Enrollment Information

In order to attend the TECH Freire Charter School, an applicant and his/her legal guardian must perform the following actions:

1. Complete and submit a TECH Freire Application for Admission

For the 2025-2026 School Year, TECH Freire will accept applications for all grades offered at TECH Freire (grades 9-12). Please note, however, that we anticipate most openings to be in grade 9, the main entry point into our school. Some spaces may be available in grades 10-12, but such availability may not be assessed until summer 2025, with families not contacted until then (if space even exists).

An individual can obtain and submit an application for admission online at TECHFreire.org.  On the main menu of the school’s website, the link to the application can be found through the “Apply Now” link under the Enroll menu. Families are welcome to visit the School for assistance, and families will be provided with information on how to apply and, subject to availability, a computer or tablet to access the online application. The online application is available in English with language assistance options listed on the first page of the application. TECH Freire will provide reasonable accommodations in the event that an individual requests to submit an application in person.

The application process only involves submitting the application form by the deadline. No interview, school tour, information session, or fee is required.

Once the application is submitted, the applicant will receive an email confirmation.

All complete applications submitted after the close of the application window may be offered admission to the school in the order received only after TECH Freire has exhausted the waiting list of students whose applications were received by the deadline.

Applicant data will be stored in a secure cloud hosted by Apply Philly Charter in accordance with federal and state laws (FERPA, PPRA, COPPA). Applicant data will not be shared with any schools to which the applicant did not apply or to any other entity. 

If more applications are received than there are seats available, as required by PA charter school law, TECH Freire will hold a randomized lottery to determine which applicants are offered a seat for enrollment. All applications submitted within the application window will be referred into the lottery, assuming an application is not a duplicate submission and is otherwise eligible to attend TECH Freire. The application window to be eligible for the initial enrollment lottery for the 2024-2025 school year is September 20, 2024, through January 21, 2025. 

The lottery for the 2025-2026 school year will be conducted virtually on February 5, 2025. Priority will be given to applicants who currently have a sibling enrolled at TECH Freire Charter School (priority 1) provided there are seats currently available in the sibling’s applied grade, students whose parents have actively participated in the development of the School (priority 2), students who reside in Philadelphia (priority 3), students who reside outside of Philadelphia “out-of-district” (priority 4). The lottery will be conducted by the school through the Apply Philly Charter system.   

Priority 1: Sibling Preference

In order to be eligible for the sibling preference, the applicant must be related to a current TECH Freire student in one of the following ways: 1.) has a shared legal guardian or there is shared legal custody of both students by a common individual or 2.) is a half sibling, step sibling, or biological sibling. Residing at the same address as a current student alone does not make an applicant eligible for the sibling preference. There will be no sibling preference to those students who apply after the application deadline (see “important dates” above). In order to be eligible, applicants must indicate the sibling preference on their application. TECH Freire will not retroactively apply sibling preference for anyone who did not request the sibling preference at the time of application prior to the application deadline. TECH Freire reserves the right to determine if a student is eligible for sibling preference. Siblings of currently enrolled students will be placed on a priority list before the lottery. No preference will be shown to siblings who apply after this deadline. Preference will be extended from newly enrolled students to their siblings, provided that all siblings seeking enrollment submitted applications prior to the application deadline and indicated the sibling relationship on the original application. Once the sibling selected in the lottery has submitted complete enrollment paperwork to the school, any of his/her eligible siblings will then be placed at the top of the waiting list (by the lottery order of the not-yet-enrolled sibling if more than one such applicant is on the waiting list at a time).

priority 2: actively participated in the development of the school

“Actively participated in the development of the School” is defined as: 1.) having served on the founding coalition, Board of Directors, or a School committee or 2.) having made a substantial contribution to the life of the School such as active participation in the parents organization, advocating for the School, or volunteering regularly in the School.

lottery structure

Upon application submission, each applicant is automatically assigned a random lottery number. When the lottery is run, it will take the following into account: first, the priority group an applicant falls into, and, second, the applicant’s random lottery number. Seats will first be offered to applicants who fall into the first priority group in order of lowest random lottery number to highest. The lottery will then offer seats to applicants in the second, third, etc. priority groups in order of random lottery number, until the number of available seats has been exhausted. Applicants who were not offered a seat through the lottery will be waitlisted in order of their priority group first, and their random lottery number second.

Applicants who were offered a seat through the lottery will be notified on February 5, 2025, via email. Applicants will also be able to log-in to their Apply Philly Charter accounts on February 7, 2025, to view their application results. Applicants who were offered a seat through the lottery will have until February 21, 2025, to accept their seat offer on Apply Philly Charter by clicking “accept” in their account. Applicants will then be required to submit enrollment paperwork to the school by March 21, 2025. Enrollment paperwork will be collected through PowerSchool Enrollment.

