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Guest author Joe Weedon shares his thoughts on the DCPS Lottery.
On March 3, DCPS unveiled the results of its annual school lottery. Within minutes of the results being posted, Facebook accounts and twitter feeds were updated. And while a select few posts ended with exclamation points (We got in!!), many more parents were disappointed and left wondering what they’ll do now that they’ve been waitlisted at their school of choice.
Across the Hill and the city, we have wonderful early education programs. In 2008, the District passed the “Pre-K Enhancement and Expansion Act” which set nationally recognized standards for early education and called for the development of 2,000 new pre-k slots (this legislation, by the way, was a signature accomplishment for Mayor Gray as he sought to highlight his support for early care and education during last fall’s campaign). As a result, the city has standards that meet or exceed national guidelines for class size, curriculum, teacher training and a variety of other key factors for all three and four year-old classrooms. The expansion and enhancement of the District’s early education program, the baby-boom on the Hill, and the new-found desirability of our elementary schools have combined to create immense interest in the results of the annual DCPS lottery.
Here’s a quick look around the Hill (Brent, Ludlow-Taylor, Maury, Miner, Peabody, and the traditional program at Tyler) at the results of the pre-school (three year-old) lottery. At Brent Elementary School, nine in-bounds families and an additional 16 families with siblings in the school were placed on the waitlist for spots. Across the Hill at Maury Elementary School, there are six in-bounds families and 13 children with siblings at the school on the waitlist. The situation is most dire at Peabody Elementary School where you see 50 in-bounds families and an additional 25 children with siblings already at the school on the waitlist. In these schools, the total waitlists number in the hundreds. Even in schools where there were a hand-full of spaces for out-of-bounds three year-olds, such as Ludlow-Taylor Elementary School, Miner Elementary School, Payne Elementary School and Tyler Elementary School, you see dozens of families on the school’s wait lists.
Over the next few weeks, as families decide to keep their three year-old children at home, accept spots in public charter schools or, unfortunately, leave the Hill for the perception of greener pastures in the suburbs, the situation will sort itself out and many families will get into their school of choice. However, figuring out where our three year-olds go is not the end. The lottery results show that we’re going to have a tremendous problem on our hands when our children reach Kindergarten.
The District is obligated to ensure that all kindergarteners are able to attend their neighborhood school. Across the Hill only a handful of out-of-bounds children were granted slots in kindergarten classes at two schools (Ludlow-Taylor and Tyler). For pre-kindergarten, you see dozens of children who live in-bounds or have siblings in the schools being placed on waitlists across the Hill with the situation being most pronounced at Brent, Maury, and Peabody.
We have a booming population and our early education classrooms are bursting at the seems. DCPS and the Mayor, who campaigned on his desire to provide a continuity of education “from the Cradle to College” will have to address the growing demand for early education on the Hill.
The numbers don’t lie. If we are to maintain our standards, we’re going to have to invest more and open more high-quality classrooms across the Hill.
About the Author:
Joe Weedon has made Capitol Hill his home for nearly 8 years. A political junky, he has spent most of the past decade working as an organizer and advocate for reforms to our nation’s education and criminal justice systems. He has two young children at Maury Elementary School and serves on the school PTA’s Middle School Committee. He is an appointed member of the District of Columbia State Title I Committee of Practitioners.
I wish DCPS would differentiate between kids who are truly waitlisted and those who got into a school higher on the list. The date released publicly isn’t sufficient to understand what the real picture is. My family got into our first choice school where we’re inbounds, but we’re “waitlisted” at 5 others.
Hi Joe:
Always nice to see what you have written. However, I want to take issue with what you see as a need for more classrooms on the Hill. While it seems that there is a baby boom locally, the city’s population has not been increasing commensurately. Furthermore, the number of kids in DCPS is not increasing, but rather declining. What we are seeing here is a demand for quality early childhood education that is free. Given the cost of quality daycare–and the relative difficulty of getting into a quality daycare–parents want other options, and this seems like a great one. But the problem with extrapolating that desire with the need for more classroom space is that attrition can be a huge factor in DCPS, particularly in a relatively wealthy area like this. Among even in-bounds kids from a quality school like the cluster, for instance, attrition increases as grade levels increase. I have watched this happen for nearly 20 years now, starting before I had kids. And now that I have two kids in the cluster, it continues apace. Some kids move, because the parents get new jobs or because the parents move to the burbs. And some kids are pulled out for private school; or to charter schools; or to the school of their choice in NW. My son in 4th grade now has a fraction of the kids he went to school with in preK at Peabody. I expect that by the time he is finishing middle school in the cluster, there will be only a few of the kids he started with in his class at Peabody. As it is, those missing kids are not replaced by other kids in-bounds or even in the neighborhood. I understand the demand for early childhood education that is free, but everything points to the fact that such demands will decrease dramatically in older grades–and planning has to be done with those older grades in mind as well as the younger ones. Just sayin’ . . .
