FAQ

Discovery Core Values Video

Student Application

BATON ROUGE OCHSNER DISCOVERY HEALTH SCIENCES ACADEMY IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EDUCATIONAL PROVIDER. WE DO NOT DISCRIMINATE ON THE BASIS OF RACE, COLOR, RELIGION, SEX, NATIONAL ORIGIN, DISABILITY, SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND/OR AGE IN EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS OR ACTIVITIES THAT IT OPERATES.

The application period for the 2023-24 school year for Baton Rouge Ochsner Discovery is open! Applications will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.

Link to Online Application

All Louisiana residents are eligible to apply.

Baton Rouge Ochsner Discovery will accept applications for students entering grades Kindergarten through 4th for the 2023-24 school year.

Baton Rouge Ochsner Discovery is an open enrollment school and does not test students to gain admission. 

Our application is online. The online application allows parents to save and finish the application later if needed. All supporting documents must be submitted online with the application. We encourage applicants to apply early so if there is a document missing the admissions team can notify the parent. Applications with missing required documents will not be eligible for the admissions lottery. No pupil shall be admitted during the application period.

Link to Online Application

We suggest gathering the following documents before you start your online application.

Tips for attaching documents to your child's application:

If you do not have access to a scanner to scan documents, you can use your smartphone or tablet.

1. Place the document on a solid background for good contrast

2. Find good lighting, avoid shadows across the document

3. Hold your smartphone or tablet flat, keep it as square to the document as possible

4. Make sure the image is not blurry and the information is legible

If you are completing the application from your mobile phone, you can attach the document directly from your phone. If you are using a desktop you will need to email the images of your documents to your personal email account. Then save them to the desktop computer you are using to submit your application. 

BROD will have two application periods for the 2023-24 school year:

Priority Application Period (October 1, 2022- December 13, 2022).

• If the number of applicants exceeds the number of seats available for any grade level, a computer-generated, random lottery will be run in order to determine who is offered a seat at the school.

• Students not offered a seat will be added to the 2023-24 school year waiting list, the waitlist remains active until January 31, 2024. All applications submitted within the Priority Application period will have an equal opportunity for admission, regardless of whether they are submitted on the first day or the last day of the application period.

• In year 1, sibling preference will be administered for siblings applying. The lottery will be run for 4th grade first. Lotteries for each grade level will then be run in reverse chronological order (4th, 3rd, 2nd, 1st, K, PreK4). If a sibling is accepted in the lottery at the previous grade level, then sibling preference will apply to eligible applicants during the current grade level lottery.

• Families were notified on Thursday, January 12, 2023, of the admissions results.

Rolling Application Period (January 16, 2023- July 31, 2023)

• Applications are accepted on a first-come-first-served basis. Lottery Preferences are not applied during the rolling application period. Seat placements will be made based on seat availability.

Per our Charter Operating Agreement, 50% of open seats are designated for qualified Ochsner employees’ children (dependents) living in Louisiana.

Discovery faculty students have preferential placement for open seats. In year 1, sibling preference will be administered for siblings applying. The lottery will be run for 4th grade first. Lotteries for each grade level will then be run in reverse chronological order (4th, 3rd, 2nd, 1st, K, PreK4). If a sibling is accepted in the lottery at the previous grade level, then sibling preference will apply to eligible applicants during the current grade level lottery.

Louisiana state statutes require all Type 2 charter schools to enroll a certain percentage of economically disadvantaged students and students with exceptionalities (IEP). Therefore, economically disadvantaged students and students with exceptionalities have a preference in our lottery. If your student is classified as an economically disadvantaged student or student with exceptionalities you will need to provide supporting documents with your student's application and upon admission if awarded a seat.

All preferences shall be considered in the following order:

1. Children of Discovery faculty

2. Siblings of BROD applicants who have been awarded a seat in the 23-24 lottery. Siblings must have the same biological parent(s) or legal guardian(s) by court-ordered foster or adoption AND reside at the same address as each other. Provisional Custody by Mandate does not qualify a student for this preference.

3. Applicants who are dependents of qualifying Ochsner employees (as determined by Ochsner Human Resources).

4. Applicants who are considered Economically Disadvantaged or Students with Exceptionalities (IEP).

1. Lottery refers to the selection of applicant names by a random method in a computer generated process.

2. A lottery shall be conducted by the school to include all grades in which the number of applicants exceeds the number of expected seats available.

3. If the number of applicants is less than the number of seats anticipated to be available, seats will be awarded and no lottery shall be conducted for that grade.

4. All applicants participate in the lottery.

5. Only completed applications received prior to the end of the application deadline are eligible to participate in the lottery.

6. All applicants offered a seat shall be required to confirm their enrollment status within the designated time.

7. All preference categories shall be published prior to the lottery being conducted.

8. All applicants entitled to receive a lottery preference shall be identified PRIOR to the lottery.

9. Preference status applicants are entitled to a percentage of open seats ahead of applicants without a preference status.