Public/Charter School Lottery Experience

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We refused to consider our IB. I think it’s a legitimate and justifiable choice. We did have other nearby safety schools.

Please tell me your reasoning for refusing to consider your IB school and what that school was.

For me, it was because they were so many better options available. If our child had drawn a bad number, I would have taken the step of considering vs. another year of preschool, but it never came to that.

What do you mean when you say drawn a bad number? I've been on this forum for the last two days and I keep seeing people refer to the numbers that they are given as good or bad. I am so confused. I'm starting to feel like I am way in over my head, but I just want whats best for my kid.

Go to the MySchool DC website and watch the video on how the lottery works (the direct link is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx7-o-ff9y4&feature=youtu.be)

In less than 5 minutes you will be less confused.

But it is really simple. They put all the kids applying for seats in a certain grade (let's say PK3) in an electronic "bucket." They pull one kid at a time out of the bucket: the first kid out has #1, the next has #2, etc. Then they go to kid #1 and look at her ranked list of schools. If there's a spot in her first-choice school, she gets it. If there isn't, she goes on the wait list for that school and they look at her second-choice school. Let's say she gets in to her second choice school. Then they move on to kid #2 and look at his list and put him in the school he ranked highest that has space for him.

It's a bit more complex than that given in-bound and sibling and other preferences and how some dual-language DCPS schools order their preferences differently than most schools, but that is really the gist of it. There is no way to game it. List up to 12 schools you like, in your order of preference, and hope that your kid is one of the first drawn out of the "bucket." Include some schools that tend to have more spaces available and/or where you have preferences (in-bound DCPS for example) if you want the best chance of matching somewhere, but rank it below any schools you'd prefer.

Close - but not quite. They don't allocate numbers by grade. Every student in the lottery gets a number - be they applying for Pk3 or 11th.

But you're only "competing" against other students in the same grade, so it's functionally the same as if they held separate lotteries.

No, because of the sibling component. And you can't explain the lottery without taking sibling preference into account, particularly if someone new is trying for Pk3 or Pk4.

People need to watch the video and talk to the staff at MSDC who explain this well. As opposed to the rest of us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd like OP to tell us why her neighborhood school is a nonstarter.

What is it about the children in the neighborhood where you chose to live that is so abhorrent to you?

My guess is that her "choice" to live in that neighborhood was heavy constrained by her finances. She probably would have chosen a different neighborhood where she liked the in bound school if she had been able to afford that. OTTH, there may be factors other than the school that made her choose her current location. She may have also learned that many of the neighborhood families avoid sending their kids to the neighborhood school. (That said, I found that many of my neighbors whose kids are older had bad impressions of the local elementary school which I did not feel were accurate.)

Also, OP, remember that the test scores that many people look at to determine if a school is "good" are standardized tests taken by kids 4th grade and up. These test scores often do not reflect the quality of the preschool program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd like OP to tell us why her neighborhood school is a nonstarter.

What is it about the children in the neighborhood where you chose to live that is so abhorrent to you?

My guess is that her "choice" to live in that neighborhood was heavy constrained by her finances. She probably would have chosen a different neighborhood where she liked the in bound school if she had been able to afford that. OTTH, there may be factors other than the school that made her choose her current location. She may have also learned that many of the neighborhood families avoid sending their kids to the neighborhood school. (That said, I found that many of my neighbors whose kids are older had bad impressions of the local elementary school which I did not feel were accurate.)

Also, OP, remember that the test scores that many people look at to determine if a school is "good" are standardized tests taken by kids 4th grade and up. These test scores often do not reflect the quality of the preschool program.

Yep.

I know the PP with this hobbyhorse thinks they're really making a cogent point that owns OP with logic, but none of the six families with school-age children on my block send their kids to our IB school. And yes, all (including us) are black or Hispanic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd like OP to tell us why her neighborhood school is a nonstarter.

What is it about the children in the neighborhood where you chose to live that is so abhorrent to you?

My guess is that her "choice" to live in that neighborhood was heavy constrained by her finances. She probably would have chosen a different neighborhood where she liked the in bound school if she had been able to afford that. OTTH, there may be factors other than the school that made her choose her current location. She may have also learned that many of the neighborhood families avoid sending their kids to the neighborhood school. (That said, I found that many of my neighbors whose kids are older had bad impressions of the local elementary school which I did not feel were accurate.)

Also, OP, remember that the test scores that many people look at to determine if a school is "good" are standardized tests taken by kids 4th grade and up. These test scores often do not reflect the quality of the preschool program.

Yep.

I know the PP with this hobbyhorse thinks they're really making a cogent point that owns OP with logic, but none of the six families with school-age children on my block send their kids to our IB school. And yes, all (including us) are black or Hispanic.

