Has anyone applied to LAMBS PCS from outside DC, moving in-district after the lottery? My family is moving to DC in the summer, and this is our one chance to get into the school, but we won't have a local address until we get there, obviously.

I'm the poster who called a few months back. Whomever answered (didn't get her name, but now wished I would've) readily admitted that they had a preference for Spanish dominant. She didn't say it like there was anything to hide. Curious to see how the app. will look this year. When I called it was to get prepared for this lottery "season".

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It may not be a "waiver" but simply the way they operated from the beginning. Sounds like they no longer ask on the application which would make the balancing difficult.

not to difficult......i'm sure they look at the kids names and try and profile for hispanic children...which is probably why some kids jumped ahead of others

No. In the past, they DID ask a question about language dominance. So they wouldn't need to "profile" for kids with Spanish-sounding last names. Sounds like that's over now.

That's too bad. They were able to provide a mix that allowed the students to learn from each other. I wonder if a charter could request two lotteries to this end? The same number of seats would be there, just more of a balance.

There cannot be two lotteries, one for Spanish dominant and another for English. Charters cannot "pick" the characteristics of their students, including dominant language. Oyster does this b/c it's a DCPS and not a charter.

Anonymous wrote:My kid has a European last name- not at all Spanish- and is a native Spanish-speaker. Hope they aren't going to try to profile by name. My friend who's from South America did not teach her son Spanish and they have a strong Hispanic name. I'm going to call next week and ask about this.

Do you acuatly think they would tell you that they do this? OF course they going to say they don't..but remember..they also said their charter allowed them to give preference and it actually did not. I wouldn't put it past them.

Anonymous wrote:My kid has a European last name- not at all Spanish- and is a native Spanish-speaker. Hope they aren't going to try to profile by name. My friend who's from South America did not teach her son Spanish and they have a strong Hispanic name. I'm going to call next week and ask about this.

Do you acuatly think they would tell you that they do this? OF course they going to say they don't..but remember..they also said their charter allowed them to give preference and it actually did not. I wouldn't put it past them.

My kid has a European last name- not at all Spanish- and is a native Spanish-speaker. Hope they aren't going to try to profile by name. My friend who's from South America did not teach her son Spanish and they have a strong Hispanic name. I'm going to call next week and ask about this.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I submitted my application at the very last open house and got in off the wait list. There are no questions about language ability on the application but I estimate 2/3 of my child's class to be bilingual. This includes students whose parents are not native speakers but are fluent in spanish.

Did you have a sibling preference?

For last years lottery I didn't have any sibling preference and there are three other new kids in my child's class who didn't have sibling preference either. As far as looking at names and trying to tell if someone is a spanish speaker, in my child's class their are a lot of mixed race couples. Usually the dad is white or AA and the mom is the native spanish speaker. If you looked at the last names in my kids class you would think spanish speakers were in the minority After admittance into the school there is a language survey that all DC students are supposed to fill out along with the other paperwork. I guess they use the survey to decide what classroom to put your child in.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It may not be a "waiver" but simply the way they operated from the beginning. Sounds like they no longer ask on the application which would make the balancing difficult.

not to difficult......i'm sure they look at the kids names and try and profile for hispanic children...which is probably why some kids jumped ahead of others

No. In the past, they DID ask a question about language dominance. So they wouldn't need to "profile" for kids with Spanish-sounding last names. Sounds like that's over now.

Profiling can still happen....a person can profile when they see the last name Hernandez....theyy do not need to ask if you are Hispanic they cna profile with the persons name.

What is the likey hood that a person name Jerome Brown is Black, Koren or Hispanic?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It may not be a "waiver" but simply the way they operated from the beginning. Sounds like they no longer ask on the application which would make the balancing difficult.

not to difficult......i'm sure they look at the kids names and try and profile for hispanic children...which is probably why some kids jumped ahead of others

No. In the past, they DID ask a question about language dominance. So they wouldn't need to "profile" for kids with Spanish-sounding last names. Sounds like that's over now.

That's too bad. They were able to provide a mix that allowed the students to learn from each other. I wonder if a charter could request two lotteries to this end? The same number of seats would be there, just more of a balance.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It may not be a "waiver" but simply the way they operated from the beginning. Sounds like they no longer ask on the application which would make the balancing difficult.

not to difficult......i'm sure they look at the kids names and try and profile for hispanic children...which is probably why some kids jumped ahead of others

No. In the past, they DID ask a question about language dominance. So they wouldn't need to "profile" for kids with Spanish-sounding last names. Sounds like that's over now.

How many lottery spots are there anyway? Don't most spaces goto sibs and staff/founders.

Anonymous wrote:It may not be a "waiver" but simply the way they operated from the beginning. Sounds like they no longer ask on the application which would make the balancing difficult.

not to difficult......i'm sure they look at the kids names and try and profile for hispanic children...which is probably why some kids jumped ahead of others

Good to know that they don't have a language preference anymore....always wondered how they could get away with that.

It may not be a "waiver" but simply the way they operated from the beginning. Sounds like they no longer ask on the application which would make the balancing difficult.

Schools are not allowed to provide any preferences except for sibs and founders. LAMB used to but they did not have a waiver. The idea of a waiver does not exist. LAMB had previously claimed they were allowed to provide preference to Spanish dominant children but that simply is not the case. The charter board finally but the kibosh on providing an illegal preference and they stopped. Notice that their application does not ask about language preference anymore. LAMB is an excellent school and so I say this not to embarrass them or complain but simply to set the record straight and encourage all schools to follow charter law and play by the same rules all the schools are playing by.