Apply for the waitlist online by clicking here!
Download paper applications for the waitlist by clicking the links below!
The application deadline for the 2013-14 school year was April 5. Any applications received after this date will automatically be put on the waitlist, but the waitlist often moves quickly!
How Do I Enroll?
Who can enroll?
Harlem Link enrolls all students who apply and meet eligibility criteria described below when there are available seats. The school enrolls students regardless of disability, English language proficiency or prior academic performance.
Any child who lives in New York State is eligible to enroll in Harlem Link, but preference is given to certain students based on where they live. The application is very simple; it only asks for name, contact information, birthdate and prior school.
When there is an open seat at the school, students who have a sibling already enrolled have preference. Also, under the 2007 revision to the state charter law, students who live in Community School District 3 have preference.
Students enrolling in kindergarten must be 5 years old by December 1 of the school year in which they are enrolling. (Please note that this state law is different for New York City district schools, which have a waiver and enroll students born as late as December 31.)
When students enroll in grades above kindergarten, the school administers diagnostic tests – including the Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) and the latest internal Interim Assessments in English Language Arts and Mathematics – and places the new student in the appropriate grade. At times this means that students may be placed in the grade below the one in which they would attend in their previous school.
What is the lottery?
When there are more applications than available seats in a particular grade for the following year, the school holds a lottery in the month of April to randomly select students. For 2013-14, the lottery date was Thursday, April 18, 2013. Applications were due at 5 pm on Friday, April 5, 2013. The names of students who have siblings in the school and those who live in District 3 are pulled (in random order) first. We call this step the “Preference Lottery.” Once all those names are randomly called, we randomly select all of the other names. We welcome families to attend the lottery to observe and see that it is a fair and random process. However, we do not encourage attendance as the process can be unnecessarily emotional; with many charter school options in Harlem, waiting lists tend to move more quickly than the public realizes at the time of the lottery. Applications are still being accepted for the waitlist, which can move quickly through the spring and summer.
What steps do I take to apply?
You must fill out a student application 
(English / Spanish / French) and submit it to the school at the address below. In order to be eligible for the lottery for the following school year, our office must receive your application by 5 pm on the lottery deadline. As noted above, for the 2013-14 school year applications must be received by our office by Friday, April 5. Applications received after this will automatically be placed on the waitlist, which can move quickly through the spring and summer.
Send student applications to:
Harlem Link Charter School
Attn: Hollie Guinn
20 W 112th Street
New York, NY 10026
What happens after my child is accepted?
Once a seat is reserved for your child, you will need to provide paperwork and be offered a number of permission slips and other forms to sign. First, you will be asked to sign a yellow registration form; until this form is signed we do not consider your child enrolled at our school. Along with this form you must provide proof of address such as a utility bill as well as your child’s medical record and social security information.
Most importantly, all children must have an annual medical examination prior to starting school.
If your child is enrolling in kindergarten and you gain admission through the lottery in April, you will be asked to attend an orientation session. These sessions are held throughout the spring at various times during and after school hours. At this session you will learn more about the school’s expectations and promises and have the opportunity to meet key administrators and ask questions about the school. At this session we stress the importance of attendance and punctuality and share our document outlining parent rights and responsibilities.
Finally, as noted above, if entering in a grade above kindergarten, your child will be assessed using our DRA and Interim Assessments to ensure proper grade placement.
