You are receiving this email because you have expressed an interest in LASA. Either via our interest form or by submitting an Enroll Austin Application. This email is the first of several designed to help you make sure you have all of the necessary pieces to submit your LASA application by the deadline at 11:59 PM on Tuesday, February 4, 2024. If you have changed your mind or don’t wish to receive these emails, please fill out this form.
My name is Jo Koerth, I am the principal's secretary at LASA. I like to joke that I am 50% of LASA's admissions department. Which is to say, LASA doesn't have an admissions department. It's just me and our Academy Director, San Czaplinski doing admissions in addition to our regularly assigned duties. We're both super grateful for your understanding when responses are slow, and we look forward to getting to know y'all through this application season.
I tend to the day-to-day of admissions while Ms. Czaplinski is in charge of the more complex things. For example, if you have requested testing accommodations, you will hear from Ms. Czaplinski before the CogAT test. But, if you email a general question to LASAadmissions@austinisd.org, I’ll likely be the one who replies.
This is my eight year working admissions at LASA, which you would think makes me an expert! While I know a lot of things, there are small changes to the process each and every year, so every year I am learning part of it alongside y'all. I am always grateful when applicants or their families share information on what little oddities they encounter on their end. It helps me help other families who may be going through the same things.
When it comes to applications, the most important part of my job is helping each applicant have the best chance at applying to LASA. This includes helping them submit everything necessary by the deadline. In order to do this, I check every submitted document (from proof of residence to the creative work) to make sure we can access it and it has all the information we need. If we can’t access it, or it’s missing something, I reach out to give families a chance to fix it.
This is a time consuming process, and y’all outnumber me in the hundreds, but I have a process down by now and with your help it works really well.
First, I will be sending out these (very long) informative emails as needed through January, February, and March. In each email I will address at least one topic of admissions (like ranking, or our admissions checklist), give answers to the most common questions I have been receiving from our applicants, and note upcoming events. At the bottom, you will always find links to our Admission FAQ, Application Updates & Announcements (which keeps copies of each informational email I send), and more.
Starting in January, once a student has submitted their supplemental materials form I will send out an application status update email. This email is automatically generated from a ginormous spreadsheet I keep with little checkboxes for each application item that has been received and checked. So, the email is automated, but the work that goes into it is not. If there is something wrong with a submitted file, I will note this in the email and let you know how to fix it.
So what do I need from you?
First, I encourage you to take advantage of the resources we have set up to answer your own questions. It may be much faster than asking me, and it also frees me and Ms. Czaplinski up to deal with the more complicated issues as they come up.
Many questions can be answered by carefully reading the different pages under the admissions tab on our website. (LASAhighschool.org) I especially recommend the below pages (also linked at the bottom of this email):
Admission FAQ
Admission Calendar
Application Checklist
Application Rubric
Application Updates & Announcements
I don’t want to discourage you from reaching out. I love talking to y’all and helping out. But if you can find the answer on your own, it saves us all time. If you can’t, I am always happy to help!
The best way to get a hold of me is by emailing LASAadmissions@austinisd.org. I dedicate time daily to go in and answer questions. You’re always free to call me at 512-414-5272 ext 5-6663 as well, but if you don’t get a hold of me right away, I suggest calling back later or shooting me an email. I am embarrassingly bad at voicemails during application season.
Second, please review the Application Checklist carefully for instructions, especially regarding the documents to submit, including the common issues we see. If everything is submitted without errors the first time, it saves everyone so much time and effort.
But don’t worry! If there are issues, I will note them in the application status update email and you will have a chance to fix them. I know everyone is doing their best to get everything right and it’s a complicated process. Don’t feel bad if you’re asked to reupload something. It’s a very common part of the LASA Admissions experience!
Third, if you have been asked to reupload something please don’t immediately email and ask me if it’s correct now right after you’ve reuploaded it. I completely understand the urge (honestly, I would probably do the same thing), but I will have moved on to continue checking the materials that have been submitted for the very first time. I want to make sure as many applicants as possible get the opportunity to fix any mistakes. I promise, I will loop back around to the re-submitted materials. If there are still issues, you will have another chance to get things right.
All of this being said, the earlier you submit everything, the more time I have to check things before the deadline. (Note: I don’t check submitted materials until the supplemental materials form has been submitted. In the past, I have definitely wasted a lot of time checking the materials of students who ended up not applying to LASA.)
Winter Break
Tomorrow (Friday, December 20), we leave for winter break. I’ll check the LASAadmissions inbox right up until noon and then I will shut it down until January 7, 2025. The whole district closes for winter break so you will not be able to get any questions answered until we return. Please utilize the website and save your questions for January.
On January 7, I will start going through the LASAadmissions inbox starting with the emails received first and working my way up.
You will notice that the last day to request accommodations for the CogAT Admissions Test on January 11, 2025 is on January 6. Which brings me to…
CogAT Admission Test
The CogAT Admission Test is administered on Saturday, January 11, 2025 and Saturday, January 25, 2025. Each date has two sessions. One in the morning and one in the afternoon. You can find the details on our Admissions Calendar under “CogAT Admission Test”.
Students should only attend one of these sessions. (You will notice that the sessions are divided by last name. If you absolutely cannot make it to the session assigned to your last name, it’s okay to come to one of the others. You don’t have to let us know.)
Students who do not need testing accommodations do not have to sign up in advance. They can just turn up 15 minutes before their session on the day of their choosing. More detailed information will be emailed out after the break and uploaded to our Admissions Updates blog.
BUT. As mentioned above, students who need testing accommodations have to request them on the accommodations request form by January 6, 2025 if they plan to attend the first testing Saturday.
In order to request testing accommodations you will need to upload a copy of your student’s accommodations. (For students in a public school, this would be the Individual Accommodation Page (IAP) or the Individual Educational Plan (IEP). For students in private school or home schooled, a letter from the school with a list of the testing accommodations will suffice.)
Upcoming Dates
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Jan 6, 2025 - Last day to request accommodations for the 1/11/25 CogAT Admissions Test
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Jan 7, 2025 - LASAadmissions Inbox opens back up again after Winter Break
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Jan 11, 2025 - CogAT Admissions Test & “Find Your Fit”- parent panel
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Jan 13, 2025 - First day of Shadowing at LASA (available only to those students who have submitted their supplemental materials form and Enroll Austin Application)
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Jan 14, 2025 - Virtual LASA Info Night (in English and Spanish)
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Jan 16, 2025 - LASA Showcase
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Jan 18, 2025 - Virtual Help Sessions by our parent organization, PFLASA (sign-up required)
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Jan 20, 2025 - Last day to request accommodations for the 1/25/25 CogAT Admissions Test
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Jan 25, 2025 - CogAT Admissions Test & “Find Your Fit”- parent panel
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Feb 1, 2025 - Virtual Help Sessions by our parent organization, PFLASA (sign-up required)
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Feb 4, 2025 - DEADLINE! Also, last day to shadow at LASA, and last day to make changes to ranking in Enroll Austin
All LASA Info Emails will be available on the Application Updates & Announcements blog within 24 hours of being sent.
IMPORTANT LINKS