HB Woodlawn lottery?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I am in a zone that is Key/ASF--only a very small # of students actually live in the Key zone. Many of the 5th graders at ASF reside in the Jamestown zone, Taylor and many lottery from other school zones. Given the VERY large waitlist # we were given on waitlist (and knowing the small key zone portion)--it doesn't add up. There aren't even this many kids living in the actual zone.

Key/ASF has a lot more kids living in it than you think. Plenty of them go to Key. Some go to private school. That's why Key/ASF has more spots for that zone (5) than a number of other zones (many have 4, and a few have 3). It's based on the number of 5th-graders who live in the attendance area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is a legacy family at HB?!

A fiction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:
If my child is 17 on the wait list what are his chances?


0. Nada. Niente. Rien. Zip.

Really? What about future 7th or 8th since they keep it on file?

That's 17 just for your school boundary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm an H-B alum, and there are lots of alumni whose children apply and don't get their names drawn in the lottery. There is zero preference for alumni kids. You hear somewhere about the very few families who do have H-B parents (out of all the H-B parents in Arlington who apply), and jump to conclusions, but you don't hear about all the ones who don't get in. Just like you hear about the siblings who get in, and jump to conclusions, but you don't hear about the very large number siblings who don't get in.

And if a sibling is applying from a family who lives in a zone where fewer parents apply (true in the past of many South Arlington school zones), they will have a better chance of getting in just mathematically, because there are fewer other applicants.

That is absolutely why so many south Arlington kids have better odds. There might only be 3 slots, but only 5 or 6 kids apply.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm an H-B alum, and there are lots of alumni whose children apply and don't get their names drawn in the lottery. There is zero preference for alumni kids. You hear somewhere about the very few families who do have H-B parents (out of all the H-B parents in Arlington who apply), and jump to conclusions, but you don't hear about all the ones who don't get in. Just like you hear about the siblings who get in, and jump to conclusions, but you don't hear about the very large number siblings who don't get in.

And if a sibling is applying from a family who lives in a zone where fewer parents apply (true in the past of many South Arlington school zones), they will have a better chance of getting in just mathematically, because there are fewer other applicants.

That is absolutely why so many south Arlington kids have better odds. There might only be 3 slots, but only 5 or 6 kids apply.

My zone gets 5 spots--Key zone--(many farms/S Arlington kids). We don't have a huge population since a lot of the ASF kids are from other home school
Zones. Yet it's a lot of the same families/siblings. My 3 kids must be incredibly unlucky and dead last every time (big waitlist #s).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm an H-B alum, and there are lots of alumni whose children apply and don't get their names drawn in the lottery. There is zero preference for alumni kids. You hear somewhere about the very few families who do have H-B parents (out of all the H-B parents in Arlington who apply), and jump to conclusions, but you don't hear about all the ones who don't get in. Just like you hear about the siblings who get in, and jump to conclusions, but you don't hear about the very large number siblings who don't get in.

And if a sibling is applying from a family who lives in a zone where fewer parents apply (true in the past of many South Arlington school zones), they will have a better chance of getting in just mathematically, because there are fewer other applicants.

That is absolutely why so many south Arlington kids have better odds. There might only be 3 slots, but only 5 or 6 kids apply.

My friend got a number in the 20s.

[Anonymous]

Does the school get a number of slots based upon their grade size or school size? For example, we have a small number of 5th graders this year, but double the number of 4th graders. Does our school get the same number each year or is it variable?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm an H-B alum, and there are lots of alumni whose children apply and don't get their names drawn in the lottery. There is zero preference for alumni kids. You hear somewhere about the very few families who do have H-B parents (out of all the H-B parents in Arlington who apply), and jump to conclusions, but you don't hear about all the ones who don't get in. Just like you hear about the siblings who get in, and jump to conclusions, but you don't hear about the very large number siblings who don't get in.

And if a sibling is applying from a family who lives in a zone where fewer parents apply (true in the past of many South Arlington school zones), they will have a better chance of getting in just mathematically, because there are fewer other applicants.

That is absolutely why so many south Arlington kids have better odds. There might only be 3 slots, but only 5 or 6 kids apply.

My friend got a number in the 20s.

Oakridge?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm an H-B alum, and there are lots of alumni whose children apply and don't get their names drawn in the lottery. There is zero preference for alumni kids. You hear somewhere about the very few families who do have H-B parents (out of all the H-B parents in Arlington who apply), and jump to conclusions, but you don't hear about all the ones who don't get in. Just like you hear about the siblings who get in, and jump to conclusions, but you don't hear about the very large number siblings who don't get in.

And if a sibling is applying from a family who lives in a zone where fewer parents apply (true in the past of many South Arlington school zones), they will have a better chance of getting in just mathematically, because there are fewer other applicants.

That is absolutely why so many south Arlington kids have better odds. There might only be 3 slots, but only 5 or 6 kids apply.

