Enrollment Process

Parents, please follow these steps to ensure LPA is a good fit for your family and to complete the process for applying to our school:

1. Review the website and application materials. 
2. Tour: Complete virtual or in-person tour. Once you complete the virtual or in-person tour it counts for three years. 
3. Lottery Application: Complete this School App STL, proof of residency and Free or Reduced Lunch Application (reach out to enroll@lafayetteprep.org to attain this document) by 6pm on the last day of the pertinent enrollment period to be entered into the lottery. 
   • First Enrollment Period: October 1st – March 1st
   • Open Enrollment Period: March 2nd – September 30th
4. Lottery: The First Enrollment Period lottery will be held on March 3rd, 2026 then families will be notified of acceptance or waitlist status on March 9th. 
5. Enrollment Application: Upon receiving a spot, families will receive an email giving them access to the full Enrollment Application packet. 
   • In the event of a lottery, accepted students will be notified via the primary email provided in the Lottery Application within 3 business days. If your student is offered a spot, you will have 10 business days (first enrollment period) or 2 business days (open enrollment period) to accept and complete the Enrollment Packet to secure their spot for the upcoming school year.
6. All lottery applications submitted after March 1st, will be admitted on a rolling basis as spots become available. Open Enrollment students who join the waitlist will be placed after students on the waitlist from the first enrollment period, unless they are a current sibling or a staff members child. Upon receiving a spot, families will receive an email giving them access to the full Enrollment Application packet. 
7. Once each week, our enrollment team contacts applicants to confirm all forms have been received. If you prefer, you can contact us at 314-880-4458 or enroll@lafayetteprep.org to make sure all forms have been received.
8. LPA Ready Day: All new students, once admitted, are required to participate in “LPA Ready Day” to maintain enrollment. Ready Day will be offered on April 18, 2026 for all those who are admitted in the March lottery. For students admitted following the April Ready Day, a date will be offered in the future. 

• Children entering kindergarten to sixth grade in the upcoming school year are eligible to apply to LPA.
  • Children applying for kindergarten must be five years old prior to August 1st for the year in which they are applying.
• Children living in the City of St. Louis are eligible to apply to LPA. Please see ‘Preferential Enrollment’ below for more information regarding the catchment zone policy.

Right now! Applications received on or before March 1st, 2026, will be considered in the lottery for enrollment in the 2026 – 2027 school year.

Enrollment Period:

• Enrollment Period: October 14th – March 1st
• Open Enrollment Period: March 2nd – September 30th

A Virtual Family Tour is available here. Once you have completed it, you will be prompted to contact LPA.

You may also schedule an in-person tour here.

If you have taken a tour in the last three years, you do not need to take another one before applying.

If you have any further questions or need assistance signing up for a tour please contact us at 314-880-4458 or enroll@lafayetteprep.org.

Apply for the 2026-27 school year, all applications received will be in the applicant pool for the lottery. 

Lafayette Preparatory Academy is one of 13 St. Louis public charter organizations working together to simplify our initial application process into one easy form, SchoolAppSTL, that you can fill out on any electronic device. The application allows you to apply to our school in less than 3 minutes and makes applying to schools easier, more accessible and more transparent. To apply to our schools, go to SchoolAppSTL.

Important Dates

2026-2027 School Year

Application Opens: October 1, 2025

Submit Applications by*: March 1, 2026

Receive Offers by: March 9, 2026

Select One School by*: March 23, 2026

*Families may choose to remain on waitlists
*Some schools may run an initial lottery with a deadline of November 15 and a second lottery for remaining openings on March 1 please see SchoolAppSTL website for more information.

*Note: If you have been waitlisted, you may choose to remain on our waitlist until you are made an offer at a later date

LPA staff will contact you within three days of being accepted via the email provided in the application. Acceptance is determined after the last day of the enrollment period.

After being notified of your acceptance you will have 10 business days (first enrollment period) or 2 business days (second or third enrollment period) to complete the Enrollment Packet to secure their spot for the upcoming school year or your spot will be considered open and offered to another family.

It is the policy of Lafayette Preparatory Academy not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability in its programs or employment practices.

LPA gives preference for admission of children whose siblings attend our school. We also give preferential enrollment to children of LPA employees who live within the St. Louis Public School District.

LPA gives first preference for admission of children who live within the 1st Catchment Zone, second preference for those who live within the 2nd Catchment Zone and third preference for students living anywhere within St. Louis City:

• 1st Catchment Zone: On or south of Convention Plaza and its Westward Expansion, West of the Mississippi River, on or North of Arsenal, on or East of Grand.
• 2nd Catchment Zone: On or south of Cass Ave. and its Westward Expansion, West of the Mississippi River, on or North of Chippewa, on or East of Kingshighway.
• 3rd Catchment Zone: within St. Louis City limits.

Entering Kindergarten applicants who qualify for FRL will have priority for enrollment until 40% open seats have been filled by applicants who qualify for FRL.