Applications are now available for the 2025/26 school year!
APPLICATION DEADLINE: April 7, 2025
For more information about our Upper Campus CLICK THIS LINK to view a presentation.
How Do I Apply?
1
Complete the Application
Click on the link above to complete the application for the 2025/26 school year. Once we have received the application; we will contact you to arrange a follow-up conversation. If there are more applicants than spots, applications will be selected by lottery.
2
Come to an Open House
It could be helpful to come visit us. MG21 will show a short presentation and answer questions at Information Night on Tue, Feb 4 at 6:30 pm. On Wed, Mar 5, 5 pm – 7 pm MG21 will host an Exhibition Night where you can see student presentations, meet staff, students and their families, and tour the building.
3
Open Enrollment
Open Enrollment in the Monona Grove School District, which serves Monona and Cottage Grove, is limited. The Monona Grove School Board will set the availability of Open Enrollment spaces at the January board meeting. Families interested in MG21 who live outside of the Monona Grove School District will need to file the necessary paperwork for Open Enrollment and must also have completed our application process and met our application deadlines. Please see Open Enrollment below for more information.
MG21 Admissions
PROCESS
MG21 is open, tuition-free, to all students grade 6-12 who reside in the District or are eligible for enrollment in the District’s programs pursuant to Wis. Stat. 118.51, 118.52, or 118.53.
MG21 will not deny admission or participation in any program or activity on the basis of a person’s sex, race, religion, national origin, ancestry, pregnancy, marital or parental status, sexual orientation or physical, mental, emotional or learning disability.
Regular Admission:
1. The Governance Board will set enrollment limits for the following school year during its January board meeting, prior to the District Board of Education’s determination of the number of open enrollment seats for the District for the following school year. The Governance Board may set enrollment limits by grade.
2. The Governance Board will set an application period.
3. If the number of enrollment applications exceeds the enrollment limit during the application period, the school will select students on a random lottery basis.
4. Currently-enrolled students, including students moving from the Middle Campus to the Upper Campus, are guaranteed enrollment and will not be included in the lottery.
5. The Charter School will give preference to siblings of pupils who are already attending the Charter School. In addition, the Charter School will give preference to children of the charter school’s founders, Governance Board members, and full-time employees. The total number of children given preference under this paragraph will constitute no more than 10 percent of the Charter School’s total enrollment.
6. A waiting list will be maintained for students who are not selected in the random lottery. The waiting list will be utilized until September 15 of the upcoming school year.
7. If no waiting list exists following the Regular Admissions period, applications for the fall trimester will be accepted until the start of the school year. If there are more applicants than open spots during this period, a second lottery will be conducted prior to the start of the school year following the procedure outlined above.
8. If at the end of the Regular Admissions Period all available enrollment spaces are not filled, the school may, but is not required to, accept applications beyond the regular application period. The Governance Board or its designee reserves the right to determine if additional applicants will be accepted.
9. Open-enrolled applicants who meet the eligibility requirements and select the Charter School as a preference will be placed in the Charter School under the procedures listed above.
10. If a student who has selected the Charter School as a preference is a student with a disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Educational Act, placement will be determined by the Individual Education Program team in accordance with federal law. The IEP Team will review the school program and the student’s needs in determining the best placement. (See Addendum- Understanding the MG21 Model: Program Descriptors/Criteria for Independent Learners)
11. The Charter School may include in its lottery all nonresident applicants who seek enrollment in the Charter School. An open-enrolled applicant’s admission to the Charter School will be contingent on the student’s enrollment in the District.
12. The Charter School will not be required to admit any student who is under a current expulsion order from a school district. Students not admitted to the Charter School through the enrollment process cannot be unilaterally placed in the Charter School by the District. Attendance at the Charter School is voluntary.
ADDENDUM:
Understanding the MG21 Model: Program Descriptors/Criteria for Independent Learners
OPEN ENROLLMENT
Families interested in MG21 who live outside of the Monona Grove School District will need to file the necessary paperwork for Open Enrollment or work with their local school district.
For 2025-26, enrollment is projected to be at capacity for certain grade levels. A waitlist will be maintained by MGSD only for the grade levels with approved spaces.
The open enrollment period is February 3-April 30, 4 pm. Procedures for doing this can be found on the State of Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Website (see link at http://dpi.wi.gov/open-enrollment ). Please note on your application a request for MG21, The Monona Grove Liberal Arts Charter School for the 21st Century.
All students who would like consideration for MG21 must also complete the MG21 Application. Students who apply via open enrollment and are accepted to the district may be placed at another MGSD school if there is not a spot available at MG21.
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The Monona Grove Liberal Arts Charter School for the 21st Century will not deny admission or participation in any program or activity on the basis of a person’s sex, race, religion, national origin, ancestry, pregnancy, marital or parental status, sexual orientation or physical, mental, emotional or learning disability. Application to and attendance at the Monona Grove Liberal Arts Charter School for the 21st Century is completely voluntary. There is no tuition to enroll in the Monona Grove Liberal Arts Charter School for the 21st Century.