Admission Criteria

Barnette Magnet School is a school of choice, for students in Kindergarten through 8th grade. In order to be eligible to apply to attend Kindergarten, children must be five years old on or before September 1st preceding the beginning of the school year. Upon enrollment, a copy of the child's birth certificate is required for each student new to the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District. All new students must submit proof of immunization or a waiver before being admitted into school.

Application

What to know before you apply on the lottery portal! 

*When adding a new student to your dashboard, the system asks for the student's current school year grade level. If you are applying for a student who has not started school but will be attending kindergarten next year, please choose "Entering Kindergarten" as the 2024-2025 grade level. 

*Only one Barnette Magnet Full Time Lottery application per student will be honored. Duplicate applications will be deleted from the lottery system.

If in doubt about your student's grade level, sibling preference, or enrollment preference in the lottery system, please contact the Program Secretary by email at Christina.Ried@k12northstar.org or 907.456.6072 x 20503.

Applications for the 2024-2025 Barnette Magnet School lottery will be open from January 18, 2024, through March 18, 2024.
The deadline to apply is March 18, 2024 at 3:00 PM.

Applications beginning January 18, 2024 are available on the Lottery Application Portal.

The lottery results for 2024-2025 will be posted on the front doors of Barnette Magnet School on March 22, 2024, at 9 a.m. and online in the parent/guardian portal.

Barnette Walking Zone

Attendance Area:
Barnette Magnet School has a small zone within walking distance of the school that is considered the attendance area for Elementary students in grades K-5. K-5 students who reside in the attendance area may enroll at Barnette Magnet School. Attendance area students must still apply, but are not required to go through the lottery process. Attendance area students must provide proof of physical address, i.e. a lease, a utility bill such as water, electric, or gas. Proof of physical address will be requested at the start of each school year, and upon request at the start of each quarter. A home visit at the start of each school year is also mandatory. To verify the attendance area, contact the FNSBSD Transportation Department at 452-2000 or on the "Find your Bus" option of the district website to verify the attendance area.   Barnette does not have an attendance area for 6th, 7th, or 8th grades or part-time students.  Ryan Middle School is the attendance area school for 6th-8th grades.

Change of address during the school year for attendance area students:
When an attendance area student has a change of address during the school year resulting in out-of-area attendance, a completed out-of-attendance area application is required to be on file with the principal. If attendance and behavior requirements are met, the student may remain at Barnette for the remainder of that school year. The parent must apply by the lottery deadline and go through the lottery process to continue enrollment for subsequent years. Continued enrollment at Barnette is not guaranteed. If not chosen in the lottery, the student will be transferred to their new attendance area school.

The Lottery

Out of Attendance Area (AR 1032.2 SBP 1032.2):
Most students who attend Barnette Magnet School do not reside in the attendance area. It is the policy of the Magnet School to accept out of attendance area students through an application process. Anyone who is eligible to attend school in the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District may apply to Barnette Magnet School. Due to limited available space, there will be a lottery held each spring. All completed applications received by the corresponding deadline will be drawn randomly by grade level for available space during the lottery. When there are more applications than space available, a grade specific waitlist will be created.

Selection Process:
Completed applications submitted by the deadline will be entered in the lottery. The lottery will be held for enrollment for the following fall and will be conducted in accordance with FNSBSD policy. The lottery determines the waitlist for the next school year. Sibling preference is not initiated from the waitlist.
It is the parent/guardian's responsibility to ensure that the information provided on the application is correct. A valid email and phone number(s) are essential for contact to offer a seat at Barnette. Students will be entered in the lottery for the grade applied for. Students may not apply for multiple grades.  Applications must be completed by a parent with custodial authority or by a legal guardian.

The Lottery Process:
Applications for full time enrollment are separated by grade. The grade levels are entered in an initial lottery to determine the order in which grade levels will be drawn during the lottery. When the grade is drawn, all applications submitted for that grade will be randomly drawn to fill any known openings and order a waitlist.

Sibling Preference

In support of the family, Barnette Magnet School does give preference to siblings. Although all new applicants must meet application requirements, future students who already have siblings enrolled in the school are given priority to enroll in Barnette Magnet School, given that space is available at the sibling’s grade level during the lottery process. Siblings are defined as permanent, immediate, legal family members. During the lottery, if an applicant is drawn for a known opening, any sibling applications will be moved to the next available opening for their grade, or the highest space available on the waitlist. There may be more than one sibling on the waitlist. Sibling preference does not guarantee enrollment. Sibling preference is not initiated once the waitlist is established.

Wait List

Barnette Magnet School maintains a waitlist of students who have applied, but were not selected through the lottery. The waitlist is used to fill the vacancies that may occur during the school year.  Vacancies will not be filled after the start of the fourth quarter. Waitlists do not carry over for the next year’s lottery.  Students will be called individually in the order placed on the waitlist as grade-level openings become available. Once contact has been made via phone call and/or email, the family has 48 hours to accept. If no response is received after 48 hours, the next student on the waitlist will be offered the opening. Students on the waitlist do not move upon the admission of a family member. All unsuccessful applicants are welcome to reapply for the lottery the following year.

Continued Enrollment

Once accepted through the lottery and enrolled at Barnette Magnet School, students are re-enrolled the following year dependent upon attendance, behavior, and transportation compliance. Parents are expected to notify the school of any educational change in plans. Siblings new to the school must submit an application prior to the deadline. Attendance area students who have a change of address during the school year will need to apply for a space through the lottery if they desire to continue enrollment at Barnette. Continued enrollment is not guaranteed when a student moves out of the attendance area as is customary at all FNSB schools.

Student Withdrawal

If a student withdraws from Barnette Magnet School to attend another school or homeschool, they must complete the application and lottery process to be readmitted to Barnette and sibling preference may not be used to gain readmittance.

Staff Preference

Children of ESSA & FEA staff who are employed at Barnette are given preference in accordance with the current contracts.

Late Applications

The Barnette Lottery will reopen for Late applications on May 15, 2024; Late Applications submitted during this time will be added to the bottom of the appropriate grade waitlist since the lottery has been drawn and numbered.  

Lottery Results

Barnette Magnet Lottery results will be available online and posted on the school's front doors on Mach 22, 2024 at 9:00 a.m.  The lottery is done at the Downtown District Office by computerized random selections.
You will be contacted when your child has a seat available at Barnette Magnet School.   Please do not phone for lottery results.

Nondiscrimination Disclosure

Barnette Magnet School does not discriminate toward any individual as defined in District Policy 1011 nor does it require any student to attend the program.