Anonymous wrote:I was at the lottery. I hadn't ever been to a lottery before so I can't make a comparison, but it all seemed to be done legitimately. It was an independent organization that conducted the lottery and it was videotaped. The only part of this confusion that I can possibly explain is that they read the list of siblings accepted before the drawing was done. I suspect they just forgot to include the list of accepted siblings when they posted the lottery results, since in their minds the siblings were already accepted. For PK3 there were a total of 46 spaces, but only 37 are listed on the lottery results. The other 9 went to siblings and aren't listed. Maybe that accounts for all of the missing numbers...?

This would make sense, but I am a PK3 applicant, who qualifies, no sibling and who isn't on there. There are 70 PK3 numbers total based on the results and only 57 accounted for in acceptances and waitlist. So there are 13 missing numbers. Hopefully, they sort it out on Monday.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The wait lists are weird in that they are in numerical order. That doesn't make sense to me if it was a random lottery.

are they allowed to do the waitlists by date/time of application? That is how YY and Stokes used to do it. Basically, the first person in line became #1, the next became #2, etc. They would draw the number of kids for whom they had open slots, then put everyone else in number order on the waitlist. So if 10 people wanted to attend, they had 5 slots, and numbers 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8 got the slots, the waitlist would look like:

1. #3
2. #5
3. #7
4. #9
5. #10

It really encouraged people to sign up as fast as possible, in some cases camping outside the night before or hiring line-sitters. If Bethune is using this model, it would make sense for the waitlist to be numerical. The people who were missing could be errors, or could be people who withdrew from the lottery.

No, what they've done is a random lottery and then ordered the results numerically so that you can find your number more easily - presumably they are not listed in the order drawn because it doesn't really matter if you were the first or the 31st to be drawn if you got in. Because a high proportion of people got in and waitlists are short it appears almost numerical, but the first 10 numbers for PK3 went like this:

Admitted: 2, 4, 5, 7, 8
Waitlist: 1, 3

It's not obvious where 6 and 9 are but perhaps they withdrew.

I think as far as ADMITTED students go, it doesn't matter that they reordered the lists numerically. But they also did it for the waitlists, which seems unfair. We have sibling preference, and are way lower on a waitlist than I expected, because they ordered the waitlists numerically and we had a higher number.

Sounds like they did the waitlist in the order that people applied, which is how Yu Ying and Stokes used to do it.

I'm a Bethune neighbor who applied for PK3. And honestly, the only reason I applied is that they're close. I visited the school and wasn't altogether impressed with the staff or curriculum. There's a few bright spots, but not enough for me to treat it as anything more than a fallback. There's a lot of MD tags at pickup and dropoff, and some of the parents are downright hostile to the neighbors. They throw trash in yards, park in front of driveways, and are generally rude and sometimes threatening. One neighbor filed a restraining order against one parent who made threats against her and her child. I got in, but I'm hoping to surrender that spot.

I'm the poster from before who attended the lottery. I don't know what the deal is with the lottery wait list order. My impression at the lottery was that the wait list would be in the order it was drawn. So my guess is that they got a little overzealous when they were organizing the list to make it easier for everyone to find their numbers and organized the wait list as well even though they didn't mean to (forgetting that the order there did matter). But I really have no idea. Hopefully that will get clarified on Monday.

I'm not trying to defend them... I really want to like the school because it would be so convenient for us, but I am admittedly giving them many more chances than I would a school that is farther from us. They do seem to have some serious organizational issues. If it is really just on the level of communication and doesn't impact the classroom in any way, then I might be willing to overlook that.

Thank you very much to those of you with direct experience there who have posted your reviews, it is very helpful. I'd love to keep hearing more if there are more of you out there who have comments to add.

Anonymous wrote:

I think as far as ADMITTED students go, it doesn't matter that they reordered the lists numerically. But they also did it for the waitlists, which seems unfair. We have sibling preference, and are way lower on a waitlist than I expected, because they ordered the waitlists numerically and we had a higher number.

We are waitlisted for PK3, and I think this comment gets to the crux of the problem. It is possible that the identification number each family received was random, in which case even if the waitlist numbers are in numerical order the drawing is still technically random. But if it was assigned in order of application, as I suspect it was, then our place on the waitlist is a factor of when we applied. I didn't think was supposed to be a determining factor. I'd like a more full accounting of the process, and join others who indicate this reflects on our view of the administration at the school. We had questions about how well the school was run before the lottery occurred, and this is another question that will now need to be answered.

We did PK3 at Bethune 2 years ago and had a great year. Very kind and loving teachers, and I was very impressed with the amount of assessment and feedback they provided about our child. We did not return only because we moved to a different part of the city. The parents were also very friendly.

Anonymous wrote:I was at the lottery. I hadn't ever been to a lottery before so I can't make a comparison, but it all seemed to be done legitimately. It was an independent organization that conducted the lottery and it was videotaped. The only part of this confusion that I can possibly explain is that they read the list of siblings accepted before the drawing was done. I suspect they just forgot to include the list of accepted siblings when they posted the lottery results, since in their minds the siblings were already accepted. For PK3 there were a total of 46 spaces, but only 37 are listed on the lottery results. The other 9 went to siblings and aren't listed. Maybe that accounts for all of the missing numbers...?

