Does anyone feel unfair because of sibling reference?

[Anonymous]

Until families cease to matter in any legal cease, sibling preference is safe.

Get over it.

And if you're too dense to get it in then abstract, then once you have your second child you'll understand it on a practical level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wait until you have a second child - would it be right for you to shlep all over town to drive the kids to TWO DIFFERENT SCHOOLS when they could attend the same one?

Don't follow your numbers so closely, OP. You'll give yourself severe anxiety.

Will be doing thh next year. I disagree with sibling preference for PK at non-citywide DCPS.

- parent of kids in PK3 and PK4 who did not get into same school

[Anonymous]

Come on, OP, access to PreK in-boundary is not a right in DC. Loads of IB families get shut out around the city - you need to expect to be excluded in-boundary without an older sibling to pull you in. We were shutout for PreS3 and PreK4 IB our older child, but made the best of things at another public program two miles from home, feeling fortunate to have access to any free, quality ECE program as a middle-class family (not the case is most cities in this country). Time flies, then you land at your IB school for K, appreciating the quality and convenience of the opportunity.

When families have to dash between a couple schools for pick-up because siblings are separated, bad things happen all around - e.g. kids not getting picked up on time over and over, creating headaches for schools, parents and kids. The arrangement may be unfair, and I'm a little surprised that, to my knowledge, nobody with an only child has sued the city over it (situation seems ripe for a class action suit brought by the parents of onlies). However, in the grand scheme of things, the policy still makes sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wait until you have a second child - would it be right for you to shlep all over town to drive the kids to TWO DIFFERENT SCHOOLS when they could attend the same one?

Don't follow your numbers so closely, OP. You'll give yourself severe anxiety.

Seriously? SOme families, by choice, or by circumstances, will never have a second. Just because you benefit does not mean that all families should be required to have a second/third child so that their only has fair chance at entering preschool.

And as an fyi- these same parents were taking the children two places previously- eg. daycare and school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait until you have a second child - would it be right for you to shlep all over town to drive the kids to TWO DIFFERENT SCHOOLS when they could attend the same one?

Don't follow your numbers so closely, OP. You'll give yourself severe anxiety.

Seriously? SOme families, by choice, or by circumstances, will never have a second. Just because you benefit does not mean that all families should be required to have a second/third child so that their only has fair chance at entering preschool.

And as an fyi- these same parents were taking the children two places previously- eg. daycare and school.

Are you missing that almost all families will be in the lottery without a preference? I get the frustration that people moving into the neighborhood with older children with by-right access pulling in their younger sibling. The vast majority are entering the lottery at least once without a preference. These same parents were also taking their kids to separate places for older school and younger daycare - the younger ones aren't old enough to be in the school. Sibling preference is good for schools and the community as much as it is good for the families themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait until you have a second child - would it be right for you to shlep all over town to drive the kids to TWO DIFFERENT SCHOOLS when they could attend the same one?

Don't follow your numbers so closely, OP. You'll give yourself severe anxiety.

Seriously? SOme families, by choice, or by circumstances, will never have a second. Just because you benefit does not mean that all families should be required to have a second/third child so that their only has fair chance at entering preschool.

And as an fyi- these same parents were taking the children two places previously- eg. daycare and school.

Are you missing that almost all families will be in the lottery without a preference? I get the frustration that people moving into the neighborhood with older children with by-right access pulling in their younger sibling. The vast majority are entering the lottery at least once without a preference. These same parents were also taking their kids to separate places for older school and younger daycare - the younger ones aren't old enough to be in the school. Sibling preference is good for schools and the community as much as it is good for the families themselves.

And by this same logic, by stating a preference for a family with a child already enrolled, versus a new family with potential additional resources, parents who could volunteer, community presence- you are limiting the community. So no, I don't buy your logic as being "best"

[Anonymous]

Say you THINK you will have only one child, but then maybe are surprised you find yourself pregnant again years later. Should you have had to sign something for DC1 in order to create a single child preference? What about step siblings or half siblings? We all can't win.

