Two Rivers Waitlist Movement

[Anonymous]

My child is among the first 10 on the waitlist for K at two rivers. Can anyone comment as to possible waitlist movements? Should we keep hoping or cut our losses and move on? Any idea as to movement from prior lotteries? TIA.

[Anonymous]

We were accepted to our school of choice. I just e-mailed them today to take our names off the wait list, so there's one bit of movement I can assure you of You've got a great number. I'd say you have a good chance of getting in. Fingers crossed.

[Anonymous]

Our son got into PreK and we do plan on taking the spot. However, the registration orientation (or whatever you would call it) is next week so if I learn anything I'll be sure to post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child is among the first 10 on the waitlist for K at two rivers. Can anyone comment as to possible waitlist movements? Should we keep hoping or cut our losses and move on? Any idea as to movement from prior lotteries? TIA.

Our number for K fell by one since the lottery. I called them yesterday and was told a sibling moved to # 1 spot and pushed everyone down one. We're still in the top 15, but I wished they would have posted the real number on their website instead of mailing out conflicting information.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know what DCPS and the charters are doing to check that a sibling is truly a sibling when awarding lottery spots? I attended the Haynes lottery and was astounded by the number of siblings claiming preference. Perhaps it's all true, but I have my suspicions--children can easily have different last names. And beyond checking that siblings truly are siblings, what are schools doing to check guardianship to ensure the adult registering the child (and using his/her DC address) is actually the legal guardian who is allowed to do so? I know I sound paranoid, but sometimes I feel like I"m the only parent in DC NOT gaming the system.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for all the replies. 17:44 poster, our number fell by 1 as well. The letter I received had a number different from the number on their website. 16:30 poster, thanks for emailing them early. Let's keep our fingers crossed that there are more like you in K and other grades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know what DCPS and the charters are doing to check that a sibling is truly a sibling when awarding lottery spots? I attended the Haynes lottery and was astounded by the number of siblings claiming preference. Perhaps it's all true, but I have my suspicions--children can easily have different last names. And beyond checking that siblings truly are siblings, what are schools doing to check guardianship to ensure the adult registering the child (and using his/her DC address) is actually the legal guardian who is allowed to do so? I know I sound paranoid, but sometimes I feel like I"m the only parent in DC NOT gaming the system.

Wow! That's a heck of an accusation.

Schools require birth certificates for each registering child. If a child's birth certificate doesn't match the name of the person registering then they need proof of guardianship.

Schools generally have a pretty good idea of which kids go together -- I guess a parent could pass someone else's child off for years as their own (bringing them for pick up and drop off, having them at PT conference etc . . . ) but I can't imagine it's a common practice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know what DCPS and the charters are doing to check that a sibling is truly a sibling when awarding lottery spots? I attended the Haynes lottery and was astounded by the number of siblings claiming preference. Perhaps it's all true, but I have my suspicions--children can easily have different last names. And beyond checking that siblings truly are siblings, what are schools doing to check guardianship to ensure the adult registering the child (and using his/her DC address) is actually the legal guardian who is allowed to do so? I know I sound paranoid, but sometimes I feel like I"m the only parent in DC NOT gaming the system.

Well in general I would expect them to have the same address and contact numbers. I'm not sure they have to be identical, I think half-siblings or step-siblings probably should count too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know what DCPS and the charters are doing to check that a sibling is truly a sibling when awarding lottery spots? I attended the Haynes lottery and was astounded by the number of siblings claiming preference. Perhaps it's all true, but I have my suspicions--children can easily have different last names. And beyond checking that siblings truly are siblings, what are schools doing to check guardianship to ensure the adult registering the child (and using his/her DC address) is actually the legal guardian who is allowed to do so? I know I sound paranoid, but sometimes I feel like I"m the only parent in DC NOT gaming the system.

I have children through adoption who are different races. If anyone ever questioned that they are siblings I would be very offended. My youngest did get sibling preference at the charter school that both my children attend, but she looks nothing like her older brother. Now to hear them bicker there is no question that they are siblings.

They share the same parents, the same house and the same last name.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know what DCPS and the charters are doing to check that a sibling is truly a sibling when awarding lottery spots? I attended the Haynes lottery and was astounded by the number of siblings claiming preference. Perhaps it's all true, but I have my suspicions--children can easily have different last names. And beyond checking that siblings truly are siblings, what are schools doing to check guardianship to ensure the adult registering the child (and using his/her DC address) is actually the legal guardian who is allowed to do so? I know I sound paranoid, but sometimes I feel like I"m the only parent in DC NOT gaming the system.

Wow! That's a heck of an accusation.

Schools require birth certificates for each registering child. If a child's birth certificate doesn't match the name of the person registering then they need proof of guardianship.

Schools generally have a pretty good idea of which kids go together -- I guess a parent could pass someone else's child off for years as their own (bringing them for pick up and drop off, having them at PT conference etc . . . ) but I can't imagine it's a common practice.

School bring in who they want. My child was offered a spot at Haynes and my niece wasn't. I was told that they would bring my niece in under sibbling preference.

[Anonymous]

"School bring in who they want. My child was offered a spot at Haynes and my niece wasn't. I was told that they would bring my niece in under sibbling preference."

