Waitlist Number Increasing

[Anonymous]

My son's waitlist number for PK3 has been increasing for some schools since our original results. For one school it increased by two and for another it increased by 15. Can someone explain why this might be the case. We stand a chance on one of them but concerned that increased numbers may limit out ability to be matched.

Thanks in advance!

[Anonymous]

Someone enrolled that has a sibling on the PK3 waitlist, and when they enrolled, that caused the sibling to have Sibling Enrolled status and jump to the top of the list.

15 seems like a lot, but it's possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Someone enrolled that has a sibling on the PK3 waitlist, and when they enrolled, that caused the sibling to have Sibling Enrolled status and jump to the top of the list.

15 seems like a lot, but it's possible.

+1

Is the school where his spot increased by 15 a DCPS where PK spots generally go to IB kids with siblings? I could see this happening at Maury, for instance, because a lot of IB families get locked out of PK and go elsewhere, but then will enroll for K (or maybe 1st, if they wind up in a Montessori program or something where they see value in staying through K). But then they'll enroll in Maury as their younger child is entering the PK3 lottery, giving them a better chance of getting both kids into the same school.

[Anonymous]

Not OP, but our number has increased at DC Bilingual by almost 20 spots.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not OP, but our number has increased at DC Bilingual by almost 20 spots.

I believe that is because DCB provides a preference for "sibling enrolled" but not for "sibling offered." So when the lottery numbers first come out the siblings of matched students are NOT at the front of the list. As the matched students enrolled, their siblings bump to the top of the WL.

[Anonymous]

As PP noted, sibling enrolled could do this. In-bound residents adding themselves to the waitlist (at schools with boundaries where you are OOB) can do this too. At bilingual DCPSs, there are different priority rules so those may factor in. Some charters have "children of staff" and/or transfer preference, and some DCPS and charters have Equitable Access preference. So there's really a bunch of things that can bump you down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not OP, but our number has increased at DC Bilingual by almost 20 spots.

I believe that is because DCB provides a preference for "sibling enrolled" but not for "sibling offered." So when the lottery numbers first come out the siblings of matched students are NOT at the front of the list. As the matched students enrolled, their siblings bump to the top of the WL.

This. OP, go to My School DC and look at the school's profile to see what the preferences are. It is likely that sibling enrolled (vs admitted) is on the list. If that is the case it would vert likely explain what is happening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not OP, but our number has increased at DC Bilingual by almost 20 spots.

I believe that is because DCB provides a preference for "sibling enrolled" but not for "sibling offered." So when the lottery numbers first come out the siblings of matched students are NOT at the front of the list. As the matched students enrolled, their siblings bump to the top of the WL.

this would make sense, but on myschooldc DCB says:
Lottery Preferences
1. Children of Staff
2. Sibling Attending
3. Sibling Offered
4. Equitable Access

[Anonymous]

what about a selective HS without sibling preference? does it make sense to have my kid's WL number increase for 9th grade?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:what about a selective HS without sibling preference? does it make sense to have my kid's WL number increase for 9th grade?

No, that's really weird.

[Anonymous]

we also had our waitlist number increase at a selective DCPS HS. did not make sense to me

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:we also had our waitlist number increase at a selective DCPS HS. did not make sense to me

call myschool dc and ask

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:what about a selective HS without sibling preference? does it make sense to have my kid's WL number increase for 9th grade?

This happens routinely at Walls.

2016

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/546846.page

2021

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/962478.page

(Those are just the first two that popped up when I searched.)

[Anonymous]

I reached out to myschooldc to ask why our WL number at a selective HS was increasing. They replied that it's because students are applying post-lottery and in some rare instances the school ranks them above kids who were WL from the first round. No detail on what would cause them to do so. Seems terrible to me if they already have lots of kids who were deemed eligible but didn't match in the first lottery. My kid's number is so high they will never make it in, but if you're close to the top of list, my advice would be to monitor closely and be prepared to strongly advocate for your kid if you find them being bumped.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I reached out to myschooldc to ask why our WL number at a selective HS was increasing. They replied that it's because students are applying post-lottery and in some rare instances the school ranks them above kids who were WL from the first round. No detail on what would cause them to do so. Seems terrible to me if they already have lots of kids who were deemed eligible but didn't match in the first lottery. My kid's number is so high they will never make it in, but if you're close to the top of list, my advice would be to monitor closely and be prepared to strongly advocate for your kid if you find them being bumped.

That is shitty and against the spirit of the consolidated lottery. It's ripe for gaming. If you wanted to bring it to the Post's education team or other media (look at who made a stink about the National Merit stuff at TJ, though I think that was a much more minor issue) I bet you'd get some coverage.