Lottery Information

• All elementary age students who are residents of the Columbia School District are eligible to attend Benton, Ridgeway and Locust Street Expressive Arts elementary schools.
• Students who live one mile or more from school are provided bus transportation.
• Students will still need to enroll in Columbia Public Schools in addition to filling out the lottery application. However, an incomplete CPS enrollment does not exclude you from lottery consideration. 
• Parents requesting that their child(ren) attend one of these schools must complete an online application. Upon completion of the online application, parents/guardians will receive an email receipt verifying that their application has been received. The email receipt will contain a confirmation code used during the lottery process. 

• An online waiting list will be maintained for those students who are not selected because of insufficient space. Available spaces will be filled from this list. Siblings are not given priority after the kindergarten year.

• Lottery students transferring out of Benton, Ridgeway or Locust will need to reapply during the enrollment period if a return is requested. Attendance area students who move out of the Benton/Locust attendance area will need to apply for and participate in the lottery for the next school year.

Benton STEM Elementary School Waiting List Procedure
Any student, entering grades K-5, may apply for the Benton STEM Elementary lottery during the online enrollment period. Students entering kindergarten who are randomly selected during the annual spring drawing will be accepted for placement based upon positions available for the upcoming school year. All remaining kindergarten through fifth grade students are placed upon a waiting list and will be placed as space becomes available. Students are put on the waiting list for the current year only and may re-apply each year. Inquiries may be directed to the school office. Paper applications are required after the lottery waitlist is created. Please contact the school office for a paper application. Applications submitted after the online lottery period is closed are added to the end of this list in the order they are received.

• All elementary age students who are residents of the Columbia School District are eligible to attend Benton, Ridgeway and Locust Street Expressive Arts elementary schools.
• Students who live one mile or more from school are provided bus transportation.
• Students will still need to enroll in Columbia Public Schools in addition to filling out the lottery application. However, an incomplete CPS enrollment does not exclude you from lottery consideration. 
• Parents requesting that their child(ren) attend one of these schools must complete an online application. Upon completion of the online application, parents/guardians will receive an email receipt verifying that their application has been received. The email receipt will contain a confirmation code used during the lottery process.
• Parents can choose only one school per online application. If you believe your child would benefit from more than one of the schools, you must make an appointment with the principal of the other school(s) to describe how your child's interests can be met by that school and to complete a paper application for your second choice.

• An online waiting list will be maintained for those students who are not selected because of insufficient space. Available spaces will be filled from this list. Siblings are not given priority after the kindergarten year.

• Lottery students transferring out of Benton, Ridgeway or Locust will need to reapply during the enrollment period if a return is requested. Attendance area students who move out of the Benton/Locust attendance area will need to apply for and participate in the lottery for the next school year.

Locust Street Expressive Arts Elementary School Waiting List Procedure 

Any student, entering grades K-5, may apply for the Locust Street Expressive Arts Elementary lottery during the online enrollment period. Students entering kindergarten who are randomly selected during the annual spring drawing will be accepted for placement based upon positions available for the upcoming school year. All remaining kindergarten through fifth grade students are placed upon a waiting list and will be placed as space becomes available. Students are put on the waiting list for the current year only and may re-apply each year. Inquiries may be directed to the school office. Paper applications are required after the lottery waitlist is created. Please contact the school office for a paper application. Applications submitted after the online lottery period is closed are added to the end of this list in the order they are received. 

• All elementary age students who are residents of the Columbia School District are eligible to attend Benton, Ridgeway and Locust Street Expressive Arts elementary schools.
• Students who live one mile or more from school are provided bus transportation.
• Students will still need to enroll in Columbia Public Schools in addition to filling out the lottery application. However, an incomplete CPS enrollment does not exclude you from lottery consideration. 
• Parents requesting that their child(ren) attend one of these schools must complete an online application. Upon completion of the online application, parents/guardians will receive an email receipt verifying that their application has been received. The email receipt will contain a confirmation code used during the lottery process.
• Parents can choose only one school per online application. If you believe your child would benefit from more than one of the schools, you must make an appointment with the principal of the other school(s) to describe how your child's interests can be met by that school and to complete a paper application for your second choice.

• An online waiting list will be maintained for those students who are not selected because of insufficient space. Available spaces will be filled from this list. Siblings are not given priority after the kindergarten year.

