If there are more students waitlisted that available seats in a given year, those applications will rollover to the waitlist to the next grade for the following year. Note: after grades 5 and 8 out waitlist is cleared and all applicants who have not received a seat at Prospect Schools must submit for either the 6th or 9th grade lottery.What’s the likelihood of a waitlist offer for an intake grade (K, 6th or 9th)?
This is hard to determine because the likelihood varies from year to year. Each year, we have a different number of applicants, and we continue to add additional school options.Why does my waitlist number keep changing?
Our waitlist is dynamic, so your position on it may go up or down. You will move up on the waitlist if we are able to start making offers to students higher up on the list. Your number on the waitlist would go down if a child with higher priority joins the waitlist. For example, if your child does not have a sibling, and another applicant with a sibling joins the waitlist, they will go ahead of you in line for an offer.
Seat Offers
When will I know the results of the lottery?
Our lottery drawings will commence on April 3, 2023 at 1PM. By state law, lottery drawings are open to the public. However, please be aware that you will not be able to obtain your results the day of the lottery. We will release results the week of the public lottery. Families who receive offers will be notified via email, telephone, and mail.How do I accept my offer?
To accept an offer, login to your SchoolMint account. There’s an option under your "Student Dashboard" to "Accept" or "Decline" the offer. If you accept the offer, a button to register will appear. You can also expect to hear directly from your new school for additional support and guidance.How long do we have to make a decision?
The acceptance deadline is Friday, April 24and the registration deadline is Friday, May 8. Families that do not accept by the 5PM deadline will lose their seat and the next applicant on the waitlist will receive an offer. If we must extend subsequent rounds of offers, deadlines will be listed in your offer notification. In general, families have two weeks from when they are offered a seat to accept, and two additional weeks to begin registration and secure their seat.
Registration and Enrollment
If my child gets an offer, what are the next steps?
Once you receive an offer, the next step will be to accept the offer on SchoolMint. After accepting the offer, you’ll be walked through the steps of submitting your registration documents. Submitting your documents secures your child’s seat for the fall.What documents do I need to secure my seat?
You will need to upload child’s birth certificate, proof of guardianship, proof of residency, and guardian ID through SchoolMint to secure your child’s seat. From the day you accept your offer, you have two weeks to secure your seat by uploading the required documents.What documents do I need to register my child a Prospect Schools.
Find a complete list of the documents that you can use to complete your child here.
School Programming
What makes Brooklyn Prospect unique?
A tight knit school community, Prospect Schools offers families a 13 year program for grades K through 12. This consistency and longevity allow our students to focus on academics, instead of being overwhelmed by the middle and high school application process which can be so stressful. We are one of the few non-selective, K-12 schools in New York City offering the International Baccalaureate program which provides rigor and focus on a whole child-development. Enjoy individualized attention: with a low student:faculty ratio, every teacher in the building knows our students. Benefit from an extraordinarily diverse learning environment. We have students and teachers who come from a wide variety of backgrounds and who, together, provide a high quality education.What transportation options are available?
In elementary school, we provide bussing for many students to and from school. Our bus routes are determined by the Office of Pupil Transportation. Currently at Downtown Elementary School, our bus routes run through Park Slope, Prospect Heights, Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Bedford-Stuyvesant and Prospect Lefferts Gardens. For students living over a mile from school, they have the option of receiving a MetroCard instead. At our current International Elementary School located Downtown, our bus routes run through Crown Heights, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Ocean Hill, Fort Greene, Prospect Heights, and Clinton Hills.What programming is available for Multilingual Learners (English Language Learners)?
Prospect Schools greatly values and recognizes the many benefits of multilingualism for our students and their families, as well as our school communities. Our schools offer integrated English as a New Language programming that is developed to support each MLL student’s unique academic and linguistic profiles. Programming also varies by campus based on their student populations. When possible, Prospect Schools provides multilingual students with the opportunity to further develop their home language skills (Spanish and Mandarin only). Each school has a designated MLL liaison who may also serve as the dedicated teacher for MLL supports.What if my child has a disability and/or IEP?
Prospect Schools offers various programs and services to provide access and support to exceptional learners. To facilitate start-of-year programming appropriate to your student's IEP or 504, please connect with your school's student support team by reaching out to your registrar.What After School Programming does Prospect Schools offer?
Our afterschool programs are a safe space for students to explore their interests and learn and develop skills through high-quality extracurricular opportunities. Through guidance and preparation, our programs allow students to build confidence, form new and existing friendships, and develop skills to support social-emotional growth and positively impact their life-long passions.
After school is provided 5 days a week across all our school, with elementary and middle schools going until 6:00 PM everyday.
For details about our after school program please see this document