Lottery results for the 2024-2025 school year for grades PK3 – 10th grade were announced April 8th.

Applications are open for the 2024-2025 school year, all applicants will be placed at the bottom of the waitlist for their priority status and grade level.

Lottery Account Login

Check Lottery results and waitlist placements, submit a new application, complete your registration, and update your contact information.

Tours & Information

Please visit the school websites to read more about MMCI’s charter school programs and get information about joining school tours here: MVMPCS and CCMPCS.

MVM High School Program

The MVM High School Program fulfills all FCPS graduation requirements. Rising 9th and 10th grade students encouraged to apply! Learn more about the high school program: MVMPCS.

CCM Spanish Program

¡Aquí hablamos español!

At Carroll Creek Montessori, we offer students PK – 8th the opportunity to learn Spanish and to develop awareness and appreciation of other cultures. Learn more at: CCMPCS

Parental Involvement

Active involvement of parents is at the heart of the charter school philosophy and is necessary for the successful operation of both schools. It is expected that families volunteer 30 hours per year (10 hours for single parent families).

Montessori Multi-age Classrooms

The Montessori classroom is a prepared environment with multi-age groupings of students. Students may work independently, in pairs or in small groups of their choosing. They work at their own level and at their own pace.

Admission to Monocacy Valley Montessori Public Charter School and Carroll Creek Montessori Public Charter School is determined from the results of two separate lotteries. There are no opportunities to enroll in either school outside of the lottery process.

How Does the Lottery Work?

If you have never applied to our schools before, the first step is to create an account in the MMCI Lottery system for your family. In this account you can include any/all of your school-age children from PK3 – 10th grade. You will be able to select which school(s) you are applying to for each child.

The waitlist is reset every year in January, so even if you have applied in the past, you must login to your account to re-apply and re-confirm your application every year during the open application period for any student not currently attending your desired school.

  • The application window opens in early January and will remain open for 8-10 weeks.
  • The lottery is run in the second half of March for the upcoming school year.
  • The list of accepted students and wait list placements will be posted to your MMCI lottery account within 7 days of the lottery. If you have opted in to text messaging, you will also receive a text.

Returning Students

Currently enrolled students remaining at the same school must create login to their account and confirm that they wish to remain at the school each year.

Lotteries for the two schools are run separately. The applicant pool for each lottery is unique and the results from one school’s lottery have no impact on the results for the other school’s lottery.

Priority lotteries

Priority lotteries are run prior to the general lottery at each school. There are three priority levels:

  • 1
    Children of faculty/staff employed at the school
  • 2
    Siblings of children currently enrolled at the school on the day of the lottery.
  • 3

    CCM 8th grade students applying to the MVM high school program*

If a slot is not available for a priority student, that student receives a priority wait list number.

MVMPCS priority applicants do not receive priority in the CCMPCS lottery and vice versa (except for CCM 8th grade students*).

*Beginning with the 2023-24 school year, there will be a third priority lottery for Carroll Creek Montessori 8th grade students, who will be granted priority for up to 35% of available 9th grade seats at Monocacy Valley Montessori.

GENERAL LOTTERY

After the priority lotteries are run, the general lottery determines the placement of the remaining applicants at each school. At the conclusion of the general lottery, the list of accepted students per grade level and the wait list numbers per grade level are certified by MMCI Admissions, the school principals, and FCPS, and results will be posted to lottery accounts within 7 days.

WAITLIST

Children will remain on the active wait list until through December of each school year. At that point, those wait lists are discarded and the results of the new lottery become the active wait list. You must re-apply and re-confirm your application every year during the open application period for any student not currently attending your desired school.

Positions can open up for a number of reasons over the course of the year. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU CONTINUE TO MONITOR YOUR EMAIL/LOTTERY ACCOUNT FOR OFFERS THROUGH DECEMBER! Check your waitlist status.

The wait list number for all students could move up or down throughout the year as new families are welcomed to the schools and siblings are granted priority status.

When a seat becomes available, the next student from the waitlist is contacted. Please review. the enrollment guidelines below to make sure you don’t miss important deadlines to accept the offer and enroll your student.

Sibling Priority Waitlist

Siblings of students accepted through the lottery will automatically be conferred sibling priority and moved to the priority waitlist ONLY ONCE THE ACCEPTED STUDENT’S ENROLLMENT HAS BEEN APPROVED BY THE ADMINISTRATION AND FCPS. Once the enrollment is processed, sibling priority status will be granted to other siblings still on the wait list.

IF THE ORIGINAL LOTTERY RECIPIENT DECLINES/RESCINDS THEIR ACCEPTANCE OF THE SPOT AND/OR UN-ENROLLS BEFORE ATTENDING SCHOOL, SIBLING PRIORITY STATUS CONFERRED UPON ANY SIBLINGS WILL NO LONGER BE VALID.

Siblings will be placed back into the general lottery at their original position.  If the sibling has already submitted enrollment paperwork, his/her enrollment will be void, and s/he cannot attend unless pulled from the general waitlist based his/her original position.