Please note that applications containing Philadelphia addresses have a higher priority than applications with a non-Philadelphia address in the lottery. Any application containing a non-Philadelphia address will be placed at the end of the wait list. If additional applications are submitted with Philadelphia addresses, these applications will be placed above the non-Philadelphia applications on the wait list. Furthermore, proof of residency will be required if your student is selected in the lottery to continue in the enrollment process. Any applicant who cannot provide a Philadelphia address during the proof of residency check will be placed at the top of the non-resident wait list. TECH Freire does not typically accept non-resident wait listed applicants until after August 1st prior to the start of the new school year, and this list will be drawn from only if spaces are still available in a particular grade level and all Philadelphia resident applicants have been offered a space at TECH Freire. 

In the lottery, TECH Freire will publicly draw random lottery numbers, a unique number assigned to each student who applies, for as many spaces as there are available in grades 9 to 12. All students selected will become available to selected families through the Apply Philly Charter website.

All remaining students who were NOT selected in the lottery will be placed on the waiting list. Due to the large number of applicants, the results will only be sent via email unless the applicant was unable to provide an email address. Please do not call the Admissions Office to find out your place on the list.

Any student who applies after the application deadline listed above will be placed on the waiting list after those students who applied before the application deadline on a first-come, first-served basis.

The waiting list is valid for one school year only and is based on current year applications.

We do not require school-wide re-enrollment paperwork for each school year. All students currently enrolled and attending TECH Freire automatically re-enroll for the following school year.

2. Return required documents by deadline if selected from the lottery or offered a seat from the waitlist 

If Selected From The Lottery:

It is important to understand that being selected in a lottery is only STEP ONE of being enrolled at TECH Freire. The next step involves submitting the required documents by the proper deadline or your spot will be forfeited.

If selected in the Lottery, you must submit all documents directly to the school by online form or mail by March 21, 2025 (must be postmarked by this date if sent by mail). Failure to meet this deadline forfeits your spot at TECH Freire. Exceptions will be made only for families with language barriers, and only when those families face extenuating circumstances. You may re-apply and be assigned a new wait list number and placed at the end of the wait list.

The required material to continue the enrollment process is as follows:

• Proof of Age (for example, Birth Certificate)
• Proof of Residency 
• Record of Required Immunizations
• Act 26 Form
• Home Language Survey 

Students who submit these five required documents by the enrollment deadline are considered enrolled for the 2025-2026 school year.

3. Submit Final Report Card by Friday, July 14, 2025

Once students are enrolled in TECH Freire, we request that each student submit their report card by Friday, July 14, 2025. While submission of this report card is not required for enrollment, it enables us to place students in the appropriate classes. Report cards may be mailed or dropped off in person. 

TECH Freire Charter School values diversity and seeks students from diverse backgrounds. TECH Freire Charter School does not discriminate on the basis of age (to the extent applicable), race, color, religion, creed, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, religion, marital status, ancestry, parental status, disability, achievement or aptitude, proficiency in the English language, or any other basis that is unlawful in its admission policy.

No. TECH Freire is a free public school, and there is no cost to attend.

TECH Freire Charter High School does not have a uniform. We grant students the right to choose clothing that is comfortable to them, affordable, reflects their personal style and identity provided what they wear supports their learning and engagement in school. We limit this right only when a student’s clothing creates issues of safety for the school or harms the learning environment.

TECH Freire serves grades 9 through 12.

Applications are accepted online via Apply Philly Charter. Click here to make an account and apply now! An email address is required to submit an online application.

After we receive your application, you will receive a confirmation email from PowerSchool Enrollment. All applicants will receive additional email communications before the lottery.

Yes, you can still apply! However, your student will be added to the end of our waiting list on a first-come, first-served basis.

After the lottery, all applicants will receive an email letting them know if they were selected in the lottery or placed on the waitlist.

If your applicant was not selected, you can view their current position on the waitlist by logging into your PowerSchool Enrollment account.

If your applicant was selected, you will receive an email to complete your applicant’s enrollment packet. You can access the enrollment packet through the link sent to you via email or by logging into your PowerSchool Enrollment account.

Yes. Siblings of current TECH Freire students will receive preference in TECH Freire’s admissions process if they apply before the lottery deadline. To be eligible for the sibling preference, an applicant must be related to a current TECH Freire student in one of the following ways:

1. The two students have a shared legal guardian, or there is shared legal custody of both students by a common individual; or
2. The students are half siblings, step siblings, or biological siblings.

Residing at the same address as a current student, without also being related to a current student in one of the two ways listed above, does not make an applicant eligible for the sibling preference.