Any chance the OOB lottery results will come available at midnight?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone else kinda infuriated by this? It's just like when you call a city office and are told that your call will be returned in 24 hours - as if - some of those calls have NEVER been returned let alone within 24 hours. It wouldn't make me so mad if it wasn't promised in the first place. Not to mention, the delay and report of "technical difficulties" make me wonder if we can count on the results being truly random or fair. But then again, what's fair about a lottery system like this....

Except it's not like that at all. You're not trying to procure some service or get an answer to a pressing question. Put another way, what difference in your life will it make if you get the results tomorrow morning rather than this morning? Answer - none at all, unless you allow it to drive up your blood pressure. Relax, already.

And what's fair about the lottery system? Well, it allows OOB kids a chance to get into different schools if space is available. You would prefer there was no OOB lottery, students could only attend their own local school, without any choice? That's more fair?

Actually, I am trying to procure a service - and an extremely important one at that - trying to get a good education for my kids. And sometimes I do wonder if there should be no OOB lottery. What if everyone did have to attend their neighborhood school? I know that's an incendiary statement but for some areas of the city it might be beneficial to the local school(s) - not all, definitely not all. I know that would do absolutely nothing for the schools in the poorest areas of the city - which arguably need the most help/resources - but for some areas it might be a good thing. I suppose that might just drive even more student to the charters though.

And having been through the lottery twice before I'm not sure that it is all that transparent or fair. We had a low waitlist number (under 20) for K for last year at one school and a number between 20 and 30 at another and I dutifully called every week all spring and summer. There was a tiny bit of movement, but not much and I had the feeling that maybe I wasn't saying the right things when I called, or speaking with the right people. I've scanned these boards for several years and have often seen the advice to "stay in touch with the school, let them know you're still interested, etc. etc." and some have posted stories of getting in with similar waitlist numbers, but I had the feeling that it just wasn't going to happen. Please note I said it was a feeling - I know that's vague and unscientific and I'm sure I'll get flames, I just am not sure I trust this system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Actually, I am trying to procure a service - and an extremely important one at that - trying to get a good education for my kids. And sometimes I do wonder if there should be no OOB lottery. What if everyone did have to attend their neighborhood school? I know that's an incendiary statement but for some areas of the city it might be beneficial to the local school(s) - not all, definitely not all. I know that would do absolutely nothing for the schools in the poorest areas of the city - which arguably need the most help/resources - but for some areas it might be a good thing. I suppose that might just drive even more student to the charters though.

And having been through the lottery twice before I'm not sure that it is all that transparent or fair. We had a low waitlist number (under 20) for K for last year at one school and a number between 20 and 30 at another and I dutifully called every week all spring and summer. There was a tiny bit of movement, but not much and I had the feeling that maybe I wasn't saying the right things when I called, or speaking with the right people. I've scanned these boards for several years and have often seen the advice to "stay in touch with the school, let them know you're still interested, etc. etc." and some have posted stories of getting in with similar waitlist numbers, but I had the feeling that it just wasn't going to happen. Please note I said it was a feeling - I know that's vague and unscientific and I'm sure I'll get flames, I just am not sure I trust this system.

My observations of movement for K is that there is a lot less then with PreK. So even with a low waitlist number there is no guarantee. A friend had a number less than 10 for K last year at a JKLM school - but with the increased enrollement by neighbrhood kids they didn't even touch the OOB list. I guess my point is - please do not feel that there is some other process that is working keeping you out. AND if you do have that feeling, reach out to the Chancellor and talk about it.

[Anonymous]

i would shoot myself in the head before i allowed my children to go to our neighborhood school. i would be worrying about them getting their ass kicked just as much as i'd worry about the level of their education.

i don't think the system is fair and one of my children eventually got into one of the schools we applied to. i had a very negative experience my first time in the lottery. the critical response team had no interest in helping me and in fact put my child at the bottom of a waitlist based on a mistake that was made in their system. that was for ps -- for pk the critical response team suggested that my child go to our neighborhood school and sent me a list of several alternative schools with the same demographics as my neighborhood school. it took me calling and visiting schools all summer to get someone to give my child a chance. now i have to worry about child number 2

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:the e-mail that i received in response to my lottery application did say that the scores would be online on march 4th. i only found out yesterday that the scores are suppose to be available today.

also, do you guys think the lottery is fair? do you think they manipulate the numbers once the lottery is complete to keep students closer to where they live? just asking?

I don't have any reason to think that the lottery itself is rigged. For one thing, if it were rigged for geographic proximity we should have had a better shot last year at PS -- but we were completely shut-out (including our in-bounds school).

But wait list management is a different thing. I have heard of families that jumped the wait list in a school that we were waitlisted for, too ... we were so high on the list that it didn't really make a difference to us, but someone who was next in line didn't get the seat that they should have.

[Anonymous]

Actually, I am trying to procure a service - and an extremely important one at that - trying to get a good education for my kids. And sometimes I do wonder if there should be no OOB lottery.

Calling about a water main break and not gettign a response - huge problem.

Calling 911 and not getting a response - huge problem.

Calling about DPW failure to pick up trash when scheduled - problem, not as huge.

Getting the OOB lottery results on Friday March 4, rather than Thursday, March 3? Not a problem. Frankie says relax.

