OP, imagine your oldest kid was about to enter K, instead of PK4. What would you do then, in your same current living situation? |
How would it be different? Thanks. |
I imagine she might play the OOB lottery (instead of early childhood lottery) to see how she does knowing that she will have the right to enroll at Eaton later in the spring (or in the fall, or the first day of school). |
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I'm trying to deicide if people are really so stupid to not know the difference between 'loose' and 'lose,' and 'principle' and 'principal,' or whether you're all typing while walking on a Metro platform and autocorrect made the repeated errors.
If it's the former, and I suspect it is, then your kids need more help than picking just the right no-cost preschool for a year. They're going to better role models at home, for homework help in future years. |
NP here, but why do you have to be such a douchebag? We all knew what OP was asking. |
+1 no need to be mean just be helpful or stay quiet. |
| Ditto the PP that said ask the principal. I asked this question a couple years ago at a lottery Q&A that DCPS runs, and they said you lose the spot. Somewhere on the DCPS website I remember reading in fine print that it is your duty to inform your school if you move OOB, and you must attend your new IB school the next school year. That said, someone posted this Q on our school's list serv a couple months back, and the principal replied directly that she has never asked a family to leave the school just because they moved OOB. So it seems to be somewhat in the discretion of the principal. Personally, I would be afraid to risk it, because the principal could always change her mind or could be replaced by someone with different ideas, but it could be an option for you. |
But the way the preference in the lottery works is that once you get in, you are pulled off the waitlists (or outright acceptance) of any school behind, it right? So if I don't get into a eop ob school I put ahead of Eaton, then I haven't lost any chance for eaton, right? So the only difference between playing the lottery for pk4 and k is that for K I wouldn't put eaton on my lottery list at all. Is this right? |
Right. For K and above there is no lottery for IB kids. It's a 100% OOB lottery for K-12....you never have to play the lottery for your IB school for K-12...just for early childhood. And again, for THIS year's lottery you can't choose to enter the Eaton lottery as OOB because your address is IB. |
You're right that you haven't lost your chance to get into Eaton if you have other schools ranked ahead of Eaton that you don't win a spot with. And if that's how it plays out, it seems you will most likely get a spot at Eaton since you have IB preference. BUT, if you do get a spot at one of those higher ranked schools then Eaton is no longer a choice for your at all...no waitlist spot, nothing. So it's a risk. If you like the idea of Eaton, I would rank it first and take the spot and deal with negotiating the ability to stay later. |
| But this is also very risky 13:06! New poster here with the same problem as OP. I will be moving this spring, likely between the lottery due date and verification date (May 1) and I'm going crazy trying to figure out what I should do. Has anyone asked whether the second lottery puts kids with new IB preference (i.e. they moved) ahead of others already on the waitlist? It definitely doesn't sound that way on the website, just curious. |
No, people in the second lottery, even with IB preference, are behind everyone in the first lottery. So if you are OOB in the first lottery you will be in front of all IB people in the second lottery. |
| For early childhood ed (OP and the new poster who is in the same boat) you may need to hedge your bets by budgeting for private preschool. I think since there is risk involved any way you look at it (risk that you get a spot but are told to leave; risk that you get in another school ahead of our current IB school and then you don't have any shot at getting in at all) I would suggest just ranking the schools by how you really feel about them. If Eaton is OP's #1 choice, then pick it. And for OP, I might suggest entering the lottery for Hearst OOB. It's not far away, offers reasonable chances of getting OOB spots and is good school. If you get an OOB spot you can't be told to leave (unless DCPS screws with OOB in a major way). |
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OP - whether you've owned a condo for 3.5 years in a certain area doesn't make you a "legitimate Eaton family." It makes you a resident of the Eaton zone. But until you apply, are accepted, and your kid starts, you are not an Eaton family. I'm not trying to be mean, just telling how the rules work. For example, at the Murch open house, the principal made it clear that families who have attended Murch for "a couple of years" and are active but move outside the boundary, can appeal to him and they will stay.
But why would any principal allow someone to start their school if they played the lottery, won IB, and then moved OOB shortly thereafter? It's just trying to game the system. You might not think so b/c it is your life, but that is what it is. |
OP, I agree with PPs analysis quoted above, even though I know your intention is not to game the system. I would put Eaton IB last and find other schools to put ahead of it, including Hearst OOB and charters. It's a tough situation to be in, but given that you plan to move soon, possibly even before the start of the school year, you could very well lose the spot (and with good reason). It might be worth calling the myschooldc hotline to see if there is a way that you can apply to Eaton OOB and try getting in that way. |