Thank you - this makes much more sense.

I'm a Bethune parent. Our child is in PK-4, so we've been there almost 2 years and have been very happy at the school. Yes, at times there are some communications/organizational issues with the administration, but find me ONE school out there that doesn't have its own set of issues. The difference is that the administration at Bethune is incredibly responsive to parents who have raised their concerns and is very willing to work with them towards a solution.

The teaching staff is incredible, and is the reason we decided to attend. Most of the early childhood educators hold advanced degrees and are very effective in the classroom. They are also kind, dedicated and genuinely care about their students. I should also note that there are a LOT of very dedicated parents of early childhood students. They are committed to seeing the school and their kids succeed. Education starts at home, and when parents invest in their children, schools get better and better.

Regarding the question on discipline, I can only speak to my child's classes, but the emphasis is more on rewarding GOOD behavior and encouraging the students to conduct themselves appropriately. For example, in PK4 students are given green (good behavior/helping out), yellow (warning) and red (bad behavior) painted popsicle sticks to reflect their behavior in class, and they are posted next to the child's picture during the week. The kids are really proud of their green sticks and eager to show them off to their parents and friends. Not so much the red ones. On a general level, when noise in the class picks up and the teachers need to regain attention, visual cues (lights on/off) or pattern clapping or a bell is used. I've never heard the teachers raise their voices, and the other cues seem to be very effective.

Hope that helps answer a few questions...

Anonymous wrote:Oh, and I'd love to hear from parents who currently have kids at Bethune. I've heard mixed reviews and would like to hear more opinions, particularly about how structured it is in PK and how discipline/classroom management is handled, but also just general impressions.

+1

Oh, and I'd love to hear from parents who currently have kids at Bethune. I've heard mixed reviews and would like to hear more opinions, particularly about how structured it is in PK and how discipline/classroom management is handled, but also just general impressions.

I was at the lottery. I hadn't ever been to a lottery before so I can't make a comparison, but it all seemed to be done legitimately. It was an independent organization that conducted the lottery and it was videotaped. The only part of this confusion that I can possibly explain is that they read the list of siblings accepted before the drawing was done. I suspect they just forgot to include the list of accepted siblings when they posted the lottery results, since in their minds the siblings were already accepted. For PK3 there were a total of 46 spaces, but only 37 are listed on the lottery results. The other 9 went to siblings and aren't listed. Maybe that accounts for all of the missing numbers...?

Are there any other Bethune parents out there who have an enrolled sibling (and therefore thought they would have sibling preference) and as a result of the Thursday lottery are either 1) waitlisted, or 2) did not see their lottery number on EITHER the "accepted" or "waitlisted" list? Just trying to get a better sense of the situation.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We applied for pk3 a few months ago, received confirmation of our application, received a postcard with our official number, but now do not see our number on the lottery results ( including the wait list). Does anyone know what the deal is?

I'm in the same boat. We also have another child who is enrolled, so its a bit confusing as we thought we'd have sibling preference. Hopefully it will be sorted out soon.

Yikes!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The wait lists are weird in that they are in numerical order. That doesn't make sense to me if it was a random lottery.

are they allowed to do the waitlists by date/time of application? That is how YY and Stokes used to do it. Basically, the first person in line became #1, the next became #2, etc. They would draw the number of kids for whom they had open slots, then put everyone else in number order on the waitlist. So if 10 people wanted to attend, they had 5 slots, and numbers 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8 got the slots, the waitlist would look like:

1. #3
2. #5
3. #7
4. #9
5. #10

It really encouraged people to sign up as fast as possible, in some cases camping outside the night before or hiring line-sitters. If Bethune is using this model, it would make sense for the waitlist to be numerical. The people who were missing could be errors, or could be people who withdrew from the lottery.

No, what they've done is a random lottery and then ordered the results numerically so that you can find your number more easily - presumably they are not listed in the order drawn because it doesn't really matter if you were the first or the 31st to be drawn if you got in. Because a high proportion of people got in and waitlists are short it appears almost numerical, but the first 10 numbers for PK3 went like this:

Admitted: 2, 4, 5, 7, 8
Waitlist: 1, 3

It's not obvious where 6 and 9 are but perhaps they withdrew.

I think as far as ADMITTED students go, it doesn't matter that they reordered the lists numerically. But they also did it for the waitlists, which seems unfair. We have sibling preference, and are way lower on a waitlist than I expected, because they ordered the waitlists numerically and we had a higher number.

Unfortunately, I did not, but I'm sure there is a rational explanation to the questions regarding the lottery. I will check in with the school on Monday. Despite some of the organizational concerns, the administration at Bethune is incredibly responsive, and we've been very happy there.

So, did anyone actually attend the lottery? I'm curious about the process and would be interested in hearing from someone who was there.