Reporting almost live from the YY application line...
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Anonymous
All initial spots are awarded by lottery, and does NOT take into account when you submitted your application...this is true for DCPS and charters. There are preferences that are applied to the lotteries. For DCPS schools those include: in-boundary with sibling (for PS/PK), in-boundary (for PS/PK), out-of-boundary with sibling, proximity, out-of boundary. For charters, preference in allowed for siblings of enrolled students (and I think founders' children might get preference...and maybe employees' children too?). The only way "when" you apply comes into play is with waitlists...a handful of charters order their waitlists by time of application. So for schools like YY and Stokes applying on that first day (or even that first hour of the first day) is pretty important. Of course, you could apply the last day they are accepting applications and still get in if you're lucky enough to have your child's application drawn. Charters are permitted to determine how their waitlist is handled (by date stamp or by lottery) but the charter board has oversight. I can't say with with certainty, but I'm pretty sure that the Charter Board requires charters to honor whatever policy they set out for handling their waitlist. So I don't think they can cherry pick from the waitlist. |
Anonymous
I suspect there will be 72 total slots for PK4 (four classes of 18 kids) and that siblings will fill closer to 60 of them. There are 114 kids in K this year (DC1 is one of them) and, based on the decent sample of families we know, I'd say ~30% of those K'ers have younger sibs extremely likely to be in the PK4 cohort next fall. So that's ~34 slots. I think there are 72 kids in PK4 and 60 in 1st this year. Say 15% of those 132 kids have a younger sib planning to start PK4 next fall and you're up to ~54. Toss in half a dozen sibs from 2nd graders and above and you hit ~60. |
Anonymous
This year. But next year, that jumbo K class will have a lot of little sibs entering the school with sibling preference. This year's PreK sibling preference took 39 slots (most sibs seem to be two years apart, IOW, their older sibs are in 1st). Camp out like it's a Star Wars movie opening. 
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Anonymous
Also, this year's K class is the jumbo class - LOTS of kids got in off the waitlist, but that was last year when they were entering PreK and there will never be another jumbo class like that. Nobody got into K this year from the lottery, that class isn't accepting new students, unless you have a sib who gets in. |
Anonymous
I'm sorry to say they are not good. Next year's first grade is the jumbo class. I've heard they're not accepting new students, they're hoping that attrition (families do move, especially the kind of international families that choose Yu Ying) will bring that class down to the size of the other classes, over time. I've also heard that if you get a child into a different grade, that they'll squeeze you in because of sibling preference. I'm not swearing on this, just sharing the gossip. |
Anonymous
I know kids who were accepted into the current K class due to sibling preference. No one was accepted from the lottery/waitlist. The current K class is not shrinking. If another pp is correct and they have 114 kids, it's grown from 107 kids who started preK last yr. I would not count on getting in even if you are #1 on the waitlist since in all likelihood, any open slots due to people moving will be filled by sibs. I also heard through gossip that they are trying to shrink the size of this class - rising 1st grade. |
Anonymous
I asked them a question about keeping the size of the jumbo class and was told that they would...they would not lower the number. There were no slots for the lottery but eventually accepted 4 off the wait list. My thought was that funding is associated with the class size and they don't want to lose that count. |
Anonymous
Close. This is the hair-splitting: Funding is applied at the student level. So, yes, losing 7 students would mean losing the funding that goes with each individual student, just as adding 7 students increases funding by 7 individual students. In other words, it is assessed at the level of the student, not the level of the class. Presumably that's what you meant, but just putting it out there for anyone who might be confused. |
Anonymous
I suspect there will be 72 total slots for PK4 (four classes of 18 kids) and that siblings will fill closer to 60 of them. There are 114 kids in K this year (DC1 is one of them) and, based on the decent sample of families we know, I'd say ~30% of those K'ers have younger sibs extremely likely to be in the PK4 cohort next fall. So that's ~34 slots. I think there are 72 kids in PK4 and 60 in 1st this year. Say 15% of those 132 kids have a younger sib planning to start PK4 next fall and you're up to ~54. Toss in half a dozen sibs from 2nd graders and above and you hit ~60. Well, this is discouraging. I was feeling all good about being in the first five today, but if there are only going to be 12 open spots, that stinks. |
Anonymous
Well, this is discouraging. I was feeling all good about being in the first five today, but if there are only going to be 12 open spots, that stinks. On the contrary, that's why your high WL number matters so much. It's not unreasonable to assume that at least the first 10 - 20 off the WL will be offered a slot. It might be 2 weeks into school, but I'll bet it will happen. Your #5 is really, really good. Yes, next year will include jumbo class sibs, but still, previous history suggests that a number like yours should get you an offer by some time in June or July at the latest. |
Anonymous
| For those of us who submitted online, any idea if we can call for our wl number? |
Anonymous
| No one will get a wait list number until after the lottery in March, April, whenever it is. |
Anonymous
| I emailed the school. Wait list numbers will be posted after the lottery. So, even if you were "number 5" in line, that does not necessarily mean that you will be number 5 on the waitlist, since the on-line and in-person applications are supposedly treated on par with each other and numbered according to the precise time (to the second) that they were submitted. |
Anonymous
| Agreed, which is why I said I was in the "first five," not "number 5." It would be interesting to know how quickly online applications were processed. I think it looks like the in-person list had gotten up to 14 people by 8:02 or so. Obviously that makes no differentiation among grades, but it's safe to assume most are applying for PK4 (that was our experience this morning). |
Anonymous
| The school thing is WAY tougher than it should be. My DC is is ps3, we started out at our last choice dcps, got a call from a better dcps and switched, and I am praying to love it, but I'm just not sure yet. Anyway, it would be awesome to have a good number at YY to have a choice...as well as language immersion. Hence, I submitted at 8am online, not in person, but kind of regret that decision already! |