Enrollment

Greater Commonwealth Virtual School (GCVS) is a tuition-free, statewide public virtual school serving students across Massachusetts. This page provides important information to help families learn about our program and begin the application process.

If you have questions or would like to speak with someone before applying, we invite you to schedule a time with an Enrollment Specialist, who can help determine whether GCVS is the right fit for your student.

  • Elementary School: Live-taught instruction only
  • Middle School: Live-taught instruction only
  • High School: Students may participate in one of the following models:
    • Live-taught instruction
    • Asynchronous instruction
    • A combination of live-taught and asynchronous instruction
  • As a virtual school that serves the entire Commonwealth, all GCVS services are delivered virtually. Given the GCVS statewide geographic catchment, GCVS is not equipped to provide in-person services.
  • As a Commonwealth of Massachusetts Virtual School (CMVS), GCVS is not an Approved Special Education School (ASES) under 603 CMR 28.09.
  • Upon enrollment, families acknowledge and accept that the GCVS program is fully virtual, and individualized in-person services are not available through GCVS.
  • Once enrolled, students will receive appropriate educational supports and related services virtually, including:
    • Speech-language therapy
    • Occupational therapy
    • Counseling and social-emotional support
    • BCBA services
    • Nursing consults
    • Assistive technology support

Enrollment Caps

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education places enrollment caps on virtual public schools, so there may be a waiting list for enrollment. But don’t let this discourage you from applying; we often have space.

You’re welcome to take a look at the Cap Towns* for the 2025–2026 and 2026–2027 school years.

Lottery

When we receive more applications than the number of available spots, we conduct a random-number lottery, prioritizing the students with enrollment preferences. We publish the lottery results on this website and notify selected families via email.

We place selected families on a waitlist. If spots become available throughout the school year, we will offer placement to those families based on the assigned lottery number.

SY 2026–2027

Lottery # Application Deadline Lottery Date
18 September 25, 2026 September 30, 2026
19 October 9, 2026 October 14, 2026
20 October 23, 2026 October 28, 2026
21 November 6, 2026 November 11, 2026
22 November 20, 2026 November 25, 2026
23 December 4, 2026 December 9, 2026
24 December 18, 2026 December 23, 2026
25 January 1, 2027 January 6, 2027
26 January 15, 2027 January 20, 2027
27 January 29, 2027 February 3, 2027
28 February 12, 2027 February 17, 2027
29 February 26, 2027 March 3, 2027
30 March 12, 2027 March 17, 2027
31 March 26, 2027 March 31, 2027
32 April 9, 2027 April 14, 2027

 

SY 2026–2027 Lottery Results

Enrollment Preferences
The Greater Commonwealth Virtual School will provide an enrollment preference to:

  1. Students who are unable to attend school in person because of the student’s medical condition
  2. Students who are out of school due to bullying or other safety concerns
  3. Students with disabilities
  4. Students out of school due to pregnancy or parenting
  5. Students who seek advanced coursework not available in their current school
  6. Students in training for competitive arts or sports whose schedules prevent them from attending school regularly
  7. Students of currently enrolled siblings