If you do not live in the HHA zone, you can apply for the HHA Lottery.  According to Maryland Charter School Legislation (Statute § 9-102(1-13)), enrollment in public charter schools is open to all students on a space available basis and admits students on a lottery basis if more students apply than can be accommodated. Lottery participation is open to all kindergarten through 8th grade students who are residents of Baltimore City and who live outside of the HHA zone.

Lottery participation is also open to non-resident students who pay tuition at the rate established by BCPSS, though available slots are allotted to Baltimore City students first. A public charter school may not limit enrollment based on student’s race, color, religion, national origin, language spoken, intellectual or athletic performance.

Lottery Process

1. When the enrollment period is determined, HHA will make public announcements of the lottery submission deadline through the school news magazine, website, Facebook and/or e-mail. Evidence of the school’s public announcements will be documented and maintained.

2. A public lottery will be held on Monday, February 9, 2026 at 3 pm via Zoom. If there is inclement weather and school is closed, the lottery will be held on Thursday, February 19,
2026 at 3 pm via Zoom. This lottery form must be submitted by Monday, February 2, 2026 at 8 am to be eligible for the HHA lottery.

3. HHA will make available at the public lottery the projected number of vacancies at various grade/multi-grade levels. For the 2026-27 academic year we currently have zero vacancies.

4. The lottery is a system of random selection of applicants that identifies students for possible enrollment and generates the school’s official waiting list. During the lottery process, all completed and accepted forms submitted during the enrollment period are publicly drawn by student name in random order until capacity is reached in that grade or multi-grade grouping.

The remaining applicants for that grade or multi-grade level will be drawn and placed on the waiting list in the order they are drawn. In the event one sibling is offered a seat through the lottery, the remaining sibling(s), if not chosen, will receive a preference on the waiting list by being moved to the top of the waiting list. In the event there are multiple families with sibling(s) on the same waiting list, they will remain in the order in which they were drawn. 

5. The waiting list ranks applicants by the order they are drawn in the lottery and by grade or multi-grade grouping. Forms received at HHA after the public lottery will be added to the waiting list in the order they are received. As spaces become available at the school, they are offered to the applicants in the order of placement on the waiting list. County residents will always maintain the last position on the list until a seat is offered. A current year waiting list will be maintained in the school’s main office through September 30th of each year.

6. The waiting list is only valid until September 30th. October begins the application process for the lottery for the next school year.

Retention Clause

If a student is chosen for a grade or multi-grade slot and is then retained at their sending school or if the information provided on the enrollment form about the student’s grade level is found to be inaccurate, the offer of admissions will be rescinded and the student will go to the end of the waiting list for the newly identified grade level.

Preference for Employees

Employees and administrators of HHA and HHA’s operator – the Baltimore Curriculum Project – are given preference. Such applicants will be given priority for vacancies after any slots going to in-zone students and kindergarten siblings of current students and before students are admitted to HHA via the lottery.