ADMISSION PROCESS

Welcome to the Admission Process for St. Richard Catholic School for the 2026-2027 School Year

We are an elementary school for young learners in pre-k3 through the 6th grade and we are excited you are here! Please review our admission process below. If you are looking for information about the St. Richard Early Learning Center (infant to 3s), please click here.

Admission Timeline

October 1, 2025: New Student Applications Open
October 1-31, 2025: Priority Registration for New Siblings, Jackson Diocese Early Learning Centers, and Almuni
November 1, 2025: Open Enrollment for New Students and Families

Admission Steps for New Families

Step 1:

To schedule a tour and learn more about our program, fill out an Online Inquiry. We recommend that you take time to explore our website to learn more about Saint Richard Catholic School before your Tour. You may also call the office at 601-366-1157 to speak with the Director of Admission, Sarah Nasif. During your Campus Tour, you will interact with teachers and staff, see our students in action, and have your specific questions answered.

Step 2:

To begin the admission process, you must complete an Online Application for a non-refundable fee of $100. A teacher or principal referral is required. In addition, you will be asked to provide the following documentation: copy of the child's Birth Certificate, Immunization Form 121, last report card if applicable, a school discipline report if your child is a transfer student, and special education documentation if applicable.

Step 3:

Once your application has been submitted and reviewed, our staff will reach out to schedule a Student Skills Assessment and a Family Interview. These will be done simultaneously.

- Candidates applying for Pre-K and K5 will complete a play-based developmental/cognitive screening with one of our administrators. This process takes around 30 minutes to complete. Candidates applying for 1st-6th grade will be assessed in the areas of reading, math, verbal skills and writing to determine placement level at Saint Richard School. Testing typically takes between 30 to 60 minutes.
- We view education at Saint Richard School as a partnership with families. The Family Interview is an opportunity for us to get to know your family and learn more about your student. Additionally it allows us to share our expectations and understand yours, so we can determine together if we are a good fit for each other.
- For candidates with a diagnosis that necessitates additional Learning Resources, we offer a Shadow Day as the final step of the admission process. Our Admission Director will work closely with families to provide an opportunity for your student to spend one or more days immersed in one of our classrooms to ensure we are the right place for your student.

Step 4:

The Admission Committee will review all information gathered from the application, interview, referral, assessments, and other supporting documentation. You will be contacted regarding the enrollment decision via email or by phone.

*Students must be 3 by September 1st in order to make the cut off for PK3.

*Students under 3 may apply to our St. Richard Early Learning Center. More information can be found here: www.strichardschool.org/elc

Step 5:

If you receive an offer letter, you must submit your enrollment contract and pay the $500 registration fee (per student) within two weeks of receiving the offer in order to secure placement.

All new families are also required to pay a one-time $250 New Family Membership Fee.

What's Next?

CONTINUOUS ENROLLMENT POLICY

Saint Richard Catholic School is a Continuous Enrollment school, which means that, once enrolled, families will continue in their partnership with St. Richard School through graduation, unless the family notifies the school of their intent to withdraw. Continuous Enrollment streamlines the re-enrollment process and allows the Saint Richard School leadership team to make informed decisions about the next year's program offerings and hiring of new staff.

Once accepted, each family will sign a Continuous Enrollment Agreement. This contract represents a partnership between the school and your family, and guarantees your child's class placement until the year of their graduation from Saint Richard School. All students who have been enrolled will be automatically re-enrolled on an annual basis; you will not have to re-enroll your child each year. If your educational plans change, then you’ll simply notify us that you wish to “opt-out” of Continuous Enrollment for the following year.

Please contact our Director of Admission with any questions: Sarah Nasif | 601-366-1157 | [email protected]

MORE ADMISSION POLICIES

The parish/school respects the dignity of the child. Neither race, color, gender nor national origin shall prevent a child from being accepted in the school or religious educational programs. Children of other religions may be accepted on a seat available basis unless attendance would cause conflict for the child because of the unique religious philosophy of Catholic schools. All children are required to participate in religion class and religious activities.

Under State Law, it is mandatory that all kindergarten students, first grade students, and transfer students from outside the state of Mississippi furnish CERTIFICATE OF IMMUNIZATION COMPLIANCE from a physician or from the County Health Department (FORM 121).

All students in grades K5-6th are required to be screened/tested for admission.

NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY

The Catholic Diocese of Jackson, which includes Saint Richard Catholic School, admits students of any race, color, gender, or national origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students. Catholic schools seek primarily to serve Catholic parents who want a Catholic education for their children. Children of other faith traditions may be accepted if enrollment openings are available.

Saint Richard Catholic School, in accordance with the requirements of Title IX of the Civil Rights, announces they are in compliance with the Civil Rights Act regarding discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender nor national origin in their admission policies, employment practices and their treatment of students.

Saint Richard Catholic School, in accordance with the Education of All Handicapped Children Act (Public Law 94-142) continues the availability of their educational programs to handicapped and non-handicapped children. Handicapped and non-handicapped children will be educated together to the maximum extent appropriate.

NEW STUDENT ENROLLMENT POLICY

Enrollment priority follows this order: all children currently enrolled, children of Catholic families with siblings enrolled, children of St. Richard parish members, children from other Catholic parishes, children of other faith traditions (those not members of the Roman Catholic Church) with siblings currently enrolled and then children of other faith traditions. In the event a class is filled, a waiting list is established with Catholic students having priority.

TRANSFER STUDENTS

Students transferring to any grade from an in-state school should have reached the age of five on or before September 1st of the Kindergarten year or be of the appropriate age for their current grade placement per Diocesan 5104. Students transferring to any grade from out-of-state can be accepted if they have followed the age requirements of the state from which they have transferred provided the parents were legal residents of the state from which the child is transferring, the out-of-state school was duly accredited by the transferring state’s accrediting authority, the student was legally enrolled in the transferring school for at least four weeks, and satisfactory progress was being made by the student at the transferring school according to the school’s principal. Students transferring from non-accredited schools or home school, must be tested by St. Richard, and placed in the grade in accordance with a national grade placement test. This is a Diocesan and Mississippi Department of Education policy.

PREK POTTY TRAINING POLICY

Children enrolled in 3K, 4K and 5K must be potty-trained before attending school. This policy is intended to protect all concerned. We do not have the facilities, supplies, or personnel required to change children in these classrooms. We realize that “accidents” will happen. “Accidents” by definition are unusual incidents and should only happen infrequently.

Potty-trained children:

no longer wear diapers (disposable or cloth) or disposable underwear (pull-ups)
can tell the teacher when they need to go to the bathroom, and
be able to postpone going if they must wait because they are away from the classroom, and
be able to pull down their underwear and pants and get them back up without assistance, and
can attend to their own hygiene.

If your child is not completely potty-trained as described above when school begins, please contact Sarah Nasif in the Admission Office for your enrollment options. Options may vary depending on a variety of factors including but not limited to the following:

Class capacity (For Example -Are open spaces available or is the class full with a waiting list?)
The amount of time needed for additional potty-training.

Please remember, registration fees are nonrefundable; however, if your child is placed in a class at a later date within the school year, you will not need to pay additional fees.

Parents of students who begin school and then are asked to remain at home until the student is considered potty-trained as described above will also need to contact Sarah Nasif in the Admission Office to see what enrollment options are available. Again, there are a variety of factors that must be taken into consideration and the same options may not be available from year-to-year or even month-to-month within the same school year.

If you have any questions, please contact: [email protected]