Open Enrollment for current 2025-2026 school year is now open until May 31, 2025.  

Lake Local Schools will once again offer open enrollment to students and their families. Lake is proud of the offerings we provide in our buildings with our educational staff and work hard daily to give our students, their families, and our community the best educational setting possible.  Listed below are several key points regarding our Open Enrollment process, policy, and deadlines to ensure that we can have a clear picture of our enrollment for the 2025-2026 school year.  With this, and many other aspects in preparing for the next school year, we wanted to get this information out now to ensure families have ample time to prepare and apply for enrollment moving forward.  Should you have any questions, please get in touch with your child’s building principal directly. 

Go Flyers!

Mr. Marjoe Cooper
Superintendent

Lake Local Schools

2025 - 2026 - Open Enrollment Application Process: 

Key points: 

• Due to the nature of our enrollment and our key focus on providing the best education possible each school year, it should be noted that the dates below are hard dates and deadlines must be adhered to. 

• We are not required to accept all applications and will work together as an administrative team to review all applications and student data on a case by case basis. Regardless of if you are attempting to return as an open enrollment student or applying for the first time, all applications will be reviewed in the same fashion. It is best to get your application in early so we can plan and prepare in advance for these applications. 

• Please note that a previous year’s approval does not guarantee an approval moving forward and all students/families need to apply every year.

• Lake Local Schools has an Open Enrollment Policy which guides key components of our decisions.  You can view the policy on our district website (www.lakeschools.org) under the  “Our District” tab and clicking “Board of Education” then “Board Policies” on the right side of the page. From there click “Search Active Policies” on the top left and type in “JECBB”.

• Electronically, the policy can be found here: Lake Local Schools - Open Enrollment Policy.

• Inside of the policy, it should be noted that there are three key factors that go into our decisions:

  • Attendance:

  • Research has shown that attendance at school leads to better academic success. We consider this a key component of our decisions. 

  • Grades:

  • Along with consistent attendance and participation, academic success is a key focus we feel we want all Lake students to enjoy.  Historic grades and academic success, in general, will also play a significant role in our decision-making process. 

  • Behavior:

  • As with academic success, behaviors play a key role in the success of young people inside of the classroom and school buildings.  Behavioral situations also play a key component in our approval decisions.  

  
  

  • It should be directly noted that the three above bullet points are only a few factors that will lead to an approval or a denial. There are several other factors that lead to these decisions and families are encouraged to understand we consider enrollment, course offerings, and student course of study, among several other factors when making these decisions.

  
  

  Open Enrollment Application, Key Dates, and Decision Process:  

  • All families requesting open enrollment need to fill out the open enrollment application which can be found here electronically: 25-26 - Open Enrollment Application. You can also find the application on our website: www.lakeschools.org and click on Open Enrollment to fill out the Open Enrollment Application.

  • DO NOT enroll through Enrollment Services/Final Forms. This is only for students who live in the Lake School District. You must be approved for open enrollment before you can enroll.

  • The open enrollment window opens on Wednesday, April 2, 2025

  • The open enrollment window closes May 31, 2025, at 3 p.m. (THIS IS A FIRM DEADLINE)

  • Open enrollment decisions will be made the week of June 9, 2025 and mailed to all families on June 12, 2025.  Inside of each of these letters will be the decision made and next steps within the process for the 2025-2026 school year.

  
  

  Documents needed for application: 

  • Indicated below are the documents needed for ALL students who wish to apply for open enrollment.  Please contact Sheri Materni ([email protected]) with questions.

  • The information below can be found in the electronic version here:  25-26 - Open Enrollment Documents Needed for Application or on our www.lakeschools.org website. 

  
  

  1. Current grade card and/or transcripts:

  • New student’s must provide a copy of their most recent grade card or transcripts including attendance. 

  • Current Lake students do not need to provide grades or attendance because we already have access to them.  

  
  

  2. Proof of Residence (Item 1 or 2 or 3):

  
  

  1.  A current utility bill showing the custodial parent/guardian’s name, address and date

  Acceptable: 

  • Electric bill (Toledo Edison), 

  • Gas bill (Columbia Gas), 

  • Water bill (City/Village)

  Not-Acceptable:  

  • Credit card statement,

  • Cable bill,

  • Phone bill,

  • Bank statement, 

  • Mortgage statement

  
  

  OR

  2.  An official lease agreement

  Acceptable: 

  • Official lease document including:

  • Custodial parent/guardian’s name

  • Address

  • Dates of the lease (start and end date)

  • Signatures and Landlord’s contact information.  

  • If your lease is month to month you must also provide a piece of USPS mail showing the current date received, name and address to accompany the lease.  

  Not-Acceptable:

  • Hand written lease

  • Letter from homeowner

  
  

  OR

  3.  A Notarized Residency Verification Form 

  • If you are living with someone and do not have any utilities in your name you can use the following form to show proof of residence and must provide items a, b, and c:  

  • 25-26 - Documents Needed for Residency Verification

  • This form must be signed and notarized by the custodial parent/guardian and the homeowner.

  • Utility bill from the homeowner (gas, electric, water)

  • USPS date stamped mail with custodial parent/legal guardian’s name and current address.




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FAQs:

1. What documents do I need for open enrollment? 

1. See above or on our website. 

2. Are all families accepted with application?     

1. No.

3. Does applying “early” help my acceptance chances?

1. Not necessarily.  However, applying within the window is mandatory. 

2. Does being enrolled as an open enrolled student previously help my acceptance chances?

1. Not necessarily.  However, we do consider the previous year’s success and the programs that students are enrolled in.  (Penta, etc.)

3. Do all of my fees have to be paid before approval? 

1. Yes.  If needed, we can set up a payment plan schedule that matches family needs.  Please get in touch with your child’s building secretary for more details.

For questions about open enrollment, please contact Sheri Materni at 419-661-6677.