Two Rounds of Open Enrollment
For students to be eligible for an offer, parents/guardians should complete Open Enrollment. Each year, Open Enrollment is conducted in two rounds. The information below will help you navigate the process.
First Round: November 3 – December 1, 2025
The first round of Open Enrollment opens at 8:00 a.m. on November 3, 2025, and closes at 4:00 p.m. on December 1, 2025.
- All students open enrolled during this period are randomly sorted on their respective grade-level lists.
- Students with a priority status will earn priority placement only if they are open enrolled during the first round.
- Tip: School registrars cannot see Open Enrollment applications until after the First Round closes. For confirmation that your submission was successful, select the email optio at the end of the Open Enrollment process.
Important Note about Tours: To help you make the most informed decision for your child, we strongly recommend parents attend a school tour before offers are extended. Tour spaces and dates are limited and are scheduled independently from the offer timeline.
First-Round Offers and Next Steps
- You can log in to the EngagED Parent Portal to check for offers starting at 8:00 a.m. on December 10, 2025.
- The deadline to accept an offer is 4:00 p.m. on December 17, 2025.
- The Portal will close on December 17, 2025 and will not re-open until January 22, 2026.
- For new students and those returning to the district after a previous withdrawal, accepting an offer is the first step. Parents/Guardians must complete the admissions process. Look for a separate email with instructions and the deadline for completing the admissions process.
- Locate the required registration paperwork in advance of an offer, as some items might not be readily at-hand. You will need to upload this paperwork as part of the admissions process.
- If you do not complete the admissions process by the specified deadline, or it is incomplete/missing required items, the offer will be withdrawn.
- In January, after Winter Break, and through the final day of Open Enrollment in August, our Director of Admissions may extend new offers to students on the waitlist as spots become available.
- All offers made from January forward will be sent via email only.
- Parents have 24-36 hours to reply to an offer.
Waitlist Status: For general, non-priority waitlist status inquiries, please email BFAs Director of Admissions/Registrar no earlier than the third full week of January.
Second Round: January 22 – August 3, 2026
If you were unable to complete Open Enrollment during the first round, you can do so during the second. Second-round submissions are added to the bottom of the existing waitlists in the order they are received.
- Tip: At the end of the Open Enrollment process, please email yourself the school selections. This is the best way to confirm your submission was successful.
Second-Round Offers and Next Steps
- All offers made from January forward will be sent via email only.
- Parents have 24-36 hours to reply to an offer.
- Accepting an offer is the first step. For new students and those returning to the district after a previous withdrawal, parents/guardians must complete the admissions process. Look for a separate email with instructions and the deadline for completing the admissions process.
- Locate the required registration paperwork in advance of an offer, as some items might not be readily at-hand. You will need to upload this paperwork as part of the admissions process.
- If you do not complete the admissions process by the specified deadline, or it is incomplete/missing required items, the offer will be withdrawn.
Important Note about Tours: To help you make the most informed decision for your child, we strongly recommend parents attend a school tour before offers are extended. Tour spaces and dates are limited and are scheduled independently from the offer timeline.
Douglas County School District (DCSD) Open Enrollment
Ben Franklin Academy (BFA) participates in the annual DCSD Open Enrollment (OE) process to fill available kindergarten through 8th-grade spots. To be eligible for an offer, you must complete the Open Enrollment process for your child. Please note that previous year’s waitlists do not roll forward.
Questions?
- For the most up-to-date information and questions about the process, please review the FAQs on the DCSD Open Enrollment page.
- For information and answers related to BFA admissions, select the “Admissions/Records” menu from our homepage.
- If your question is not answered in either of those resources, you can email BFAs Director of Admissions/Registrar.
How Open Enrollment Works
Creating/Accessing Your Parent Portal Account
If you are new to DCSD (have never had a child enrolled at a DCSD school, including any charters):
- You can create a DCSD Parent Portal account only during an active Open Enrollment window.
- Important: You will be unable to create an account during the closure period between First and Second round of Open Enrollment.
If you are a current or past DCSD family:
- You already have a Parent Portal account (even if you’ve never activated it).
- Do not create a new account on the Open Enrollment site, as this could void your child’s application(s).
Portal Account Issues
- Forgot Portal username? Go here. Provide your personal email address to retrieve your username.
- Forgot Portal password? With your username, reset password here.
- Need to activate your Portal account? Contact DCSD Choice Programming.