Lottery preference for sibs when IB but not enrolled

[Anonymous]

My older child is in early elementary at a charter. My younger child will be in preK in fall 2026. I’ve decided, for a number of reasons, to move to our inbound DCPS school. How will lottery preference work for my younger child? Our inbound preK is over subscribed and only siblings get in it seems. The school also has different preferences for “sibling offered” and “sibling enrolled.” Since my older child will not actually be enrolled yet, does that mean we will not get that lottery preference applied?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My older child is in early elementary at a charter. My younger child will be in preK in fall 2026. I’ve decided, for a number of reasons, to move to our inbound DCPS school. How will lottery preference work for my younger child? Our inbound preK is over subscribed and only siblings get in it seems. The school also has different preferences for “sibling offered” and “sibling enrolled.” Since my older child will not actually be enrolled yet, does that mean we will not get that lottery preference applied?

He'll be neither in the initial lottery. Once you enroll your older kid, he'll move to sibling enrolled and move up to wherever in the hierarchy that would place him. If you do it right away, it will only matter if the WL doesn't move at all. (Sibling offered doesn't apply to IB kids at all.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My older child is in early elementary at a charter. My younger child will be in preK in fall 2026. I’ve decided, for a number of reasons, to move to our inbound DCPS school. How will lottery preference work for my younger child? Our inbound preK is over subscribed and only siblings get in it seems. The school also has different preferences for “sibling offered” and “sibling enrolled.” Since my older child will not actually be enrolled yet, does that mean we will not get that lottery preference applied?

He'll be neither in the initial lottery. Once you enroll your older kid, he'll move to sibling enrolled and move up to wherever in the hierarchy that would place him. If you do it right away, it will only matter if the WL doesn't move at all. (Sibling offered doesn't apply to IB kids at all.)

The waitlist did not move at all for our inbound pre-K so I am very worried about this.

[Anonymous]

Move the older child before the lottery opens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Move the older child before the lottery opens.

Yes, if you are really worried about this, you can move your older kid right now. Kids come in all the time, he'll be fine!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Move the older child before the lottery opens.

Yes, if you are really worried about this, you can move your older kid right now. Kids come in all the time, he'll be fine!

This is actually not an option, for reasons I don’t want to get into.

[Anonymous]

You should call the school and ask. I anecdotally know of times that Dcps schools have provided sibling preference in similar cases.

[Anonymous]

Call MySchoolDC to ask what to do. We received sibling preference in the lottery for our rising PK3 child whose rising K sibling had been waitlisted for two years and wasn’t yet enrolled. This was years ago though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Call MySchoolDC to ask what to do. We received sibling preference in the lottery for our rising PK3 child whose rising K sibling had been waitlisted for two years and wasn’t yet enrolled. This was years ago though.

+1

There is a process for this (though I forget what it is). You can get sibling enrolled (not sibling attending) at the time of the lottery, and you should, as you'll need it.

[Anonymous]

What if the sibling doesn’t enroll? Is the younger child bounced?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What if the sibling doesn’t enroll? Is the younger child bounced?

You will not get any sort of sibling preference unless the sibling is enrolled. Talking to the school or mySchool DC will essentially let you enroll your older child early.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What if the sibling doesn’t enroll? Is the younger child bounced?

You will not get any sort of sibling preference unless the sibling is enrolled. Talking to the school or mySchool DC will essentially let you enroll your older child early.

While still enrolled in. DC charter?

[Anonymous]

From the MySchool DC website:

Can my child who is applying to attend their DCPS in-boundary PK program claim sibling preference if their older sibling will be enrolling at the school for the first time in school year 2026-27?
Yes. If the student will attend and does not currently have a student ID number, input “0000000” (seven 0’s) as the student ID number in the Sibling Preference section of application. This option is only available to families planning on enrolling an in-boundary student. If you do not enroll the compulsory aged student, the preference will be removed from the PK student who may lose the match and be placed on the waitlist without the preference. Confirm with the school’s registrar, or within the application itself using the preference status page, that this preference has been applied prior to the lottery. After the lottery, these preferences are applied only when the older sibling is enrolled.

Please contact the DCPS Enrollment Team at [e-mail] or [phone] for additional information prior to the application deadlines. DCPS's sibling information can also be found in their Enrollment and Lottery Handbook.

https://www.myschooldc.org/faq/faqs

[Anonymous]

Great answer!