Thanks for proving my point. What I've always heard continues to be true. The supposed lottery process is rampant with abuse and preference. There are several postings on this board about people claiming false addresses, taking spots in DC schools when they live in MD, etc. A neighbor of mine did this very thing...and frankly, I don't blame the parents much and I would never rat her out because it's hard to judge someone for wanting the best education they can get for their child. There's a part of me who's envious that she had the balls to break the rules and risk it. Anyway, I didn't make up this issue. It seems reasonable to inquire about the sibling preference issue, particularly when families often have different names, live with people other than their birth parents, etc. It's up to DCPS, the Charter Board and the schools themselves to police this and make sure they have the proper precautions in place to make sure the process remains as fair as possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know what DCPS and the charters are doing to check that a sibling is truly a sibling when awarding lottery spots? I attended the Haynes lottery and was astounded by the number of siblings claiming preference. Perhaps it's all true, but I have my suspicions--children can easily have different last names. And beyond checking that siblings truly are siblings, what are schools doing to check guardianship to ensure the adult registering the child (and using his/her DC address) is actually the legal guardian who is allowed to do so? I know I sound paranoid, but sometimes I feel like I"m the only parent in DC NOT gaming the system.

Wow! That's a heck of an accusation.

Schools require birth certificates for each registering child. If a child's birth certificate doesn't match the name of the person registering then they need proof of guardianship.

Schools generally have a pretty good idea of which kids go together -- I guess a parent could pass someone else's child off for years as their own (bringing them for pick up and drop off, having them at PT conference etc . . . ) but I can't imagine it's a common practice.

School bring in who they want. My child was offered a spot at Haynes and my niece wasn't. I was told that they would bring my niece in under sibbling preference.

Do they live in the same household? I would view that as an extenuating circumstance. If they don't and are merely related then I'm surprised that Haynes would take this kind of a risk. Call the PCSB and clear it with them, they could tell you the final rules.

& per a PP's remark above... At our charter school - Yu Ying, fwiw - I know of several families with adopted children of another race, some of which also have biological children. These families are a wonderful part of our community. We are a very diverse school in many dimensions and this something we value very highly. I would be grossly offended if someone coming in were to question their legitimacy. The school sets a high bar for proving residency and the majority of us know each other's children. I am truly surprised if sibling preference could be abused at Haynes, my gut feeling is that there must be some sort of misunderstanding somewhere. Having said that, I know Yu Ying takes registration very seriously.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know what DCPS and the charters are doing to check that a sibling is truly a sibling when awarding lottery spots? I attended the Haynes lottery and was astounded by the number of siblings claiming preference. Perhaps it's all true, but I have my suspicions--children can easily have different last names. And beyond checking that siblings truly are siblings, what are schools doing to check guardianship to ensure the adult registering the child (and using his/her DC address) is actually the legal guardian who is allowed to do so? I know I sound paranoid, but sometimes I feel like I"m the only parent in DC NOT gaming the system.

Wow! That's a heck of an accusation.

Schools require birth certificates for each registering child. If a child's birth certificate doesn't match the name of the person registering then they need proof of guardianship.

Schools generally have a pretty good idea of which kids go together -- I guess a parent could pass someone else's child off for years as their own (bringing them for pick up and drop off, having them at PT conference etc . . . ) but I can't imagine it's a common practice.

Anonymous wrote:School bring in who they want. My child was offered a spot at Haynes and my niece wasn't. I was told that they would bring my niece in under sibbling preference.

Sorry, somehow the paragraph/quote offsets got mixed up. My reply to someone else's remark about Haynes is below:



Do they live in the same household? I would view that as an extenuating circumstance. If they don't and are merely related then I'm surprised that Haynes would take this kind of a risk. Call the PCSB and clear it with them, they could tell you the final rules.

& per a PP's remark above... At our charter school - Yu Ying, fwiw - I know of several families with adopted children of another race, some of which also have biological children. These families are a wonderful part of our community. We are a very diverse school in many dimensions and this something we value very highly. I would be grossly offended if someone coming in were to question their legitimacy. The school sets a high bar for proving residency and the majority of us know each other's children. I am truly surprised if sibling preference could be abused at Haynes, my gut feeling is that there must be some sort of misunderstanding somewhere. Having said that, I know Yu Ying takes registration very seriously.

[Anonymous]

I don't think the OP said anything about adopted children, etc. It seems like an honest question of ensuring that a sibling is a sibling (whether through marriage, adoption, as a half-sibling, etc.) and that the adult applying the child is the legal guardian, etc. Something that I honestly hadn't thought of but is a concern. It's quite a leap to think this question somehow implies that the OP was trying to define a family unit solely as biologial moms and dads. You're looking for a fight where there does not appear to be any.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think the OP said anything about adopted children, etc. It seems like an honest question of ensuring that a sibling is a sibling (whether through marriage, adoption, as a half-sibling, etc.) and that the adult applying the child is the legal guardian, etc. Something that I honestly hadn't thought of but is a concern. It's quite a leap to think this question somehow implies that the OP was trying to define a family unit solely as biologial moms and dads. You're looking for a fight where there does not appear to be any.

I'm not looking for a fight, and I hope I didn't give that impression. I have read these boards for a while though, and if you have too then you must know there can be a real viciousness about OOB kids.

In reference to false sibling relationship, a PP made the remark "Thanks for proving my point. What I've always heard continues to be true. The supposed lottery process is rampant with abuse and preference. There are several postings on this board about people claiming false addresses, taking spots in DC schools when they live in MD, etc. A neighbor of mine did this very thing..."

As a result, I wanted to make the point very clearly that sometimes siblings don't look "alike" and therefore what may appear to be some sort of cheat against the system is in fact completely legitimate.

Having said that, if you are aware of something shady regarding admittance, you really should call the PCSB. I am genuinely surprised that a school with Haynes' reputation would do something outside the rules. I am inclined to give the benefit of the doubt and think there must be a misunderstanding somewhere.

Peace.