Reply to Lottery for all middle and high schools -- what are people really proposing?

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Reply to "Lottery for all middle and high schools -- what are people really proposing?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I went to a focus group this week and what I found curious were the parents who bought in Shaw, Columbia Heights, etc. that somehow want access to Deal.  I mean, what were you thinking when you bought there?  You buy a house for a steal seven years ago, get a 100% return on your investment and NOW you want access to the best MS in the city accross town because you say "everyone deserves access to high quality education and my taxes are as good as yours."  Sorry friend, your luck has run out and you are going to have to live with the consequences of your location choice.[/quote]

So explain to me what any individual resident has done that makes them more entitled than any other resident to a high quality, free public education for their children.[/quote]

Um, maybe they looked at the school boundary map before they bought a house in a particular location?  I mean, the urban pioneers made a conscious decision for square footage over school quality.  You could have bought or rented a perfectly nice condo on Connecticut Avenue, but instead you wanted a house.  That is fine.  I am not judging. But you have to own that decision. [/quote]

In the hypothetical, the decision was made seven years ago. Seven years ago anyone who wanted to go to Deal could go there, it wasn't nearly as well-regarded as it is today. Many of the kids who are at Deal today are there not because of anything particularly virtuous that they did, but because their families got lucky with the timing, buying when it was affordable and having the school improve just in time for them.

There are basically three ways to get into a desirable public school in DC:
1. Move in-boundary for a desirable school and pay the price.
2. Move in-boundary for a school with the potential to improve and hope you get lucky with the timing.
3. Get lucky with the lottery.

When you have a system where some people are getting slots because they're paying for them, and others getting them through luck, it's legitimate to question the fairness.

For what it's worth, I'm in category 1. [/quote]

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