My Child Was Offered a Seat!

Now What?

Congratulations! We look forward to welcoming your family to our community. Now that your child has been accepted, you have some important steps to take, and they come with strict deadlines!

If your child is selected for admission to an MMCI school during the lottery, you will need to accept the desired placement and register online.

In the event that your child has been accepted at multiple MMCI schools during the March lottery you must ACCEPT ONLY ONE offer online through my lottery account and submit an FCPS enrollment form to your chosen school by deadlines prescribed below. This action will automatically decline the other offer, and the slot declined at the other school will then be released to the waiting list.

Please note: the lottery process is governed by FCPS Charter School Policy 440 and the Md. EDUCATION Code Ann. § 9-101.

Enrollment Documentation

  • Children not currently enrolled in an FCPS school will need to submit an immunization form and a record of physical examination, provide current proof of residency (i.e. utility bill) within the last three months, and proof of birth for each child.

  • Current FCPS students enrolling/transferring to MVMPCS or CCMPCS will need to provide a current proof of residency. The other documentation (health records, student cumulative file, etc.) will be requested from the sending school.
  • All children on your application must be residents of Frederick County by July 1st and show proof of residency.
  • Proof of immunizations must be on file prior to the first day of school in order for students to attend on the first day.

  • Parent photo identification for all new registration students.

  • Household Income Verification: (Required for PK3 and PK4 students only.) For more information, and a list of accepted forms of verification, check the FAQ at the bottom of this page or visit FCPS PreK website.

ENROLLMENT DEADLINES

If a student is selected, the family will receive an automated message making the offer using the email address and/or phone listed on the family’s application, and the family will have an opportunity to accept or decline the position with the following time frames:

Lottery Draw Date - 2 weeks before the start of school

Families will have TWO (2) BUSINESS DAYS to login to their lottery account and accept the offer. After they accept the seat, families will have THREE (3) BUSINESS days to complete the registration process online and upload/return completed paperwork to the school, or the offer will be rescinded.

TWO (2) Weeks before schools begins - December

Families will have ONE (1) BUSINESS DAY to login to their lottery account and accept the offer. After they accept the seat, families will have ONE (1) BUSINESS day to complete the registration process online and upload/return completed paperwork to the school, or the offer will be rescinded.

About our Schools

programs

The Primary classrooms include students from age 3 through Kindergarten. Your child must be three by September 1st to enter the three-year-old program, four by September 1st to enter the four-year-old program, and five by September 1st to enter Kindergarten. Early entrance to Kindergarten is only granted via the FCPS Kindergarten Early Entrance process. Please note: we cannot hold a spot for your child in both Pre-K and Kindergarten while you wait for FCPS results; if you request a Grade Level Exception for Kindergarten and are offered a Kindergarten spot via the lottery, you will forfeit that spot if your child is not approved for early entrance by FCPS in early summer. There is no early entrance or delayed entrance for three-year-olds or four-year-olds. All children in Montessori programs progress at their own pace.

The four-year-old program and Kindergarten (both schools) hours are 9:00 AM to 3:45 PM on Monday through Thursday and 9:00 AM to 2:45 PM on Friday. The three-year-old program (both schools) hours are 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM, Monday through Friday. Pre-K students are required to be independently toileting before the start of the school year.

Multi-age groupings at both MVM and CCM include: Lower Elementary (Grades 1-3), Upper Elementary (Grades 4-6), and Middle School (Grades 7-8). The September 1st birthday cut-off also applies to these grade levels; however, there is a place on the application to indicate if your student should be applying for a different grade level based on their current grade level. Grade Level Exceptions are approved by the principals and outcomes are emailed. School hours for 1st through 8th graders are 9:00 AM to 3:45 PM on Monday through Thursday and 9:00 AM to 2:45 PM on Friday.

*Beginning in the 2023-24 school year, MVMPCS will be expanding to include grades 9-12. The initial class of 60 9th grade students will begin in August 2023. The high school multi-age classrooms will consist of a Lower High School (grades 9-10) and an Upper High School (grades 11-12.) Please note: The 2024-25 high school lottery will have ONLY 9th – 10th Grades. 11th grade will be added in 2025-26, and 12th grade in 2026-27. Learn more.

Our Spanish environment promotes a gradual, natural language acquisition process. We utilize Comprehensible Input methods and teaching strategies so that from day one students are surrounded by the target language at a level that is understandable to them. Learn more.

Frequently asked questions

MVMPCS and CCMPCS do not provide transportation. You must arrange to deliver your child(ren) to and from school each day. If you have three-year-olds in addition to older children who are accepted, you will be responsible for one drop-off and two pick-ups per day. Fee-based before care and after care are available for Kindergarten and up. There is no before care or after care for three-year-old or four-year-old students.

