I applied to Yu Ying online and got a very good waitlist number. I do not think YY gives advantage to those who show up in person, based on my experience. I applied at the stroke of 8am on the morning the lottery opened.

What would you have done if you did not have internet service in your residence that day, and the library with the free internet access was closed because it was only 8 a.m., and your equally impoverished friends and relatives also did not have internet access?

Oh, and you couldn't camp out the night before / morning of because you were at your $8.74 an hour job as an elder care worker doing the overnight shift and no vacation/flex-time option? ie, you don't show up, you are fired?

I think I've pretty accurately described the situation of many of DC's poorest single moms. I guess the "early bird" waitlist schools don't need them.

Anonymous wrote:They want parents who are motivated and really want their kid to attend. Since both Stokes and Yu Ying are immersion language schools, the kids need a supportive home environment who'll foster learning Spanish, French or Mandarin.

Love the satire. whew! For a second I thought you were implying that parent #31 on a WL loves their child less than parent #15. Then it looked like you were saying parents who apply early have already achieved some mastery of language acquisition. Or maybe you meant willingness to apply online for a 3 year old without ever having spoken to someone at the school or seen the building (if there is one) is proof parents "really want their kid to attend". As opposed to just hedging their bets, knowing they can always do the September shuffle if they get into their real top pick.

You were joking, right?

I applied to Yu Ying online and got a very good waitlist number. I do not think YY gives advantage to those who show up in person, based on my experience. I applied at the stroke of 8am on the morning the lottery opened.

Doesn't LAMB also order its waitlist by order of application?

Most of the kids admitted to Stokes are siblings with very few admitted off the lottery/wait list. How many available spaces this yr for PK-3 for nonsibs? Yu Ying had around 40 spaces available for preK this year but for 2013, spaces will be fewer b/c many of the siblings from the jumbo preK class in 2011 will be attending. I predict less than 20 spaces available for the lottery/wait list For preK.

So pp, unless you want charters to no longer have sibling preference, very few from the lottery and wait lists will be attending these schools.

Retreading old ground... There was a whole thread last year about the stokes lottery. Nobody will ever be happy... Even if schools could take all interested applicants, I bet ppl wld be concerned as a "good" school shouldn't be able to do that

Why stop there? Since YY and Stokes are immersion, for chrissake, they should probably do something for admission that creates even more barriers to the disadvantaged! Issuing secret passwords through only the newest version of the iPad, maybe? Giving top preference to parents who drive up to apply in Prius?

'Cause, many kids admitted through a truly level playing field will just need remediation and lower track, anyway. Why not throw up barriers and make sure fewer of them get through the door in the first place?

They want parents who are motivated and really want their kid to attend. Since both Stokes and Yu Ying are immersion language schools, the kids need a supportive home environment who'll foster learning Spanish, French or Mandarin.

Also FYI -- It seems that last year YY gave priority to those who showed up at the school rather than those online (they took all of them and then added the online applications to the list). Not sure if they do that this year but worth asking.

Anonymous wrote:Here is a question: why *wouldn't* a PCS use a pure lottery system to order the waitlist applicants?

Can you articulate a compelling policy reason why a school should NOT go with pure lottery?

(now that we all have the computer technology to do this easily, e.g., spit out random numbers in <5 seconds).

Dude! Just skip the lottery! Have an unannounced single day when everybody who reads the school's website once a week can line up and get school slots in order of when they showed up!

No wait, I guess we created a lottery for purposes of fairness to all applicants....

They want parents who are motivated and really want their kid to attend. Since both Stokes and Yu Ying are immersion language schools, the kids need a supportive home environment who'll foster learning Spanish, French or Mandarin.

Here is a question: why *wouldn't* a PCS use a pure lottery system to order the waitlist applicants?

Can you articulate a compelling policy reason why a school should NOT go with pure lottery?

(now that we all have the computer technology to do this easily, e.g., spit out random numbers in <5 seconds).

AppleTree used to - they changed for the 2011/2012 admissions class to pure lottery.

I personally think it is fair even though last year my chances at theseschools was limited because I only learned that I was being transferred to DC after the deadlines. No system is perfectly fair? What about families that move after the lotteries?

What's so bad about it? Not like it's a secret how the waitlist is put together: Threes schools do it and Latin stopped. It discriminates against the disorganized and unmotivated. Same mentality, that keeps DC from having a G&T track.

These are the only three I know of. I don't think it's fair to those who aren't in the know and can't get their app in the first day. And we are at one of the three. I know it's legal. But I don't think it's right.