Would you mind telling me about your lottery experience and why you chose not to send your child(ren) to your IB school? TIA

[Anonymous]

The lottery is awful and unless you have some sort of preference like a sibling you should count on your snowflake going to your IB. I'd get comfortable with you IB, start applying to private school or stay in Australia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The lottery is awful and unless you have some sort of preference like a sibling you should count on your snowflake going to your IB. I'd get comfortable with you IB, start applying to private school or stay in Australia.

You are getting the threads confused. This OP is not moving from Australia. She already lives in the neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Some people get their top 3 choice. That’s the lottery. You mainly hear from those that didn’t in this forum. But statistically speaking, some people are bound to get a terrific master number. Pray you’re one of them. And if it doesn’t happen one year, try the next. Have a back up plan you feel comfortable with and don’t worry about the rest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some people get their top 3 choice. That’s the lottery. You mainly hear from those that didn’t in this forum. But statistically speaking, some people are bound to get a terrific master number. Pray you’re one of them. And if it doesn’t happen one year, try the next. Have a back up plan you feel comfortable with and don’t worry about the rest.

This argument insinuates that the impression that it is unlikely to get into a top choice is created by the self-selection of DCUM posters and wrong. That is absolutely misleading. Whether posters self-select in this way or not, it is a statistical fact that it is very unlikely for someone entering the lottery without preferences to get into one of the most popular charters. If the number of people who are getting one of their top choices seems high, it is because they chose their IB or because they have sibling preference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd like OP to tell us why her neighborhood school is a nonstarter.

What is it about the children in the neighborhood where you chose to live that is so abhorrent to you?

My guess is that her "choice" to live in that neighborhood was heavy constrained by her finances. She probably would have chosen a different neighborhood where she liked the in bound school if she had been able to afford that. OTTH, there may be factors other than the school that made her choose her current location. She may have also learned that many of the neighborhood families avoid sending their kids to the neighborhood school. (That said, I found that many of my neighbors whose kids are older had bad impressions of the local elementary school which I did not feel were accurate.)

Also, OP, remember that the test scores that many people look at to determine if a school is "good" are standardized tests taken by kids 4th grade and up. These test scores often do not reflect the quality of the preschool program.

Yep.

I know the PP with this hobbyhorse thinks they're really making a cogent point that owns OP with logic, but none of the six families with school-age children on my block send their kids to our IB school. And yes, all (including us) are black or Hispanic.

Would you mind telling me about your lottery experience and why you chose not to send your child(ren) to your IB school? TIA

Pre-common lottery but our oldest went to our second choice school for PK3 and has been at our top choice since PK4. Two of our neighbors had children at our second choice school as well, though one has since moved and another switched to a school that is not our IB but is actually closer than the IB school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Would you mind telling me about your lottery experience and why you chose not to send your child(ren) to your IB school? TIA

For us -- very few parents I have met in our neighborhood send their kids to our neighborhood school. That is in part, I think, because there are multiple Tier One charter schools (and even more lower tier charter schools) near us. Also, what used to be our neighborhood school closed and now half the neighborhood is zoned for an elementary to the south of us and half to the northeast. Either one would be a long walk with a preschooler (I'd probably try to bike or just drive). We visited our inbound school and it looked fine, but their sell seemed like, "We're a nice neighborhood school focusing on preparing our kids for the future." Fine, but if we can't walk there, why not drive an extra 5-10 minutes and get to a school that has dual language, or is Tier One, or has something else that sounds so special? Also, I don't think test scores are everything, the fact that over 75% of kids tested didn't even "meet expectations" on the standardized tests was not a selling point. Now, I'd overlook these scores if the school had a really compelling approach or mission; say, if their sell was -- "We don't teach to the test and spend time reading Shakespeare instead." Or, "part of our mission is to serve children with special needs, who don't do well on the standardized tests, but here's how we can show you these kids are making progress." If the school's "sell" is that they are teaching kids the basics, but the scores indicate that most of the kids at the school don't know the basics, well, that's not really encouraging to a prospective parent. If we didn't get in anywhere else, yes, I would have sent my kids to our neighborhood school for preschool and taken it year by year. But we did the lottery and got into charters that sounded better, so we went there.

[Anonymous]

“Why do you hate your neighbors?” really STFU when she was exposed for being wrong.

