Lists are in-- Swami is ready!
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Anonymous
Thank you,. I did this when we were at a 11. Director said they would let us know... figured that kind of meant. "thanks for email, but dont bother us". We are now #3! |
Anonymous
So dismayed to see that DCPS still has not figured out how to accommodate twins, triplets, etc. We went private because our work schedules required certainty not months of wonder and worry. Sibling preference should work for multiples, not just for singletons. Ridic. |
Anonymous
Preschool class sizes have a firm legal enrollment cap. Sorry if you don't like it, but it isn't a matter of DCPS figuring anything out. |
Anonymous
No, they could design software to make this work. They just don't want to go to the extra length to do so. And my guess is that you don't have twins and may even benefit from sibling preference for your string of singletons. You will take your benefit just not extend it to someone else. |
Anonymous
Software to change the federal Head Start regulation on class size? You seem strangely bitter. There is already a sibling preference that, most of the time puts both kids at the same school whether they are twins, multiples, or in different grades. And some families choose to split up their kids to gain access to a preferred school for both in the following year, but that is their choice and they don't have to do it. Very very rare is the family that literally has no choice but to separate their twins. |
Anonymous
The sibling preference absolutely benefits at twins. At our charter (which enjoys long waitlists every year, which is simply to say families want to be there), every class my kids have ever been in has multiple twins - there is such a vast overrepresentation of twins, that it is a well-known and remarked upon fact among our group of friends (many of which are twin parents). Of course there are significant challenges to having multiples, no one is disputing that - but the school lottery set-up is not one of those hardships. |
Anonymous
NP here, There should be an option where twins are placed together from the start. So, let's say that Twin A's name is drawn, and he places into the 3rd choice school, then Twin B also gets a space in that school, and one less kid is added from further down the lottery list. It really wouldn't be hard, and it wouldn't impact preschool class sizes. |
Anonymous
Oh man, this. We have an only child due to infertility and it's so much salt in the wound how the sibling preference disadvantages only/big age gap children. We've seen our child's friends get into schools through sibling preference - either as the younger sibling or by a younger sibling pulling them to the top of a waitlist. We'll never get "two bites at the apple" and know many more only children that never ended up "winning" the lottery than families with multiple kids. |
Anonymous
But it would heavily advantage parents of twins of getting into their preferred school, over parents of non-twin siblings who get waitlisted and don't receive an automatic admit simply because their sibling is there. Even though, as with twins, parents of siblings would obviously really benefit if their kids attended the same school. And both are advantaged over kids with no sibling, who will always wind up further down the waitlist for a school (even an IB school if PK) simply because they don't have a sibling at the school already. Here's a hard truth about the DC lottery: if you want to guarantee a spot for your kid (even two kids at once) it is easy to do. But it means being willing to send your kids to a school more likely to have space. There is absolutely no reason that you are entitled to an extra spot at LAMB or whatever simply because you have twins, over a kid without a twin on the same waitlist. Your twins could just go to a school with more room. You just don't want to. You don't want the school with more room. Guess what? Parents of non-twins feel the same way! Stop trying to pretend this is just about keeping your twins together because if that were your main priority, you wouldn't be fretting over getting them into schools with some of the longest waitlists in the city. You could enroll them at the same school today if that's what you wanted. |
Anonymous
You already get to be very high on the lottery list if you are a sibling and for most families it ends up working out fine. |
Anonymous
Twins actually have an ADVANTAGE in the lottery because your family gets two rolls of the dice, and sibling preference is strong. Doesn’t work out for everyone but keep in mind you’re better off than families without multiples. |
Anonymous
| Perhaps a twin thread can be started so we can let this go back to being a Swami input thread. |
Anonymous
Seriously? I just can't with the willful misreading. Nothing I wrote was about increase in class size, exclusively related to class assignment. I don't think "strangely bitter" is an accurate description of a working parent who tried to navigate DCPS fifteen years ago, seeking to enroll twins in PreK @ same school that offered more than one class/grade. We ultimately did not send our DCs to DCPS as we could not be guaranteed spots at the same school. No one seemed to care that working parents couldn't race across one, two, maybe three wards to leave and pick up kids from different schools with arrivals/dismissals at the same time and still hold jobs. Back then, the stance was that sibling preference was only extended to families of consecutive singletons, but not multiples. Gathering a lot has changed. While we were not successful, I hope our lobbying may have contributed to a more accommodating stance. I would describe that as anything but "strangely bitter" but you do you. |
Anonymous
Guessing this is a new development. Was NOT the case when our kids were old enough to enroll in DCPS. |
Anonymous
It is strange that you are angry about something 15 years ago and are only just now finding out that the common lottery has different rules than what you experienced. Maybe time to let it go? |