[Anonymous]

From the website: We know that many of you are anxiously waiting for the Out-of-Boundary/Preschool/Pre-K lottery results. We are in the process of uploading the results now. We expect to have them posted here this evening.

[Anonymous]

We know that many of you are anxiously waiting for the Out-of-Boundary/Preschool/Pre-K lottery results.
We are in the process of uploading the results now. We expect to have them posted here this evening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i would shoot myself in the head before i allowed my children to go to our neighborhood school. i would be worrying about them getting their ass kicked just as much as i'd worry about the level of their education.

i don't think the system is fair and one of my children eventually got into one of the schools we applied to. i had a very negative experience my first time in the lottery. the critical response team had no interest in helping me and in fact put my child at the bottom of a waitlist based on a mistake that was made in their system. that was for ps -- for pk the critical response team suggested that my child go to our neighborhood school and sent me a list of several alternative schools with the same demographics as my neighborhood school. it took me calling and visiting schools all summer to get someone to give my child a chance. now i have to worry about child number 2

So does that mean by visiting the school you were bumped off the waitlist sooner thatn you should have? Ahead of others on the waitlist? I'm not knocking, just wondering of that goes to the above about wondering how the waitlist moves. In this aspect, I think te charters are better because they have more to lose. I know that a US senator wrote a lettter essentially asking for waitlist preference for relative at Stokes and was turned down due to their strict admissions policy doing everything fairly.

[Anonymous]

I heard that if you put a $5 bill, an old swatch watch, and the unexpurgated works of Voltaire under the rock with the "X" on it in Rock Creek Park you will go from number 163 to 7 on the waitlist for Lafayette so I definitely think that the lottery is rigged.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i would shoot myself in the head before i allowed my children to go to our neighborhood school. i would be worrying about them getting their ass kicked just as much as i'd worry about the level of their education.

i don't think the system is fair and one of my children eventually got into one of the schools we applied to. i had a very negative experience my first time in the lottery. the critical response team had no interest in helping me and in fact put my child at the bottom of a waitlist based on a mistake that was made in their system. that was for ps -- for pk the critical response team suggested that my child go to our neighborhood school and sent me a list of several alternative schools with the same demographics as my neighborhood school. it took me calling and visiting schools all summer to get someone to give my child a chance. now i have to worry about child number 2

Based on the bolded comment alone, they should have moved you to the back of the wait list. Good grief. With that attitude, I'd want to keep you out of the school too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i would shoot myself in the head before i allowed my children to go to our neighborhood school. i would be worrying about them getting their ass kicked just as much as i'd worry about the level of their education.

i don't think the system is fair and one of my children eventually got into one of the schools we applied to. i had a very negative experience my first time in the lottery. the critical response team had no interest in helping me and in fact put my child at the bottom of a waitlist based on a mistake that was made in their system. that was for ps -- for pk the critical response team suggested that my child go to our neighborhood school and sent me a list of several alternative schools with the same demographics as my neighborhood school. it took me calling and visiting schools all summer to get someone to give my child a chance. now i have to worry about child number 2

Based on the bolded comment alone, they should have moved you to the back of the wait list. Good grief. With that attitude, I'd want to keep you out of the school too.

really?? why do you say that? i don't think not wanting my children to go to a school with low test scores, no diversity, terrible facilities, no PTA is a bad thing. i guess you are on the public/ charter school listserve because you don't care where your kids go to school or what kind of education the get. that aside, you would punish my child because of my views. you suck!!@

[Anonymous]

really?? why do you say that? i don't think not wanting my children to go to a school with low test scores, no diversity, terrible facilities, no PTA is a bad thing. i guess you are on the public/ charter school listserve because you don't care where your kids go to school or what kind of education the get. that aside, you would punish my child because of my views. you suck!!@

Please. Your comment is code (and not very subtle code at that) for "There are too many black and brown people at the schools they suggested." Direct your indignation elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

really?? why do you say that? i don't think not wanting my children to go to a school with low test scores, no diversity, terrible facilities, no PTA is a bad thing. i guess you are on the public/ charter school listserve because you don't care where your kids go to school or what kind of education the get. that aside, you would punish my child because of my views. you suck!!@

Please. Your comment is code (and not very subtle code at that) for "There are too many black and brown people at the schools they suggested." Direct your indignation elsewhere.

Agreed. Demographics refer to race and income, not test scores.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

really?? why do you say that? i don't think not wanting my children to go to a school with low test scores, no diversity, terrible facilities, no PTA is a bad thing. i guess you are on the public/ charter school listserve because you don't care where your kids go to school or what kind of education the get. that aside, you would punish my child because of my views. you suck!!@

Please. Your comment is code (and not very subtle code at that) for "There are too many black and brown people at the schools they suggested." Direct your indignation elsewhere.

no, it is not code. sometimes you should just take things as they are written. especially since i am black and live in se. yes, i want my children to go to a school with more diversity then the neighborhood school provides.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I heard that if you put a $5 bill, an old swatch watch, and the unexpurgated works of Voltaire under the rock with the "X" on it in Rock Creek Park you will go from number 163 to 7 on the waitlist for Lafayette so I definitely think that the lottery is rigged.

Will five dollar 1-dollar bills work just as well?