Remember this, as it will come up a million more times.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Would you mind telling me about your lottery experience and why you chose not to send your child(ren) to your IB school? TIA

For us -- very few parents I have met in our neighborhood send their kids to our neighborhood school. That is in part, I think, because there are multiple Tier One charter schools (and even more lower tier charter schools) near us. Also, what used to be our neighborhood school closed and now half the neighborhood is zoned for an elementary to the south of us and half to the northeast. Either one would be a long walk with a preschooler (I'd probably try to bike or just drive). We visited our inbound school and it looked fine, but their sell seemed like, "We're a nice neighborhood school focusing on preparing our kids for the future." Fine, but if we can't walk there, why not drive an extra 5-10 minutes and get to a school that has dual language, or is Tier One, or has something else that sounds so special? Also, I don't think test scores are everything, the fact that over 75% of kids tested didn't even "meet expectations" on the standardized tests was not a selling point. Now, I'd overlook these scores if the school had a really compelling approach or mission; say, if their sell was -- "We don't teach to the test and spend time reading Shakespeare instead." Or, "part of our mission is to serve children with special needs, who don't do well on the standardized tests, but here's how we can show you these kids are making progress." If the school's "sell" is that they are teaching kids the basics, but the scores indicate that most of the kids at the school don't know the basics, well, that's not really encouraging to a prospective parent. If we didn't get in anywhere else, yes, I would have sent my kids to our neighborhood school for preschool and taken it year by year. But we did the lottery and got into charters that sounded better, so we went there.

It seems like you are an Edgewood resident IB for Langley (the closed school being Shaed?) If so, I will mention for the record that Langley offers something special-- a socioemotional program which I love, perhaps it was not there yet when you looked? And that Langley operates numerous self-contained classrooms for kids with Level 4 IEPs, so that does have an impact on the test scores. I know the scores are not great overall, but our experience at Langley has been very positive and more and more parents are enrolling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some people get their top 3 choice. That’s the lottery. You mainly hear from those that didn’t in this forum. But statistically speaking, some people are bound to get a terrific master number. Pray you’re one of them. And if it doesn’t happen one year, try the next. Have a back up plan you feel comfortable with and don’t worry about the rest.

This argument insinuates that the impression that it is unlikely to get into a top choice is created by the self-selection of DCUM posters and wrong. That is absolutely misleading. Whether posters self-select in this way or not, it is a statistical fact that it is very unlikely for someone entering the lottery without preferences to get into one of the most popular charters. If the number of people who are getting one of their top choices seems high, it is because they chose their IB or because they have sibling preference.

This. I would love to see the statistic for people trying to get into schools without any preference. I’m sure it’s quite low.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some people get their top 3 choice. That’s the lottery. You mainly hear from those that didn’t in this forum. But statistically speaking, some people are bound to get a terrific master number. Pray you’re one of them. And if it doesn’t happen one year, try the next. Have a back up plan you feel comfortable with and don’t worry about the rest.

This argument insinuates that the impression that it is unlikely to get into a top choice is created by the self-selection of DCUM posters and wrong. That is absolutely misleading. Whether posters self-select in this way or not, it is a statistical fact that it is very unlikely for someone entering the lottery without preferences to get into one of the most popular charters. If the number of people who are getting one of their top choices seems high, it is because they chose their IB or because they have sibling preference.

This. I would love to see the statistic for people trying to get into schools without any preference. I’m sure it’s quite low.

It's pretty low for PK3, but higher for PK4 for various reasons.

It's also important to note that while many people get into one of their top 3 choices, many people have in their top 3 choices a school that is not actually hard for them to get into. If their older child is at a school they like, their younger child is 99% of the time going to get in, and they would rank it first if it were their true #1 preference. And some people aren't planning to stick around in DC so they don't care about middle school or even upper elementary and just pick a nice preschool with a short commute.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some people get their top 3 choice. That’s the lottery. You mainly hear from those that didn’t in this forum. But statistically speaking, some people are bound to get a terrific master number. Pray you’re one of them. And if it doesn’t happen one year, try the next. Have a back up plan you feel comfortable with and don’t worry about the rest.

This argument insinuates that the impression that it is unlikely to get into a top choice is created by the self-selection of DCUM posters and wrong. That is absolutely misleading. Whether posters self-select in this way or not, it is a statistical fact that it is very unlikely for someone entering the lottery without preferences to get into one of the most popular charters. If the number of people who are getting one of their top choices seems high, it is because they chose their IB or because they have sibling preference.

This. I would love to see the statistic for people trying to get into schools without any preference. I’m sure it’s quite low.

It's pretty low for PK3, but higher for PK4 for various reasons.

It's also important to note that while many people get into one of their top 3 choices, many people have in their top 3 choices a school that is not actually hard for them to get into. If their older child is at a school they like, their younger child is 99% of the time going to get in, and they would rank it first if it were their true #1 preference. And some people aren't planning to stick around in DC so they don't care about middle school or even upper elementary and just pick a nice preschool with a short commute.

Agreed. The statistics the MySchoolDC folks like to tout about people matching at top choices really makes it seem like folks with no preferences have a decent shot. And that’s not the case for most schools.