Enrollment for New K-8 Students

Open Enrollment at Ben Franklin Academy

Thank you for considering Open Enrollment at Ben Franklin Academy (BFA), a John Irwin School of Excellence and The STEAM School of Choice in Douglas County. Click here to read our mission and vision as well as how our proven curriculum fosters the success of individual students. Want to learn more about BFA? Click here to watch a video about our amazing school!

BFA participates in the annual Douglas County School District (DCSD) online Open Enrollment (OE) to fill K-8 openings. Parents interested in enrollment need to complete OE for their child to be eligible for an offer. (Previous year’s OE lists do not “roll forward.”) Please direct questions about K-8 enrollment to our director of admissions.

Click here for preschool enrollment information.

How Open Enrollment Works

Parents must complete Open Enrollment from the DCSD EngagED Parent Portal using their Portal account (username and password).

Most parents who have had a student enrolled in a DCSD school should have a DCSD EnagED Parent Portal account already. Parents with issues logging in to their Parent Portal should either contact their child’s current DCSD school or DCSD Choice Programming for assistance. DO NOT create a new account. This may VOID the OE application.

Parents who do not have a Parent Portal account (username and password) can create one only after OE begins.

Two Rounds of Open Enrollment

First Round: Tuesday, Nov. 1 – Thursday, Dec. 1

When this round ends, all open enrolled students, regardless of when OE was completed, are randomly ordered (like a lottery) on their respective grade-level list. Students with a priority status earn priority placement.

  • Login to the EngagED Parent Portal to check for offers beginning Monday, Dec. 12.
    • BFA Offer? Accept via the OE tool by 4 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 19.
      • Receive Enrollment Packet via email by Dec. 23.
    • Enrollment Packets are due no later than 8 a.m., Thursday, Jan. 5.
    • No BFA Offer? Students are on BFA’s waitlist for possible future openings.
    • Another School’s Offer? If the parent accepts, the child will remain on BFA’s waitlist for a possible future opening.
  • Note: If you did not receive an offer through the EngagED Parent Portal during the first round, please keep watching your email as our director of admissions will start extending offers to fill any new openings beginning Monday, Jan. 9, 2023. Offers will be sent to parents using the email provided on the DCSD OE tool. 

Second Round: Opens Thursday, Jan. 23, 2023

Parents who were unable to complete the online OE process during the First Round can do so during the Second. Second-round submissions are added to the bottom of any existing waitlists from the First Round in timestamped order.

  • Offers will be made via the parent email provided during OE ONLY.
  • Parents will have a limited timeframe to accept the offer.

Important Tips for Open Enrollment:

When prompted at the end of the OE process, parents can and should email themselves the school selections made. This is the only way to confirm OE submission.

Email offers will include specific instructions and deadlines. Unfortunately, if parents do not follow instructions or miss the deadlines outlined in the email, the enrollment offer will be withdrawn and extended to another student on the waitlist.

Enrollment Paperwork – Collect Important Documents Now!

In most situations if a parent accepts an OE offer, there will be a deadline to submit the enrollment packet. In addition to completing required DCSD forms that the director of admissions provides, parents should be prepared to submit copies of the following:

  • Child’s birth certificate
  • Child’s immunization record
  • Proof of Residence (POR), Copy of ONE of the following:
    • Property Tax Notice
    • Current Lease Agreement
    • Warranty Deed
    • Deed of Trust
    • County Assessor Property Printout
    • Verified Proof of Residency Form from the person you are living with (if your name doesn’t appear on the proof of residency) along with a copy of their proof of residency.*Unfortunately copies of mortgage statements, utility bills, credit card statements are NOT accepted as POR.
 

Enrollment for Preschool Students

Enrollment for BFA preschool students will take place via the preschool webpage on the BFA website. For more information about the Ben Franklin Academy Preschool program, please click here.

 

 

Douglas County School District Nondiscrimination Notice: The Douglas County School District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, religion, national origin, ancestry, creed, age, marital status, genetic information, or physical characteristics, disability or need for special education services in admissions, access to, treatment of, or employment in educational programs or activities. Ben Franklin Academy's Compliance Officer is Diana Simpson, Principal, 2270 Plaza Dr., Highlands Ranch, Colorado 80129,  dsimpson@bfacademy.org, 720.383.4519. Complaint procedures have been established for students, parents, employees and members of the public.