Location: Memphis, TN
Website: Crosstown High
Enrollment: 489 students
User since 2018
The Challenge
Crosstown High School is a public charter school that opened in 2018 in Memphis, Tennessee, with a mission to be diverse by design.
Part of this mission is to allow students all over the city, regardless of affluence or current academic standing, to have the opportunity to experience a new project-based learning approach.
Like many new charter schools, the initial challenges Crosstown High faced were similar to the difficulties any new organization faces: managing growth and operations.
Specifically, Crosstown administrators had to hit the ground running and couldn’t afford to have operational inefficiency impact the first few years of growth of their school. Nowhere was this more important than with their enrollment system.
To achieve their mission of diversity and inclusion, they needed a school lottery system that was fair, transparent, and equitable.
Most importantly, they needed to report to state officials and show the equity and accessibility of their lottery enrollment system. A big part of this challenge was not only having the lottery system in place but also being able to communicate effectively with interested students and families.
The Solution
Crosstown High School had a district-funded SIS platform in place, which helped them manage large amounts of student data, but the platform didn’t provide a lottery option — a must-have for the school. Knowing the lottery system was a vital component of their growth strategy, they reached out to SchoolMint for lottery and enrollment management.
This partnership allowed the school to provide a number of amenable features that improved accessibility and equity for families:
- The option for families to apply for waitlists during tours.
- Manage the priority levels of applications.
- House all needed information and documentation securely online.
Additionally, Crosstown High administrators could easily communicate with families to request new information or notify them of status updates of applications. This allowed them to engage with families in a way that was streamlined and fair, ensuring that all students could receive equal opportunities in the enrollment process.
The final benefit of SchoolMint’s enrollment platform was the ability to generate transparent reports easily. While it made it especially easy to report to the state, school administrators found they could also use the reporting feature to properly handle media requests and releases.
The Results
Since partnering with SchoolMint, Crosstown High School has grown past their initial ninth-grade offering. From the 2018–2019 school year to the 2023–2024 school year, they added an additional grade, growing from 150 students in Year 1 to 489 students today.
Sarah Stockwell, the administrator of admissions, attendance, and student records at Crosstown High, credits this growth to their ability to maintain a diverse student body through equitable enrollment.
According to Sarah, approximately 52% of their student body is African American, 30–35% Caucasian, and 13–18% Hispanic and mixed for the remainder.
It’s a particularly diverse student body for their area and has allowed the school to carve out an important space for families in their Memphis community.
Interested in learning how SchoolMint can support your school’s enrollment and lottery management needs?
Get in touch with our consultants to learn more about our enrollment management platform, SchoolMint Enroll, and see for yourself how it can help you run a fair, efficient student lottery.
