But how does the PCSB have the ability to do that, when it's the (federal) law that governs this and it specifically says that charters can order the waitlist in the order in which they were received? I really don't understand. I agree that the system is broken, and I'm grateful for a unified lottery (and wish Stokes would participate). But I don't think the PCSB is within its right to force a charter school to do so when federal law gives it is directly in compliance with federal law.

There is a family at Stokes who were at Sela, got called off the wait-list at YY and left Sela, and then got called off the wait list for Stokes and left YY. Tell me that the system isn't broken. Kudos to the PCSB for getting tough on these shenanigans and blocking schools from time stamping applications for parents with the luxury to camp out. They aren't more committed - they just don't have the resources to skip work, have a spouse, or pay the au pair.

I really hope that more schools move into the unified lottery, even if that means that they need to give people a greater # of schools to apply to. Would help match people with the schools that they really want, and it would force parents to make choices early, minimizing the disruption to kids, teachers, and administrators once classes start. I really don't understand why Stokes didn't enter it this year, especially considering that almost all their slots go to siblings.

Anonymous wrote:Schools like these will make this mistake only once. Because, unless they either have a system to prioritize the really determined or participate in the unified process, they will get every single person on the market to apply. Really too bad for those who truly have a strong preference for Stokes.

I concur with your thoughts. If we want charters to succeed, they need to be allowed the cherry-pick the best possible students. Charter schools don't have better teachers or educational philosophies - they just have kids from better families.

Another one for whom the sibling preference has proven rough - we had a pretty good WL number for Stokes pre-K this year and didn't come near to getting a phone call. Turned down several other open spots to hedge our bet that Stokes would come through but the number of siblings overran the wait list. Frustrating as hell, but it's a risk we took and it didn't pay off. Was fully prepared to apply at noon on Friday for K and now we're simply screwed.
I hate this f-ing game and can only hope the unified lottery is a step in the direction of fixing it (though it will take years, which we don't have, so we're stuck at the mercy of a crappy system in the meantime.)
And yes, we're now looking at moving out of DC since we don't have the time or the energy to navigate the school system here.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Schools like these will make this mistake only once. Because, unless they either have a system to prioritize the really determined or participate in the unified process, they will get every single person on the market to apply. Really too bad for those who truly have a strong preference for Stokes.

Sorry, but you are overestimating how much the schools care about their applicants. Stokes has so few openings that it's not that big a deal to go through the list. I agree that it would be best for the applicants if they would participate in the common lottery, but it doesn't hurt Stokes one bit.

I was about to agree with the poster to whom you were responding, and then I read your response--and that completely makes sense. Why do they care when they have a handful of slots for non-siblings? The sibling preference is killing us, as we have an only child.

Anonymous wrote:Schools like these will make this mistake only once. Because, unless they either have a system to prioritize the really determined or participate in the unified process, they will get every single person on the market to apply. Really too bad for those who truly have a strong preference for Stokes.

Sorry, but you are overestimating how much the schools care about their applicants. Stokes has so few openings that it's not that big a deal to go through the list. I agree that it would be best for the applicants if they would participate in the common lottery, but it doesn't hurt Stokes one bit.

Schools like these will make this mistake only once. Because, unless they either have a system to prioritize the really determined or participate in the unified process, they will get every single person on the market to apply. Really too bad for those who truly have a strong preference for Stokes.

Ugh, that's too bad. I would have thought that Stokes would either keep the system they had in place, or participate in the unified lottery to get people in who really wanted to be there.

Are people saying that the PCSB required this change in order to renew the charter?

Everyone complained about the old system and they'll complain about this one too. Take it up with DCPCSB, they're the ones who oversaw the charter renewal and the necessary policy changes that came with it. And I don't mean that snarkily either - I think things might improve a lot around here if folks actually spoke to the people making these policies as opposed to complaining about them. Be the change!

Ugh.

The online application for the 2014-2015 school year will open on Friday, October 11, at 12 noon. All applications must be submitted online. The deadline to apply is April 4. Siblings are given preference. Applications submitted on October 11 through April 4 will be weighted equally. A lottery will be held on April 10 for every grade that has open spaces. We will select applicant names at random to fill these spaces. We will randomly select the rest of the applicants' names to form the order for the waitlist. Applications received after the deadline will be added to the bottom of the waitlist in the order that they are submitted.

No need to stress now. As long as you get it end by midnight on the last day.

Everyone on DCUM complained....

What gives? I was all set to put in my application super early.