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FAQs

The Arts Based School application process begins every January for the upcoming school year. Applications received January 1 through January 31 at 3 PM will be included in a lottery, which is held on the second Tuesday in February. Any applications submitted after 3 PM on January 31 will be added to the waitlist in the order in which they were received.

Applicants accepted during the lottery will be notified via email within seven days of the lottery. All others will be added to the waitlist in the order selected during the lottery.

Once a child is enrolled at ABS, they have a spot each year thereafter unless withdrawn. Siblings of currently enrolled students receive priority placement but must fill out an enrollment application.

To be eligible for the ABS lottery, students must reside in North Carolina and be five years of age on or before August 31 of the year in which they are presented for enrollment.

ABS is publicly funded and free to all students. We ask families to contribute a $40 activity fee each year to help cover the costs of our field trips, special arts activities, and more. Scholarships for the activity fee are available; please contact Angela Garner. You can pay your Activity Fee by check or online. 
ABS generally follows the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools calendar, except for trimester conference days. Our calendar may be accessed here. We do not necessarily follow Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools' snow days. For information about school closure, tune in to WXII News 12, or call the school: 336-748-4116.
Charter schools are funded by the state of North Carolina with a mandate to provide innovative education according to the specific school’s charter. Charter schools are run by their Board of Directors and are not part of a city or county school district. Charter schools follow state regulations regarding student achievement, funding, and access for all students.
ABS teaches the Common Core and Essential Standards as defined by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction using direct integration with music, dance, drama, and visual art. 
We ask each family to volunteer one hour per week for each child enrolled at ABS. We understand that there are many demands on your time, and we do not make this request lightly. Volunteer time may be done at the school or home, depending on your schedule and the help that is needed. More information on volunteering is available in our Family Portal. 
We do not offer bus transportation. Parents must be able to get their children to and from school on their own. We do offer an on-site after school care program. Additionally, there are several other after school programs that pick-up students from ABS. More information on our Afterschool Care Program is available in our Family Portal. 
All students must have lunch each day. Lunches can be brought from home or purchased on our website. Our caterer this year is Goodness Gracious (Monday-Thursday). To help fund lunches for families who qualify for free and reduced lunch, students may opt to purchase pizza every Friday. More information on "Pizza Fridays," including a secure payment form, is available in our Family Portal. 
Classes are typically 18-20 students.
Teachers will assign homework that is meaningful and relevant to the current topic of study. Homework may come in the form of projects, reading, or research. We will avoid using “busy work” for homework.
Students attending the Arts Based School will be assessed using a portfolio system in place of the traditional report card. The portfolio is designed to illustrate a student’s academic growth and successes, as well as guide the teacher in planning appropriate instruction. Teachers at ABS do not issue letter grades. Teachers use observation, interviews, analysis of student work and performance tasks to assess student understanding. Examples of student work, as well as other objective standards of assessments, are incorporated into the student’s portfolio to give an enhanced portrait of the student’s progress. These portfolios will be discussed and presented to parents during the Student-Teacher-Parent conferences scheduled in November, February, and May. (See School Calendar for dates).
Students are tested in 3rd-8th grade each May on the North Carolina End of Grade tests. We also use Measures in Academic Progress (MAP testing) to assess students in 3rd-8th grade, three times a year to assess student growth.