MVMPCS and CCMPCS are public charter schools. There is no fee for public school. However, unlike traditional public schools, charter schools do not receive funding for our facilities. This means we must raise funds to bridge the gap. Families are requested to contribute to school fundraising efforts every year to maintain regular operations. Each school might also run campaigns for specific fundraising goals.

Active involvement of parents is at the heart of the charter school philosophy and is necessary for the successful operation of both schools. It is expected that families volunteer 30 hours per year (10 hours for single parent families). Specific ways in which parents might contribute include:

  • Serving on the Board Of Trustees (BOT) for Monocacy Montessori Communities, Inc. (MMCI).
  • Serving on either school’s Governing Council (GC) and its working subcommittees.
  • Serving as a guide to students wishing to master a particular skill.
  • Offering presentations or short courses to a class in response to student interest.
  • Accompanying students on field trips.
  • Assisting and participating in special events.
  • Coordinating and assisting with school clubs and activities.
  • In addition, parents are encouraged to attend teacher conferences, meetings of the MMCI corporation and social gatherings for the school community.

Our Spanish environment promotes a gradual, natural language acquisition process. We utilize Comprehensible Input methods and teaching strategies so that from day one students are surrounded by the target language at a level that is understandable to them. Learn more.

The following information will help you determine whether the Montessori approach embraced by our schools is right for your child. The following information will help you determine whether the Montessori approach embraced by our schools is right for your child.

Basic tenets of the Montessori approach include:

  • It is natural for children to want to engage in meaningful work that is relevant to them
  • Children will be self-directed when given the opportunity to do so
  • Children will operate with as much independence as possible
  • Children will remain engrossed in their work for long periods of time
  • The work itself should be rewarding for children; external rewards and praise are counterproductive because they teach the child to look to others for validation
  • Children learn from natural consequences
  • Children should be taught to advocate for themselves
  • Children will teach each other and learn from each other

In a Montessori classroom, you will find:

  • Long uninterrupted periods of time for work (3 hours or more every morning)
  • Students working individually or in small groups on a work plan the student created or helped to create
  • Small group or individual instruction
  • Multi-age classrooms spanning three grade levels (two levels in the MVMPCS Middle School)
  • Teachers working with students to make decisions about their learning
  • Busy classrooms with many different activities occurring at once
  • Students freely moving around the classroom as needed
  • Self-directed students working without frequent adult intervention
  • Classroom sizes of 25-30 students
  • A peace-loving environment where everyone is expected to treat themselves, others, and the materials with respect
  • Children pursuing their interests in a variety of ways (projects, clubs, etc.)
  • Many field trips (often planned by students)
  • Teachers observing students and modeling the behaviors of a lifelong learner

In a Montessori classroom, you will not find:

  • Extrinsic reward systems such as sticker charts
  • Competitions between students
  • Desks in rows
  • Extensive teacher-directed, whole-group instruction
  • A large number of paper and pencil tasks
  • Silent classrooms: learning involves interactions with other students
  • Extensive homework

Some children handle the transition from a traditional school very well. Some children, especially in the higher grades, may experience difficulty with the transition. The staff will work with students to teach them the skills they need to become more self-directed and students are then expected to show increased independence over time.

Thank you for your interest in our schools!

admissions & enrollment policies

Please provide one the following: a signed settlement agreement and deed, a signed lease/rental agreement on a home/apartment, a property tax bill, a current utility bill for water, gas, electric, or cable).

Often a parent/guardian and child do not own or rent the home in which they live. If this is your case, then the person who actually owns or rents the home must provide the same proof of residency as listed above (a signed settlement agreement and deed, a signed lease/rental agreement on a home/apartment, a property tax bill, a current utility bill for water, gas, electric, or cable) and must complete and have notarized the FCPS Parent Residence Affidavit Multi-Family form.

Please provide one of the following: birth certificate, physician’s certificate, hospital certificate, baptismal or church certificate, parent’s affidavit, or passport/visa.

Department of Health and Mental Hygiene form 896 Immunization Certificate or other proof of immunizations (view the complete immunization schedule).

  • Documentation of a recent physical exam, recorded on the Maryland Schools Record of Physical Examination. If your child’s last physical exam was more than 9 months prior to the start of school, you may wait to submit the form until this year’s exam is completed. NOTE: This is not the same documentation required to participate in Athletics programs. Please refer to the FCPS Athletics Website for more information.
  • Parent photo identification.

Total Household Gross Income must be verified to qualify for placement within a Pre-K program. Household Gross Income MUST be documented by providing one of the following for EACH Household Member receiving income:

  • Food Supplemental Program (FSP) Current letter of Verification;
  • Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA) Current letter of Verification;
  • Three recent consecutive pay stubs from employer(s);
  • W-2 form(s) from last year from employer(s)
  • Other: Schedule C/1099 (if self-employed), a letter on letterhead from your employer(s) stating your income, child support and court order or letter, unemployment, disability income, etc.
  • Please note: a Household Member includes anyone who is living with you and shares income and expenses, even if not related.

charter law and policy