Sibling preference when both siblings are playing the lottery?
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Anonymous
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My first child (DC1) is enrolled in PK3 at a DC Charter school. This coming year (2017) DC2 will also be doing the lottery and enrolling in PK3 in 2017. (DC1 will be lottery-ing for a PK4 spot). I understand that we can re-enroll DC1 in the charter we are at and that DC2 will get a preference for a PK3 spot at that same charter. But. . . there are some other charters that we'd prefer to the one DC1 is currently attending.
So, I was thinking that we should enter both kids in the lottery again, with the same list of schools. The one DC1 is currently in will be our "safety" school for DC2 (it is not a HRCS, and went through its whole waitlist last year, so I think we have a very good shot at getting DC2 in there.) My question is, what if DC2 gets matched to one of our top choice charters and DC1 does not? (I assume this could happen, since there are more PK3 spots than PK4 spots at all the charters we are interested in.) Once we enroll DC1, will DC2 move up on the waitlist due to sibling preference? And even if DC2 does move up on the waitlist due to sibling preference, didn't many HRCS have siblings on the WL this year who never made it in? It may not be possible for us to do two different school drop offs, so I'm not sure how to balance wanting the kids to be in the best school possible versus wanting the kids to be in the same school for convenience and companionship. If any of you have been through this situation or thought through this situation, I would appreciate your advice. |
Anonymous
| I don't know how it works if you have one in a charter already, but for my two we applied to the same charter this year. After DC1 was enrolled, DC2 moved to near the top of the waitlist for her grade (from way down on the waitlist). Both eventually were admitted. |
Anonymous
Call myschooldc and talk to them once the lottery has opened. They will help you think this through. |
Anonymous
+1 If it works as it has in the past, you could re-enroll DC 1 in current school, but still the play the lottery for both - and if either DC 1 or DC 2 get into a more preferred school, you could then get sibling preference for enrolling the other kid into that school (ie, bumped to the top of the waiting list of siblings for whatever grade the not lottery-ied kid is in.) |
Anonymous
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Yes, if DC2 gets in at HRCS, DC1 will move to the "w/sibling" portion of the waitlist.
It sounds like you should do this and that you can always enroll DC2 at NHRCS if nothing comes of the HRCS waitlist for DC1 HRCS. |
Anonymous
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check each school--most have a "sibling admitted" preference which is just below the "sibling enrolled" preference. So you'll look at the results you get in the lottery, and once you enroll child A in a school for 2017-8, child B will either get a space or be on the waitlist with any other kids who have siblings enrolled.
There is a risk that child B won't ever get off the waitlist. But it's also true that your younger child might not get a PK3 slot at your older kid's school. It's a lottery. The only guarantee is that starting in K, your kids will have spots in their in-bounds school. |
Anonymous
Call My School DC - they are super helpful but you have correct assumptions. Applying out won't impact DC1's standing at his current school, nor will it impact DC2's sibling preference at DC1's school. If either is accepted to your more preferred school, that school likely gives a "sibling accepted" preference and you can make the choice then. |
Anonymous
| I don't think people are addressing the OP's actual issue. If I am reading her post correctly it seems like she understands how preference works, but her real issue is that if DC2 gets into the HRCS and DC1 doesn't get in (even with preference) then she has a problem since she can't do two drop offs. And if that's really the question/statement/concern, then, and I don't mean to sound like a b****, but TFB. You have the option to list DC1's current school as #1 for DC2 and then you have only one drop off. Otherwise there's a risk. The choice is yours. Unless you would prefer that the lottery allow people to make provisional choices to accommodate your logistical concerns. |
Anonymous
| My understanding is that there is a different preference for "sibling enrolled" (which would be the case for DC2 at DC1's school if there is a waitlist of siblings) and "sibling accepted" (which would be the case for any school that one child gets into and accepts a seat at for which the other is waitlisted). So if there is a waitlist of siblings, your waitlisted child will be behind the siblings of students who are attending this year. |
Anonymous
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There is no guarantee that your PK3 kid will get into the PK4 school. The best shot you have is to re-enroll your older kid at the current school and rank it. Unless the whole PK3 fills up with kids whose siblings are also enrolled and you get a bad lottery draw, you'd get in. Even if you didn't get in, you'd be higher on the wait list.
The only things you can do that are safer than in terms of getting both kids into the same school next year are: a) live in an area that has an IB guarantee for PK, list your IB DCPS as your #1 lottery pick for both kids, and enroll them both there. b) get a job at a charter that puts "child of staff" above "sibling enrolled" in preference and enroll your kids there c) enroll both in the same private preschool. |
Anonymous
Parent of 3, who've attended 3 different schools over the years, here. Use all three to play the lottery. Having more than one child is expensive, so take advantage of anything that does actually work in your favor. Whatever your best result is in the lottery, the "most lucky" (for lack of a better term) child will pull your others in. Put all of them in the lottery and rank them in order of preference. If one hits the jackpot, the other will ride in via the WL. Schools make every effort to bring in siblings, because they know families are more committed and the entire education is better if the children are on the same path. |