Lafayette PK4 lottery- Bumped down!!!!!

[Anonymous]

SO we live one block from Lafayette. My son will be 5 in november so we paid for PK3 last year at a nice local church program, and decided to not enroll again thinking we'd have no problems getting into Lafayette.

Day of lottery release, we were #17 on waitlist. Over a few months, moved down to #1 on the list. we sat there for weeks thinking we'd get in any day.

Turns out, we were then bumped down to #3 and now #4.

We are so angry and frustrated. I understand the lottery and preferences for siblings of in-boundary kids. But tell me why exactly it is fair that a few new families move in over the summer, enroll their older kids, and their siblings automatically get preference over my child. I know you'll say that's the rules, and what an inconvenience it would be for their siblings to be in different schools etc, and even that PK4 is not necessarily guaranteed, or if it is, I have to be willing to travel to all over the city.

But why wouldn't that be true for these new families too?

Anyway, just frustrated and venting. My tax dollars at work

[Anonymous]

Sorry OP. But have faith. There are still many weeks until school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:SO we live one block from Lafayette. My son will be 5 in november so we paid for PK3 last year at a nice local church program, and decided to not enroll again thinking we'd have no problems getting into Lafayette.

Day of lottery release, we were #17 on waitlist. Over a few months, moved down to #1 on the list. we sat there for weeks thinking we'd get in any day.

Turns out, we were then bumped down to #3 and now #4.

We are so angry and frustrated. I understand the lottery and preferences for siblings of in-boundary kids. But tell me why exactly it is fair that a few new families move in over the summer, enroll their older kids, and their siblings automatically get preference over my child. I know you'll say that's the rules, and what an inconvenience it would be for their siblings to be in different schools etc, and even that PK4 is not necessarily guaranteed, or if it is, I have to be willing to travel to all over the city.

But why wouldn't that be true for these new families too?

Anyway, just frustrated and venting. My tax dollars at work

When you made the decision not to re-enroll had you spoken with the Principal or anyone at the school to understand what they were forecasting for the incoming class? Did you consider putting your child in the lottery for any other PreK programs? Or was your strategy Lafayette or bust?

[Anonymous]

Because whether your child starts at Lafayette for Pk4 of K, his or her younger sibling will get to automatically enroll.

You knew this was a risk going in.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I applied to 10 schools but most were reaches (YY, oyster adams, school without walls etc) but we're waaaaay down on the lists for those. We can re-enroll him in the church school for 17k next year as we have a great relationship with it, but I was really hoping for good news by now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:SO we live one block from Lafayette. My son will be 5 in november so we paid for PK3 last year at a nice local church program, and decided to not enroll again thinking we'd have no problems getting into Lafayette.

Day of lottery release, we were #17 on waitlist. Over a few months, moved down to #1 on the list. we sat there for weeks thinking we'd get in any day.

Turns out, we were then bumped down to #3 and now #4.

We are so angry and frustrated. I understand the lottery and preferences for siblings of in-boundary kids. But tell me why exactly it is fair that a few new families move in over the summer, enroll their older kids, and their siblings automatically get preference over my child. I know you'll say that's the rules, and what an inconvenience it would be for their siblings to be in different schools etc, and even that PK4 is not necessarily guaranteed, or if it is, I have to be willing to travel to all over the city.

But why wouldn't that be true for these new families too?

Anyway, just frustrated and venting. My tax dollars at work

Because that's the way it works, and you knew that going in?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I applied to 10 schools but most were reaches (YY, oyster adams, school without walls etc) but we're waaaaay down on the lists for those. We can re-enroll him in the church school for 17k next year as we have a great relationship with it, but I was really hoping for good news by now.

So basically, this is just a vent about paying for preschool. Got it.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Wow. How about the kids who were below me on the wait list- #1 through 16? They just got lucky enough to squeeze in before the new people moved into the neighborhood. That's my only issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Wow. How about the kids who were below me on the wait list- #1 through 16? They just got lucky enough to squeeze in before the new people moved into the neighborhood. That's my only issue.

You're right, OP. It's totally unfair to you that 16 comes before 17.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Wow. How about the kids who were below me on the wait list- #1 through 16? They just got lucky enough to squeeze in before the new people moved into the neighborhood. That's my only issue.

Many of them probably enrolled in their private preschool when they learned they got waitlisted. Which is why you got bumped up...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Wow. How about the kids who were below me on the wait list- #1 through 16? They just got lucky enough to squeeze in before the new people moved into the neighborhood. That's my only issue.

Your master number was bad. If your master number had been good you would have started out higher on the Lafayette WL, or gotten into one of your reaches.

I don't think you understand how the lottery algorithm works.

[Anonymous]

I agree with OP that this really sucks, and I’m not sure I agree with the sibling preference applying in this manner after the deadline. OP,
it could be a lot worse — you are lucky the waitlist has moved that much. We were initially 2 on a similar waitlist (for our IB) a couple years ago, bumped back to 5, and then - what do you know - 3 kids got in off the waitlist, leaving us right back at 2. We didn’t get in for PK3 anywhere that year or PK4 the next year. It gets worse (our luck) but I won’t bore you with how bad our luck has been, and all for our IB school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree with OP that this really sucks, and I’m not sure I agree with the sibling preference applying in this manner after the deadline. OP,
it could be a lot worse — you are lucky the waitlist has moved that much. We were initially 2 on a similar waitlist (for our IB) a couple years ago, bumped back to 5, and then - what do you know - 3 kids got in off the waitlist, leaving us right back at 2. We didn’t get in for PK3 anywhere that year or PK4 the next year. It gets worse (our luck) but I won’t bore you with how bad our luck has been, and all for our IB school.

Let me play:
Brent - did not get in for PreK3 or 4 ..... and sibling did not clear the waitlist either even after you enrolled in K?

[Anonymous]

I know it sucks, OP, but if you really wanted public PK and save 17K there would have been options. We did not get into our WOTP school for PK4 either, so we stayed at the Title 1 school EOTP where we already had been for PK3, and then entered our IB school for K. We had a fine too years EOTP, even if we would have preferred not to commute and be at our neighborhood school. Clearly you are willing to commute a long way if you list YY. But if you only put popular long shot schools on your list (or completely hopeless ones like Oyster), you might as well only have listed Lafayette, because a master number that gets you into YY will also get you into your IB.

That's all to say that my sympathy for you missing out on saving your 17K is limited.

[Anonymous]

*two years, not too