How do you juggle DC charter school lotteries with private school admission?

[Anonymous]

It appears that most of the better charter schools don't hold their lotteries until April but private school acceptance letters come mid-March. What are you all doing who really want a charter school as your first choice, if you hear from the private school weeks before? Are you submitting a deposit at the private school, just in case your child doesn't get into the charter of choice? It just seems dumb to me that these timing issues appear to exist. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

That's a really interesting point. Charter schools that compete with private schools are a relatively new phenomenon so I don't think that consideration is built into the calendar yet. It should be though.

Have you tried contacting the director(s) (as opposed to the administration staff) at the charter school(s) and sharing the specifics of your concern? It's surely too late to change the lottery dates for this year, but they should at least be able to tell you what the size of their applicant pool(s) looks like for the grade(s) you're interested in. Unlike a private school they really have no incentive to conceal their numbers (as long as they're fully subscribed), so maybe that will help.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

You could tell the private school that you're waiting on your tax refund to use as your deposit. This should buy you a couple of weeks. It also has the added benefit of being very likely true for a number of families, so it's not as if the request will sound like it's coming from left field.

[Anonymous]

If we get into one of our two charter choices, then we have decided that the lost private school deposit is a small price to pay for hedging. It's unfortunate but a reality. I'm just happy that the charter lotteries are held before the privates' binding dates. We got into our first choice private so it will really be a tough decision if we are successful in the charter lottery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If we get into one of our two charter choices, then we have decided that the lost private school deposit is a small price to pay for hedging. It's unfortunate but a reality. I'm just happy that the charter lotteries are held before the privates' binding dates. We got into our first choice private so it will really be a tough decision if we are successful in the charter lottery.

Congratulations so far, PP. At least you have one choice vs. your local public. I'm very curious to know the schools! Of course, I guess it doesn't make sense to share until after the lotteries in April.

[Anonymous]

Now I am curious about which Charter School Lottery Results are people excited about.......I am hoping for EL Haynes. Anyone willing to share?

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know if a parent enters an older DC in the 1st/2nd grade lottery at Yu Ying and gets in, does that improve the odds for the younger DC to get into Pre-K? Isn't Pre-K supposed to be the toughest to get into?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If we get into one of our two charter choices, then we have decided that the lost private school deposit is a small price to pay for hedging. It's unfortunate but a reality. I'm just happy that the charter lotteries are held before the privates' binding dates. We got into our first choice private so it will really be a tough decision if we are successful in the charter lottery.

Congratulations so far, PP. At least you have one choice vs. your local public. I'm very curious to know the schools! Of course, I guess it doesn't make sense to share until after the lotteries in April.

We were accepted at Beauvoir; applied for el haynes and cap city charters. Our in-bound school is NOT an option. Didn't think we would get into as many privates but an el haynes accept would make me reconsider everything. It's a GREAT school.