Unified Lottery is official

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find it interesting that some of the schools that people have questions regarding how their lotteries work are not on the list. There is always questions on LAMB - and Creative Minds this year had the situation where not only did they not have a public event, they played with the results with the "New Founder"

You mean, someone on DCUM made up a rumor which was unconfirmed.

Heh - nice try. CM got caught in a lie.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No YY, interesting. Actually as a YY parent I hope they choose not to participate and keep the time stamp wait list. One if YY string points is the involved parents and the amazing job the PA does raising funds for the school. You definitely get some involved, dedicated parents if the top of your wait list is comprised of parents who took the extra effort to stand in line extra early. And before you say how unfair it is, with enough notice and planning you can work it out. It is ONE day out of the year.

If that's true, why so little participation from parents in the younger classes, especially the big class of 100?

That's not what I see. At all. The PA meetings have great attendance and they gave the school at check for 90K this year. Pretty amazing if you ask me. It's a very strong community.

Parents with kids in the higher grades run the PA. I think YY should get on board, or maybe the charter board should simply make it mandatory. I envision it will as the idea catches on.

Unlikely. YY isn't the only school that likes being able to offer an advantage to highly-motivated parents. The PCSB doesn't have the authority to change the law, nor the interest in forcing charters to conform to a system. After all, that's why they are independent charters, not part of a traditional district system. Top-down management is what leads to monsters such as DCPS, and the PCSB is very well aware of that fact.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Read up on the San Francisco school lottery system. The DC system is being based on a similar lottery premise.

Here is a summary of the SF system: http://blog.pacunion.com/san-francisco-public-school-lottery/

Sounds like people who rank a school highly are more likely to get in. From the article, it notes the lottery is held in several rounds: "The first round of school assignments go out in March, but families still have several other rounds, as well as wait lists, if they’re willing to hold out for a different school."

Ok, I'm getting confused now. I'd. DC eliminating IB preference?

I don't think so. You still can go to your IB school for k and above as a matter of right. I think it is more the "swap" part of the lottery to maximize too choices: http://blog.sfishome.com/san-francisco/san-francisco-public-school-lottery-explained/

.

Thanks for explaining. The Wapo article is short on details, and I don't like certain aspects of San Francisco's lottery.

Much not to like. Especially for us folk from the well to do hoods with the white enclave neighborhood schools that we feel so entitled to. See recent thread on ludlow t. How dare those uppity types occupy our neighborhood school. Don't they realize it could be turned around if their kids left to make space for ours. The sf system ensures diversity in every school. If dc council had any balls they would legislate for something similar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Emma Brown doesn't seem to understand her beat. DCPS doesn't have magnet or so-called out of boundary schools.

What other news sources are people using these days other than WaPo?

She is the worst and doesn't do her research before publishing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I feel for all the parents who are going to have to go through this next year. The more I read the worse it sounds. Can't believe that I managed to miss this by 1 year. Thank goodness for sibling preference. Good luck to everyone this year!

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Read up on the San Francisco school lottery system. The DC system is being based on a similar lottery premise.

Here is a summary of the SF system: http://blog.pacunion.com/san-francisco-public-school-lottery/

Sounds like people who rank a school highly are more likely to get in. From the article, it notes the lottery is held in several rounds: "The first round of school assignments go out in March, but families still have several other rounds, as well as wait lists, if they’re willing to hold out for a different school."

Ok, I'm getting confused now. I'd. DC eliminating IB preference?

I don't think so. You still can go to your IB school for k and above as a matter of right. I think it is more the "swap" part of the lottery to maximize too choices: http://blog.sfishome.com/san-francisco/san-francisco-public-school-lottery-explained/

.

Thanks for explaining. The Wapo article is short on details, and I don't like certain aspects of San Francisco's lottery.

Much not to like. Especially for us folk from the well to do hoods with the white enclave neighborhood schools that we feel so entitled to. See recent thread on ludlow t. How dare those uppity types occupy our neighborhood school. Don't they realize it could be turned around if their kids left to make space for ours. The sf system ensures diversity in every school. If dc council had any balls they would legislate for something similar.