So long as schools all start and end at the same damn time, sibling preference makes logistical sense. Stagger start and end times and I could accept the end of sibling preference.

[Anonymous]

It just isn't feasible, even if it were unfair, which I don't think it is. So many more cars would be a logistical nightmare. Families would be miserable and have that much less time and money to contribute to the school. I could see taking it away from preschool because nobody is entitled to it anyway, but that's small ball.


If PK4 were so important to you, you should have changed your lottery strategy. There are plenty of seats at my kid's Title I.

[Anonymous]

The only child canard.

"I'm suing because my oldest child was treated exactly the same as every other oldest child."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It just isn't feasible, even if it were unfair, which I don't think it is. So many more cars would be a logistical nightmare. Families would be miserable and have that much less time and money to contribute to the school. I could see taking it away from preschool because nobody is entitled to it anyway, but that's small ball.


If PK4 were so important to you, you should have changed your lottery strategy. There are plenty of seats at my kid's Title I.

Really? My family should move out of bounds of the home we've had for years now with a great elementary school? Seems entitled of you to think that we are not allowed to attend our neighborhood school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Say you THINK you will have only one child, but then maybe are surprised you find yourself pregnant again years later. Should you have had to sign something for DC1 in order to create a single child preference? What about step siblings or half siblings? We all can't win.

So long as schools all start and end at the same damn time, sibling preference makes logistical sense. Stagger start and end times and I could accept the end of sibling preference.

Not talking about what ifs, but reality. Many, many families in DC have children later in life- or via assisted means. If we were so lucky to be blessed with a second, I'd be happy to start over without preference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It just isn't feasible, even if it were unfair, which I don't think it is. So many more cars would be a logistical nightmare. Families would be miserable and have that much less time and money to contribute to the school. I could see taking it away from preschool because nobody is entitled to it anyway, but that's small ball.


If PK4 were so important to you, you should have changed your lottery strategy. There are plenty of seats at my kid's Title I.

Really? My family should move out of bounds of the home we've had for years now with a great elementary school? Seems entitled of you to think that we are not allowed to attend our neighborhood school.

You are allowed. But nobody is entitled to free preschool at their first choice school. If you wanted it that badly you would enroll elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It just isn't feasible, even if it were unfair, which I don't think it is. So many more cars would be a logistical nightmare. Families would be miserable and have that much less time and money to contribute to the school. I could see taking it away from preschool because nobody is entitled to it anyway, but that's small ball.


If PK4 were so important to you, you should have changed your lottery strategy. There are plenty of seats at my kid's Title I.

Really? My family should move out of bounds of the home we've had for years now with a great elementary school? Seems entitled of you to think that we are not allowed to attend our neighborhood school.

Seems accurate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It just isn't feasible, even if it were unfair, which I don't think it is. So many more cars would be a logistical nightmare. Families would be miserable and have that much less time and money to contribute to the school. I could see taking it away from preschool because nobody is entitled to it anyway, but that's small ball.


If PK4 were so important to you, you should have changed your lottery strategy. There are plenty of seats at my kid's Title I.

Really? My family should move out of bounds of the home we've had for years now with a great elementary school? Seems entitled of you to think that we are not allowed to attend our neighborhood school.

You are allowed. But nobody is entitled to free preschool at their first choice school. If you wanted it that badly you would enroll elsewhere.

Unless you live IB for one of the early action schools, where the kids really need the preschool. If you're at a school with a PK4 wait list, your kid will be ok without it. Really.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It just isn't feasible, even if it were unfair, which I don't think it is. So many more cars would be a logistical nightmare. Families would be miserable and have that much less time and money to contribute to the school. I could see taking it away from preschool because nobody is entitled to it anyway, but that's small ball.


If PK4 were so important to you, you should have changed your lottery strategy. There are plenty of seats at my kid's Title I.

Really? My family should move out of bounds of the home we've had for years now with a great elementary school? Seems entitled of you to think that we are not allowed to attend our neighborhood school.

Seems accurate.

+1. Nobody is entitled to free preschool!!! If you are fortunate enough to live IB for an in-demand school, it would be a public policy fail to give you free preschool.