Why EVCS?

Educate the Whole Student

We emphasize social responsibility, arts, multiculturalism, and community. EVCS does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, native language, disability, or gender. We believe social curriculum is as important as the academic curriculum, and students must meet with social success before they can be an academic success. 

نبذة عن EVCS | EVCS အကြောင်း | EVCS အဂ့ၢ်  |  Acerca de EVCS

A row of 8 students sit in under a tree on a patch of grass, their hands are extended in excitement and they are smiling wide
A teacher sits in front of a classroom with a smartboard projecting images and rows of students in seats

High Achieving School

We are a charter school, a free, independent public school. EVCS is one of the highest performing schools in WNY. Our students experience this success in an intimate, peaceful, and diverse school community that appreciates different learning styles. 

Community

Today, Elmwood Village Charter Schools are vibrant school communities that are currently meeting the academic and social needs of 900 students in the city of Buffalo. EVCS began as a vision of a small community school that would address the individual learning needs of its students.

A teacher sits outside surrounded by young students, showing a butterfly that has landed on a stick she is holding

Applications and Admissions

Interested in joining us?

For 2026-2027 – Next School Year

Apply for the Next School Year

The application deadline is 2026-2027 school year lottery is April 12, 2026.

For 2025-2026 – Current School Year

Apply for the Current School Year

2025-2026 applications are still being accepted. EVCS Hertel has open seats in Kindergarten. Apply now! Applications for spots in other grade levels will be waitlisted for this year only. We use our waitlists to fill any seats that may open from now until the end of this school year. Please note: your current waitlist position will not roll over into the next school year, so you’ll need to submit a new application for 2026-2027.

Elmwood Village Charter Schools, in collaboration with New York State Charter School Association and other WNY charter schools, is part of the Enroll Buffalo Charters Multi-apply Application for the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 lottery season.

Learn more about Enroll Buffalo Charters by visiting their website.

ADMISSIONS REQUIREMENTS

All Students. All lottery acceptances are preliminary and do not become final until EVCS receives all necessary paperwork, including an authentic copy of a child’s birth certificate, proof of residence, immunization records, and a completed registration packet. This paperwork must be completed and returned within two weeks of notification, or the student’s seat will be offered to the next child on the waiting list.

Kindergarten. All applicants for kindergarten must turn five years old by December 1st of their kindergarten year in order to be eligible for the lottery.

Grades 1-8. For students entering first through eighth grades, EVCS also requires academic records from a child’s previous school, and a copy of the child’s final report card showing whether or not he/she was promoted to the next grade level.

Questions about the application or admissions process? Contact our Admissions Coordinator:

Kelly Norlen
admissions@elmwoodvillageschool.org
716-424-0555 ext 2320

Open House & Tours

Open House Information

To get more information about future upcoming tours and Open House opportunities, email admissions@elmwoodvillageschool.org.

You can also learn more about EVCS with a viewing of our Virtual Tour:

The Lottery Process

Admission to Elmwood Village Charter School is done through a random lottery drawing that is open to the public.

PUBLIC LOTTERY 

The Elmwood Village Charter Schools’ Days Park & Hertel lotteries was hosted on April 8, 2025 for the 2025-2026 school year on the Enroll Buffalo Charter Schools YouTube.

After the lottery is run, you may log in to Avela to accept your seat offer or view your waitlist position. Please note that waitlist numbers will continue to shift as seat offers are made. No waitlist numbers will be given out over the phone.

THE LOTTERY PROCESS

EVCS’s lottery runs through Avela, using a fully random, automated process that assigns a spot or waitlist position number to the name of each person who has applied during the open enrollment period. Avela is an objective site, not related to EVCS, nor any employee of Elmwood Village Charter Schools, nor any person with a vested interest in the outcome of the lottery. The automated lottery fills all available seats, and places students on the waiting list in the order that their names were assigned by the automated random process. This waiting list will be used to fill any seats that become available throughout the course of that school year.

The open enrollment application window is December 1 through early April each year, for the upcoming academic year. Applications received after the open enrollment period are placed at the end of the waitlist generated by the lottery. Lottery results are available almost immediately and visible to applicants by logging in to their Avela account at avela.org. Each applicant’s parent /guardian can view their children’s acceptance or waitlist number.

For those who cannot apply via Avela, paper applications submitted within the open enrollment period will be entered online by an EVCS staff member. 

Families are free to apply for all grade levels, however, please note: For most grades after kindergarten, a limited number of open spots are available, so most 1-8 grade applicants are waitlisted.

For non-admitted students, complete a new application each year: Waitlists are refreshed with the most current lottery results each year. (Waitlists do not roll over from one year to the next.) As a result, parents / guardians must complete a new application each year for non-admitted students, including those who were offered a spot but refused it, those on the waitlist from any previous lottery, or any other situation not resulting in admission.

ORDER OF STUDENT PREFERENCE

The rules for student preference in our charter school lottery are as follows:

  • Returning Students. Returning students of EVCS are given first preference. Once a student is admitted to EVCS, that child’s place in the school is secure, and he or she will not have to go through the lottery in subsequent years.
  • Siblings. Siblings of current EVCS students are given second preference. This preference only applies to children once a sibling has been accepted and their registration is completed. Once an accepted student is officially registered, the sibling priority will then be applied to their sibling or siblings (who have completed an application during the open-enrollment period for the same academic year). Parents/guardians must notify EVCS admissions staff members of any sibling(s) who have applied in the same year as an accepted, registered student.
  • EVCS Staff. Children of full-time permanent employees of EVCS are given third preference. Staff preference does not apply to the children of temporary or per diem employees, outsourced service providers, or independent contractors. Eligible staff members must be employed at EVCS on the first day of the school year or they will forfeit their seat to the next child on the waiting list for that grade level. In the event that there are more children of staff members applying for admission than available seats, a staff lottery will be held at the time of the general lottery.
  • City of Buffalo Residents. Students who apply to the lottery as residents of the City of Buffalo are given fourth preference. Proof of residence is required at the time of registration, and they must reside in Buffalo on the first day of school or they will forfeit their seat to the next child on the waiting list for that grade level.
  • All Other Eligible Students. All other eligible applications are then considered for both available seats and the waiting list.

APPLICATION DEADLINE (2026-2027)

The application deadline for the 2026-2027 school year is April 12, 2026.  

APPLICATION DEADLINE (2025-2026)

The application deadline for the 2025-2026 school year was April 4th, 2025. You can still apply after the deadline to be added to our waitlist. 

PUBLIC LOTTERY (2025-2026)

The last EVCS’s Days Park and Hertel lotteries was hosted on Tuesday, April 8, 2025 as part of the Enroll Buffalo Charter Schools livestream.  View the recording of the lottery below.