Hi Joe–I’m Chris C’s friend; I met you at his Christmas party and the Maury open house. We’re one of the 6 in-bounds families on the Maury wait list 🙁 but it sounds like we’re just lucky to have gotten in somewhere/anywhere. Still, we may now be heading to private school (which of course we DID get into). Not sure yet.
Valerie –
I agree. Many families are taking advantage of the early childhood programs and using them as glorified day care. However, as families get into the school, we’re seeing more and more stay longer and longer. IF, and it’s still a big lift, we can improve the middle school and high school options, we’ll see families remain on the Hill and in our schools. They’re leaving now because they don’t view the middle schools as ‘viable’ for their children.
Sameena – Good to hear from you. Give the public schools (Maury in this case) a few weeks to work through the list. There will be a few families that accept slots in public charter schools or in private settings. I’d imagine you’ll get a call in early April letting you know that you’ve got a spot at Maury (no promises, but historically we’ve seen at least a few people who got wait listed get in).
Come join us at “Maury at the Market” and meet some of the teachers, staff, and Maury families (visit the school website for info).
And what is more curious is looking at the wait lists. I did an unscientific experiment: I looked at the 2 non prefs who got into sws. One had sws as their LAST choice. How the heck did I and many others get wl with sws as my first choice and they get in with sws as their last choice? And yes I get that pk is not required but if you are gonna do a lottery and act like it’s fair then make it fair, ahem, Rhees kids winning the lottery few years back at a popular school in nw
In response to Valerie: There are also those of us who are genuinely interested in educating our children early (not day care), or who have children that are exceptional and need to be provided a more stimulating learning environment then they can receive at home … people who might be doing quite well financially but not to the tune of 25-50+ grand / year for a local quality private school (preschool) if you have more than one kid for instance. I can’t find stats to support this, but there clearly seems to be a staggering baby boom going on … and not just here on the Hill. I have lived here for 20 years. Furthermore, I have the sense from many neighbors that they are hoping to stay in the city for the long haul.
@DC, I understand your position completely but every year at this time, parents of rising preschool and PreK kids scream “baby boom!” when in reality, there are no more kids turning 3 this year than there were in 2000 or 2005 or even 2008. The giant waitlist shuffle creates an enormous amount of anxiety for everyone. I’ve had kids in DCPS since 2004 and like Valerie, have not seen the predicted classroom crunch at higher grades come true.
Long DCPS waitlists for Capitol Hill schools is alarming. A baby boom it is not.
Joe,
Thanks for the article on the lottery. Having gone through the process last year, I can attest to how anxiety inducing it is. And for whatever reason, whether it be a perceived “baby boom” on the Hill, overall increasing enrollment at DCPS (up from 45,000 students this year to a projected 47,000 next year) or a desire of parents to take advantage of expanded pre-K programs, there is no doubt that wait lists are longer, and now exist at schools that previously had none.
What can we do? First, I’d suggest attending the Mayor’s DCPS budget hearing next Monday at Eastern High starting at 6:00 PM. Let’s let the Mayor know that we are believers in DCPS, and want the same level of continued commitment from the city. Second, we need to press for the opening of Van Ness in the next 2-3 years. Theoretically, this could create an additional quality education option on the Hill. Third, let’s welcome additional charter and private school options to the Hill. This statement will meet with the ire of some, but I am a believer that a variety of education options attracts and keeps the most young families in our neighborhood. The more families, the more family friendly the Hill will be, and the more family friendly it is, the better the environment in which to educate our children.
Last, I really appreciate the work you and others are doing through the various school PTA middle school committees and through the Capitol Hill Public School Parents Organization (CHPSPO)’s combined efforts to improve middle school options on the Hill. Logan Montessori will be a great boon to our children and parents seeking this style of education. Creating a functioning IB program at Elliot-Hine, entrenching success at Stuart-Hobson and developing rigorous programs at Jefferson will serve us all well, and should, if implemented properly, keep demand strong throughout the school pipeline. More parents need to know about and support these efforts.
Thanks again for the article.
Valarie,
Both the overall population of DC and the enrollment of DCPS is increasing.
@I Lost — your ranking doesn’t affect the lottery. Each schools runs a separate lottery. Your ranking only comes into play if you are accepted to two schools. In that case, you get into your higher ranked school and put back on the wait list for your lower ranked school.