It sounds like the SF system is the same as what DCPS was doing, except SF has an added preference for kids from lower-income areas of the city. There is no reason to think that DC will have that- it is against the law for charters. From all indications the system will be essentially the same as the existing DCPS system, with the addition of charters and more options beyond six. You rank your preferences, the system runs lotteries for every school (with preferences for neighborhood residents, siblings, proximity and founders for charters), and as people get into schools, they drop off the lists for schools they ranked lower, which moves other people up. You stay on the waitlist for schools you ranked higher than where you were accepted, and you are taken off the list for schools you ranked lower. This is by far the best way to run this type of system, as it gives parents every benefit to rank schools in the actual order of their preference. There is no way to game it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Read up on the San Francisco school lottery system. The DC system is being based on a similar lottery premise.

Here is a summary of the SF system: http://blog.pacunion.com/san-francisco-public-school-lottery/

Sounds like people who rank a school highly are more likely to get in. From the article, it notes the lottery is held in several rounds: "The first round of school assignments go out in March, but families still have several other rounds, as well as wait lists, if they’re willing to hold out for a different school."

Ok, I'm getting confused now. I'd. DC eliminating IB preference?

I don't think so. You still can go to your IB school for k and above as a matter of right. I think it is more the "swap" part of the lottery to maximize too choices: http://blog.sfishome.com/san-francisco/san-francisco-public-school-lottery-explained/

.

Thanks for explaining. The Wapo article is short on details, and I don't like certain aspects of San Francisco's lottery.

Much not to like. Especially for us folk from the well to do hoods with the white enclave neighborhood schools that we feel so entitled to. See recent thread on ludlow t. How dare those uppity types occupy our neighborhood school. Don't they realize it could be turned around if their kids left to make space for ours. The sf system ensures diversity in every school. If dc council had any balls they would legislate for something similar.

It sounds like the SF system is the same as what DCPS was doing, except SF has an added preference for kids from lower-income areas of the city. There is no reason to think that DC will have that- it is against the law for charters. From all indications the system will be essentially the same as the existing DCPS system, with the addition of charters and more options beyond six. You rank your preferences, the system runs lotteries for every school (with preferences for neighborhood residents, siblings, proximity and founders for charters), and as people get into schools, they drop off the lists for schools they ranked lower, which moves other people up. You stay on the waitlist for schools you ranked higher than where you were accepted, and you are taken off the list for schools you ranked lower. This is by far the best way to run this type of system, as it gives parents every benefit to rank schools in the actual order of their preference. There is no way to game it.

I think it will be like this, with one other twist, which if you read about the SF system, is very interesting: The computer will do "swaps" among people to get them into a higher-ranked choice when there is a mutually beneficial trade. That makes it more likely you will get into a higher-ranked choice. This sounds like a much better system as a result. If you get into a higher ranked choice, then you get dropped off of other waitlists, making more room for other people. Thus it will be iterative in the computer system when people get into their highest-ranked choice, get dropped off of lower-ranked waitlists, and as many people are matched as possible. There will be waitlists, but there will also probably be a lot less movement, since people are likely to be in a higher-ranked choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Read up on the San Francisco school lottery system. The DC system is being based on a similar lottery premise.

Here is a summary of the SF system: http://blog.pacunion.com/san-francisco-public-school-lottery/

Sounds like people who rank a school highly are more likely to get in. From the article, it notes the lottery is held in several rounds: "The first round of school assignments go out in March, but families still have several other rounds, as well as wait lists, if they’re willing to hold out for a different school."

Ok, I'm getting confused now. I'd. DC eliminating IB preference?

I don't think so. You still can go to your IB school for k and above as a matter of right. I think it is more the "swap" part of the lottery to maximize too choices: http://blog.sfishome.com/san-francisco/san-francisco-public-school-lottery-explained/

.

Thanks for explaining. The Wapo article is short on details, and I don't like certain aspects of San Francisco's lottery.

