Admissions
The primary entry point for Inter-American students is at pre-kinder level via a computerized magnet lottery system conducted by the Office of Academic Enhancement of the Chicago Public Schools. Children must be four years old by September 1st of the school year in which you wish to enroll. Students from throughout the city are eligible. There are no testing admission requirements, though parents are asked to complete a language questionnaire to help ensure the program admits a balance of English-dominant and Spanish-dominant students. Once accepted, a required language screening ensures each child demonstrates the language skills for the slot that they were accepted for.
There are three types of lotteries for preschool entry:
- Sibling: for students who have brothers or sisters in the same household who already attend IAMS. All siblings are accepted given available space and language balance in each classroom.
- Proximity: for students who live within a 1.5 mile radius of an elementary magnet school. After siblings, students who meet the proximity criteria are enrolled given space availability and language balance in each classroom.
- General: Students in the general lottery are enrolled given space availability and language balance in each classroom.
For students on the wait list, families will be contacted as space becomes available.
Students in other grades (K-8) may be accepted through lottery based on available space and language screening. We need to be mindful that students in first grade and above may have difficulty succeeding in our school if they have never been exposed to reading and writing in Spanish.
For more information, contact Rosario Garcia in the school office.
Application Forms (IAMS Code # 4890IN):