OP here. I guess I misunderstood how they calculate it; I thought the edges of the square were 3,000 feet from the school. Thank you all for clarifying. Drat, this means our chances are even worse at those two schools.

From the FAQ, it says proximity is determined with a "square" around the school with sides that are 3000 ft for ES (with the school in the middle), so the distance from the school would be 1500-2100 ft or so, depending on whether you are due N/S/E/W or on the diagonal.

See the footnote on this page.

http://dcps.dc.gov/DCPS/Files/downloads/Learn-About-Schools/OOB%20-%20Schools%20That%20Have%20Seats/English%20PSPK%202012-2013%20FAQ.pdf

*DC Municipal Regulations B 2106.3 defines “reasonable walking distance” to be a theoretical square oriented north-south with the school in the center and the sides measuring 3000 feet for elementary schools and educat ion campuses and 5000 feet for middle Schools.

Seems unduly complicated, but apparently that's what the reg says. And who knows how the DCPS lottery system accurately determines this.

From DCPS webpage on lottery:

If you have any further questions, or require further assistance, don’t hesitate to call our Critical Response line at 202-478-5738. The Critical Response Team will gladly work with you over the phone to submit an application, troubleshoot any issue you may have had, or answer any questions.

check the map to see where the lines are drawn.

We live within half a mile of two of the school on the list I just submitted, so we should have proximity preference, but the application said we have no preferences at those schools. Anyone understand why that would be? I'm sure about the distance between our house and the schools, and the proximity preference is supposed to cover up to 3,000 feet, which is more than half a mile. This might make the difference between getting in and not, so I'm not sure if I should contact DCPS, and if so, who.