• Tours will be given during scheduled, prearranged times during the months of January through early April. Please contact Ridgeway's main office at 573-214-3880 to sign up for a tour. Tours will not be given after the lottery pull occurs in April.

• If a student at Ridgeway transfers to another CPS school, or transfers out of CPS, any younger siblings in the family must complete an online application during the lottery window if interested in enrolling at Ridgeway.

• Change the heading on the page to reflect this year's lottery dates instead of just saying lottery is closed. 

• Lottery students transferring out of Benton, Ridgeway or Locust will need to reapply during the enrollment period if a return is requested. Attendance area students who move out of the Benton/Locust attendance area will need to apply for and participate in the lottery for the next school year.

Ridgeway Elementary School Waiting List Procedure

Any student, entering grades K-5, may apply online for Ridgeway Elementary School during the online enrollment period. Students entering kindergarten who are randomly selected during the spring drawing will be accepted for placement based on positions available for the upcoming school year. All remaining kindergarten through fifth grade students are placed upon a waiting list and will be placed as space becomes available. Students are put on the waiting list for the current year only and may re-apply each year. After the lottery waitlist is created based on applications in Lottereze, students may be added to the bottom of the waitlist by completing this Google Form application. Applications submitted via Google form after the lottery period is closed are added to the end of the existing wait list in the order they are received. 

Lottery Timeline

• October 11
  • Lottery opens.
  • Transfer and lottery letters sent to current 5th grade students.
  • Elementary lottery schools distribute Jeff Middle School lottery feeder forms.
• November 12, 4 p.m. Deadline for JMS lottery feeder form submission.
• November 15, 4 p.m. Deadline for lottery submission.
• November 22 Student Services sends acceptance letters for JMS lottery feeder transfer students.
• December 2, 10 a.m. Lottery is run.
• December 5 Lottery acceptance letters are sent.
• December 13 Deadline for lottery acceptance.

Eligibility for Jeff Middle School

1. The student lives or will live in the Jeff Middle School attendance area.
2. The student is currently attending Benton Elementary, Russell Boulevard Elementary, or Locust Street Expressive Arts Elementary.
3. Jeff Middle School employees may enroll their child at Jeff.
4. The lottery is limited to up to 200 students.

Lottery Update

Beginning with the 2025–2026 school year, the Jefferson Middle School lottery process has changed.

Starting with incoming kindergarten classes in the 2024–2025 school year and beyond, students who attend kindergarten through the elementary lottery system at Ridgeway Elementary School, Benton Elementary School, or Locust Street Expressive Arts Elementary School will not automatically receive placement at Jefferson Middle School.

All Columbia Public Schools (CPS) fifth-grade students may apply to participate in the Jefferson Middle School lottery.

This change does not affect students currently in grades 1 through 5 who attend Ridgeway Elementary School, Benton Elementary School, or Locust Street Expressive Arts Elementary School. 

Waiting List Procedure

Students entering grades 6 through 8 may apply for the Jefferson Middle School, A STEAM Academy, lottery during the online enrollment period.

Students are selected through a random drawing and accepted based on available space for the upcoming school year. Students who are not selected are placed on a grade-level waiting list if space becomes available.

The waiting list applies only to the current school year. Students may apply again in future years.

After the lottery waiting list is created, paper applications are required for additional requests. Families should contact the school office to obtain a paper application.

Applications submitted after the online lottery period closes will be added to the end of the waiting list in the order they are received.

To provide new opportunities for students each year, the lottery waiting list resets annually and begins each school year in early October.

Student Expectations

Students accepted through the lottery must meet school behavioral expectations. Because lottery placement provides special permission to attend Jefferson Middle School, students who do not meet these expectations may be required to return to their attendance area school, and their lottery placement may be revoked.

• Guardians can call the school for application support.
• The online application does not become available until early March 2025. A random drawing will be held to fill the available spaces. Notification emails will be sent to parents soon afterward (typically within two weeks). A student is considered enrolled at the lottery school only after the parent has accepted the placement offer.
• If a child has been placed on a waiting list, parents will be able to review their child's status on the lottery Web site under the waiting list tab. If a placement becomes available, principals from the lottery schools will notify parents personally.
• Families must apply through the lottery process for each school age child first through fifth grade.