Much not to like. Especially for us folk from the well to do hoods with the white enclave neighborhood schools that we feel so entitled to. See recent thread on ludlow t. How dare those uppity types occupy our neighborhood school. Don't they realize it could be turned around if their kids left to make space for ours. The sf system ensures diversity in every school. If dc council had any balls they would legislate for something similar.

It sounds like the SF system is the same as what DCPS was doing, except SF has an added preference for kids from lower-income areas of the city. There is no reason to think that DC will have that- it is against the law for charters. From all indications the system will be essentially the same as the existing DCPS system, with the addition of charters and more options beyond six. You rank your preferences, the system runs lotteries for every school (with preferences for neighborhood residents, siblings, proximity and founders for charters), and as people get into schools, they drop off the lists for schools they ranked lower, which moves other people up. You stay on the waitlist for schools you ranked higher than where you were accepted, and you are taken off the list for schools you ranked lower. This is by far the best way to run this type of system, as it gives parents every benefit to rank schools in the actual order of their preference. There is no way to game it.

I think it will be like this, with one other twist, which if you read about the SF system, is very interesting: The computer will do "swaps" among people to get them into a higher-ranked choice when there is a mutually beneficial trade. That makes it more likely you will get into a higher-ranked choice. This sounds like a much better system as a result. If you get into a higher ranked choice, then you get dropped off of other waitlists, making more room for other people. Thus it will be iterative in the computer system when people get into their highest-ranked choice, get dropped off of lower-ranked waitlists, and as many people are matched as possible. There will be waitlists, but there will also probably be a lot less movement, since people are likely to be in a higher-ranked choice.

Whoa! The swap would be fantastic! I hope that is part of the logic.

[Anonymous]

So if people got their kids into a school already that is not the best choice but not the worst either, I wonder how the lottery would work then. If entering the lottery again is possible while already enrolled, would enrollment at current school be forfeited if the child's name is drawn at a higher ranked school?

[Anonymous]

Exactly, so in a simplified example, if random luck got you and me into our respective last choices, but my last choice happened to be your first choice and vice versa, the program would swap us, and we'd both be happier.

I sort of wish more of the language charters were participating, because that would really allow people to make it clear whether they want a specific language rather than they just want in to any decent school and will deal with the language it happens to offer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Exactly, so in a simplified example, if random luck got you and me into our respective last choices, but my last choice happened to be your first choice and vice versa, the program would swap us, and we'd both be happier.

I sort of wish more of the language charters were participating, because that would really allow people to make it clear whether they want a specific language rather than they just want in to any decent school and will deal with the language it happens to offer.

+1 on the language. I would really love to have my DC in a Spanish language charter to further the language spoken at home (by a non-native speaker) as reinforcement and the preferred way to introduce a bilingual culture.

[Anonymous]

Rats, I was really hoping that the confusion of the process would last one more year-- I would use it to my advantage because I understand the process as it is now extremely well. This sucks.

[Anonymous]

So, if this system is similar to San Fran, it be impossible for any WOTP kids to go to charters (since students in lower performing districts would always get preference first). Right? Also, if all language charters participated they would never be able to attract native speakers. Now, at least some Chinese can stand in line in early morning hours to apply (there are a couple every year). Seems to me that until language charters can give preference to native speakers like DCPS, this system would just ruin language charters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rats, I was really hoping that the confusion of the process would last one more year-- I would use it to my advantage because I understand the process as it is now extremely well. This sucks.

If I weren't lucky enough to get my child's spot at the WOTP that I most desired, I would feel the same way. I learned the ins and outs of the dysfunctional lottery system over the past several years and used it to up my chances. Lord help me if they ever start messing with sibling preference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, if this system is similar to San Fran, it be impossible for any WOTP kids to go to charters (since students in lower performing districts would always get preference first). Right? Also, if all language charters participated they would never be able to attract native speakers. Now, at least some Chinese can stand in line in early morning hours to apply (there are a couple every year). Seems to me that until language charters can give preference to native speakers like DCPS, this system would just ruin language charters.

I don't think the lottery can be like SF in that regard because by law the charter schools cannot give that sort of preference anymore than a language preference.