HoLa Fills Spots For New Kindergarten Class

A couple dozen parents gathered at the HoLa lunchroom on Friday morning, all hoping that their numbers would be lucky enough to get their children into Hoboken's first dual language charter school. 

The school received roughly 150 applicants to fill 36 spots. About 100 were from Hoboken, and 50 from other districts, the school administrators said. 

Carol Jimenez, originally from Colombia but living in West New York, waited until the last minute of the lottery on Friday to try to get her twin daughters into HoLa. She ended up number 16 on the wait list for Second Grade, which means her chances are slim. 

But, Jimenez said, she still wanted to give it a shot. "I like to play with chance," she said. 

If her girls—who currently go to school in West New York—don't get in, she sighed, she'll apply again in the future. She said she chose HoLa because of the dual language aspect.  

Siblings of current students are guaranteed spots in the new class and students who live in the district are given preference over those who live out of town. 

There are currently 94 students on the wait list for Kindergarten, 35 on the wait list for First Grade, 20 on the list for Second Grade and 10 on the wait list for Third grade. Other than in Kindergarten, the school had no openings for the 2011-2012 school year. 

"Some people were disappointed, unfortunately," one of the school's founders and board member Jennifer Hindman Sargent said. "Don't worry," Sargent said as some disappointed parents left the room, "things move around a lot." 

And that is exactly what Eduardo Gonzalez is hoping for. His 4-year-old son is number 42 on the waiting list for Kindergarten. He has also entered the lotteries for Hoboken Charter School and the Elysian Charter School.

If his son can't get into a charter school, Gonzalez said, he'll stay in the traditional Hoboken public schools.

When asked if he was disappointed, Gonzalez answered "yes." "I'm not good with lotteries," he said.