Shut out and really angry

[Anonymous]

The worst part for me about the lottery is that it pits neighbors against each other. That can only serve to break down community, not build it up. It does it at the citywide level too. It's a poisonous system.

[Anonymous]

There is always space in a PK3 program.... just not ones people find ideal...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The worst part for me about the lottery is that it pits neighbors against each other. That can only serve to break down community, not build it up. It does it at the citywide level too. It's a poisonous system.

+1000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have lived in this city for 30 of my 36 years and my parents for a long time before that and we were shut out of every pk3 program we applied for. The shock has now turned to anger. I'm so disgusted with this process.it just burns me up that someone can just move into my neighborhood on a whim, work in VA or MD while I work for the city, and shut my DC out while I keep paying taxes for their DC to go to FREE pk. I'm so burned up over this.

I just had to get that off my chest.

A few questions:
1. Last year my understanding was that only a few in-boundary families got turned away from the in-boundary school. However, this year our waitlist number is enormous! How are there so many (30+) new children at my in-boundary school?
2. Does DCPS release a list of addresses in order of lottery number for a given school?
3. How do we track waitlist movement at a given school?

pay for daycare or preschool for another year or two ? like everyone in this city has done for almost all of the 30 years you have lived in DC? Then enroll in the school down the block when Junior hits K.

I never understand these kinds of posts. Who is caring for your 2 year old tomorrow, Friday March 27th, 2015? Why can that not continue into 2016?

Perspective.

[Anonymous]

I feel for you. We were wait listed for ps3 and pk4 at our inbounds school.

Although happy at our hrcs, we were just placed in k at MV. So excited and hope it lives up to expectations! I've been following them since DC was an infant and the school just nascent.

[Anonymous]

Channel your frustration in the right places. It is not about neighbor against neighbor, it is about a school system where parents have to 'win the lottery' for a good public school education.

With the money this district has it is a shame that they do not spend it on supporting the kids. SES should not be the holy grail of school composition because they should have interventionist teachers supporting the kids who are behind ect.

We are all being bamboozled.

PS. I am not an angry/bitter poster. We love our IB and don't even play the lottery. Just able to see what madness this is. Demand more from the school system.

[Anonymous]

For those who say 'oh just keep doing what you're doing for another year', well that's fine and all but essentially by losing the lottery you're out about $15k. So maybe that's why OP is angry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The worst part for me about the lottery is that it pits neighbors against each other. That can only serve to break down community, not build it up. It does it at the citywide level too. It's a poisonous system.

Don't be ridiculous, if that's the type of animosity you have for someone else's good fortune, I would hate to be your neighbor. The government is not responsible for how you feel to about the people in your community that is your responsibility, granted you can be angry about the process.

[Anonymous]

It's crazy. There were 60 in-bound 3yo who applied to Maury for 34 spots, many of which are taken by siblings. The Maury boundary is tiny! Its another reason why schools are busting at Kinder because everyone shows up and there is no room!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The worst part for me about the lottery is that it pits neighbors against each other. That can only serve to break down community, not build it up. It does it at the citywide level too. It's a poisonous system.

Don't be ridiculous, if that's the type of animosity you have for someone else's good fortune, I would hate to be your neighbor. The government is not responsible for how you feel to about the people in your community that is your responsibility, granted you can be angry about the process.

+1. OP sounds really selfish. Nobody deserves a spot except her because she's lived here for 30 out of her 36 years. OK.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is always space in a PK3 program.... just not ones people find ideal...

Yep. When my DD applied 2 years ago for PK3, our IB school had 20 spots and only 9 enrolled after the lottery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For those who say 'oh just keep doing what you're doing for another year', well that's fine and all but essentially by losing the lottery you're out about $15k. So maybe that's why OP is angry.

As has been pointed out, there will be spots someplace in town. Maybe not in the dream school or the super-fine location.

Thems the breaks when you feel like you just cannot pay for childcare another year like every other middle class parent in every single other city must do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those who say 'oh just keep doing what you're doing for another year', well that's fine and all but essentially by losing the lottery you're out about $15k. So maybe that's why OP is angry.

As has been pointed out, there will be spots someplace in town. Maybe not in the dream school or the super-fine location.

Thems the breaks when you feel like you just cannot pay for childcare another year like every other middle class parent in every single other city must do.

The vast majority of 3 year olds that I know in DC attend public schools. Anyone have those stats?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For those who say 'oh just keep doing what you're doing for another year', well that's fine and all but essentially by losing the lottery you're out about $15k. So maybe that's why OP is angry.

No, by winning in the lottery you're up about $15k. You can piss yourself off about every missed opportunity to save money, or you can accept that FREE Pk3 and Pk4 would just be a huge bonus in your life.

Signed- also shut out

[Anonymous]

My experience of PK3 in DC was complete garbage. The charter we went with looked great on paper, talked a big game during the tour, etc, but treated 3yo's like tiny military school recruits. The teachers could not handle a room of 25 preschoolers with varying degrees of social-emotional readiness for a full day program.

So stick with your private preschool and move on. Try again next year. Getting a spot in the lottery is no guarantee of anything.