Admissions

Admissions Dates and Deadlines

Admission deadline: August 30th, 2024

What are the steps to be admitted?

Do I need a scholarship?

BuildUp Community School offers its educational and work-force development programming at a tuition cost of $25,000 per student per year. However, that's NOT what your family will likely pay.

Most of our students have financial assistance from non-profit organizations, like Scholarship for Kids, that serves as state-approved Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGO) under the Alabama Accountability Act of 2013. Any household who meets the minimum income requirements is eligible to receive a scholarship to a qualified, nonpublic school.

The Alabama Accountability Act requires scholarship granting organizations to give priority to students as follows:

A student zoned for a “priority" school (formerly "failing" school), whether or not they are currently enrolled in a public or private school. Only 25% of all new scholarships can be awarded to students continuously enrolled in a private school during the previous school year. Click HERE to view the AL Department of Education's list of priority schools.
A public school student not zoned for a “failing school". By law, scholarships may not be awarded to students zoned to a non-failing school until July 31st of each school year, for the coming school year.
A private school student not zoned for a "failing school".

Please review the income eligibility guidelines HERE for NEW students (First time applying and enrolling at BuildUP Community School) and RETURNING students. If your household income* exceeds the minimum requirements for a scholarship, we can schedule a meeting to discuss tuition arrangements.

How many students are enrolled?

We will enroll approximately 75-80 students for the 2024-2025 school year.

What is your student to teacher ratio?

We have an impressive 12 : 1 student to instructor ratio. This enables us to communicate with you more frequently about your student's progress!

Tell me about the curriculum and class setting.

At the beginning, middle and end of the year, students take a variety of diagnostic tests that measure grade levels in each subject. We use this data to create a unique and hand tailored curriculum for each student based on exactly where they are and what they need. Teachers create units using Competency Based Education + Project & Place Based Learning framework in order to allow for authentic creation with STEM immersion. Our curriculum is supplemented with online platforms that cater to the individual needs of students, so students are able to go at the speed they need and receive individual and small group tutoring by one of our teachers, tutors, or interventionist.

Our classrooms are structured so students can create projects, collaborate with one another, study quietly, participate in lectures by guest speakers, or work with teachers one-on-one. We are committed to each of our students' success by ensuring excellence in small lectures, tutoring or counseling sessions, and our advisory homerooms.

How do you deal with discipline?

At Build UP, we believe in the power of Restorative Justice. Instead of immediately suspending students for negative behaviors, we carve out time each week to reflect on what happened, where the responsibility lies, and what we can do to amend our behavior. The Restorative Justice program gives a voice to the student and allows them to seek their own solution.

Do you provide transportation to and from school?

The school does provide limited transportation to the Center Point and Ensley areas. Please be sure to communicate with the Community Liaison if transportation is needed during the admissions process.