I love Brian’s positive attitude and am grateful for the pioneers but a the end of the day how many of these kids stay? not many. This year was supposed to be “the year” to gauge success, at Brent anyway, has anyone seen the test scores of the legendary “3rd graders that did not bail?” I am just curious. And I love that everyone is so committed but I have a feeling there have been a LOT of committed parents on the Hill over the years, but at the end of the day the DCPSbeastrunbytheDCgovbeast wins. To hear a parent talk about her son’s dcps hs not offering what he needs to get into college is heartbreaking. I hate to be negative, but when I visit my local schools (and I have been to most of then), even the “good” ones I cringe at the chaos I see in person, and the scores I see online. I want to be convinced but I need to see a glimmer, somewhere, anywhere.
Jill, I don’t know about DC, but as a nation, we are experiencing a baby boom. Here is a New York Times article stating that 2007 was the first year that there were more children born in the US than in 1957, the height of the baby boom. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/19/health/19birth.html
I’m not sure what the statistics are for 2008 and 2009, but if DC followed the national trend, there are, in fact, more children turning 3 in 2010/2011 than in 2000, 2005, or 2008.
i’ve lived on the hill for 20 years, but only been a parent for 3. my son is at maury (our in-bounds school) because we very much want him to be a part of the community. it has nothing to do with glorified daycare (he was in a federal center that wasn’t very expensive, by daycare standards). in fact, we are constantly shelling out money for fund raisers, and gladly doing so. we believe in public school, even DCPS. and as tim pointed out, the number of public school students is INCREASING. maybe it’s not a baby boom, per se. but it might just be more people buying in to our community. i hope so.
to @DC, I hate to shine a light on what I find somewhat depressing, but the DC-CAS scores kids into four categories: Below Basic, Basic, Proficient and Advanced. Answering 60% of the answers correctly earns a Proficient score. I’m fairly sure Advanced is reached with 80% correct. When I was a kid, a 60% was a D. I’m not sure I would call that “proficient.”
I’m grateful that my kid’s DCPS teachers hold my child to a much higher standard than the standardized tests that our schools are measured by.
More data about the DC testing data can be found here: http://osse.dc.gov/seo/cwp/view,a,1274,q,561249.asp
@jlrd Thanks! That is a source I had encountered previously to support my “baby boom” idea … I wish there was more current data … I think it would support that there IS ongoing growth. @Jill, I know. It is horrifying … I am not panicking yet about the three year old programs academically … my main concern at this point, is that I don’t trust that the school environments are kind. I am more worried about teachers who are not able to handle kids with patience, etc. Truly at this level this is why we are drawn to schools like Maury and Peabody.
@Jill thanks for the link, but I have a question-If the teacher holds then to a higher standard why are the test scores so damn low? This is beyond wanting to be part of a community. If my kid cannot read or can read proficiently as judge by dc I think that overcome’s my desire for them to be part of the community. So here goes, i am calling bs on a lot of hill parents who say they want a challenge for their kids or they want to be part of the community. Let’s be honest, a 3 yr old program even a 4 yr old program anywhere else is daycare. And i think that is why so many of unstrap over ourselves for spots bc it’s FREE daycare. We stay on the Hill in our cozy half a million dollar houses and send our children to some of the country’s worse schools because it’s free. I have heard many dcps parents say this. It’s free!!!! Then when they reach 3rd grade and we look at them going to ms or god forbid, eastern high, we bail. I hope for the sake of my child this changes. But I am not holding my breath.
I appreciate your analysis. We distinctly moved in-bounds for the Brent school neighborhood only to find that our 4-year old is waitlisted there for Pre-K 4 for next year (and we are on the waitlist for four other nearby schools). This is because there are so many Pre-K 3 families that will be transitioning to Pre-K 4. As a result, there are no new spaces for four-year olds. This problem is only going to get worse as time goes on and schools must accommodate children for Kindergarten. Given the demographics on the Hill, the city needs to do something to create more spaces for all of the children now living here.
Let’s be honest, a 3 yr old program even a 4 yr old program anywhere else is daycare. And i think that is why so many of unstrap over ourselves for spots bc it’s FREE daycare. We stay on the Hill in our cozy half a million dollar houses and send our children to some of the country’s worse schools because it’s free. I have heard many dcps parents say this. It’s free!!!! Then when they reach 3rd grade and we look at them going to ms or god forbid, eastern high, we bail. I hope for the sake of my child this changes. But I am not holding my breath.
Frankly, I find this negative attitude to be ridiculous. Most of the parents of early-childhood students on the Hill are excited to be in DCPS, and are hoping that the system will improve over the next decade–by which time their kids will be ready for DCPS middle-school.
But to acuse these parents of “only wanting free childcare” is, frankly, ridiculous. There’s nothing they want more than for there to be a legitimate DCPS option throughout their kids’ primary school career: elementary, middle, and high school.
And, yes, if middle school continues to suck, or if the upper grades of the elementary school stagnate or revert, we’ll go elsewhere.