Not true. Our home school is Barcroft. We are 10 on the waitlist for DD. She is not the last on the WL either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm an H-B alum, and there are lots of alumni whose children apply and don't get their names drawn in the lottery. There is zero preference for alumni kids. You hear somewhere about the very few families who do have H-B parents (out of all the H-B parents in Arlington who apply), and jump to conclusions, but you don't hear about all the ones who don't get in. Just like you hear about the siblings who get in, and jump to conclusions, but you don't hear about the very large number siblings who don't get in.

And if a sibling is applying from a family who lives in a zone where fewer parents apply (true in the past of many South Arlington school zones), they will have a better chance of getting in just mathematically, because there are fewer other applicants.

That is absolutely why so many south Arlington kids have better odds. There might only be 3 slots, but only 5 or 6 kids apply.

My friend got a number in the 20s.

Oakridge?

Glebe

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm an H-B alum, and there are lots of alumni whose children apply and don't get their names drawn in the lottery. There is zero preference for alumni kids. You hear somewhere about the very few families who do have H-B parents (out of all the H-B parents in Arlington who apply), and jump to conclusions, but you don't hear about all the ones who don't get in. Just like you hear about the siblings who get in, and jump to conclusions, but you don't hear about the very large number siblings who don't get in.

And if a sibling is applying from a family who lives in a zone where fewer parents apply (true in the past of many South Arlington school zones), they will have a better chance of getting in just mathematically, because there are fewer other applicants.

That is absolutely why so many south Arlington kids have better odds. There might only be 3 slots, but only 5 or 6 kids apply.

My friend got a number in the 20s.

Oakridge?

Glebe

Glebe is not south Arlington.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm an H-B alum, and there are lots of alumni whose children apply and don't get their names drawn in the lottery. There is zero preference for alumni kids. You hear somewhere about the very few families who do have H-B parents (out of all the H-B parents in Arlington who apply), and jump to conclusions, but you don't hear about all the ones who don't get in. Just like you hear about the siblings who get in, and jump to conclusions, but you don't hear about the very large number siblings who don't get in.

And if a sibling is applying from a family who lives in a zone where fewer parents apply (true in the past of many South Arlington school zones), they will have a better chance of getting in just mathematically, because there are fewer other applicants.

That is absolutely why so many south Arlington kids have better odds. There might only be 3 slots, but only 5 or 6 kids apply.

Not true. Our home school is Barcroft. We are 10 on the waitlist for DD. She is not the last on the WL either.

Perhaps I should have been more specific. I would think Barcroft would be very competitive. As with Oakridge and Patrick Henry.

Randolph, Carlin Springs, Drew- there are pluses and minuses to extremely high farms zones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do they actually check zone/verify the residency provided on the applications???

I am in a zone that is Key/ASF--only a very small # of students actually live in the Key zone. Many of the 5th graders at ASF reside in the Jamestown zone, Taylor and many lottery from other school zones. Given the VERY large waitlist # we were given on waitlist (and knowing the small key zone portion)--it doesn't add up. There aren't even this many kids living in the actual zone.

Simply not true. The 2015-2016 transfer report, the most recent published by APS, states that out of the 632 students who attended ASFS, 474 were from the Key zone, 144 were transfers from Taylor and Jamestown (the team schools whose students may enter a lottery to attend ASFS) and 14 were able to transfer into ASFS for other reasons. The report also shows that 282 of the students who attended Key live in the Key zone. That means in 2015-2016, more than 756 students of elementary school age lived in the Key zone when you take into account those who attend private school.

The same report shows that of the 89 fourth graders at ASFS last year, so presumably now fifth graders and eligible for this year's HB lottery, 68 were from the Key zone.

And since it is growing increasingly difficult for a Taylor or Jamestown student to attend ASFS, more and more ASFS fifth graders entering the HB lottery will be from the Key zone.

[Anonymous]

I have a 9th grade son at HB. He’s not gifted and we have no political pull, nor were we unusually active in PTA, volunteering,etc in elementary school. He won the lottery as a 6th grader and we have been active and generous parents at HB. My younger son was #12 on the waitlist last year. Of his classmates that did get in, I didn’t see any particular pattern that would suggest lottery fraud.
However, I do know that HB quietly admits some students who can make a case that HB would be a better environment for them—think mild social, anxiety, learning or behavior issues, or bully targets. Something that might involve the hassle of IEPs or interventions in a regular school setting, but that would be easily manageable in a small environment that prides itself on being accepting of quirky students. This is where a parent with an inside knowledge of HB or a friendly and sympathetic elementary school counselor/principal might pull weight. I personally know of at least one sibling who used this route, and I suspect there are a few others. I don't know if these admissions would take place during the lottery or on an individual basis, but I think it's the latter.

[Anonymous]

Why are people so agitated about this?