Puzzled by the DCPS lottery? Don’t be. Photo by María Helena Carey
For those of you who have let the Biological Imperative overtake your brain, here are some important dates and links. Everyone else, here is a video of a little octopus climbing over a rock. You’re welcome.
1. DCPS Preschool/Pre-K and Out-Of Boundary Lottery
If you have school-age children who will be attending public school in the District of Columbia, the DCPS Preschool/Pre-K and Out-Of-Boundary lottery, which opened its application period on Monday, is something you need to familiarize yourself with. According to the DCPS site, the lottery is, “a school choice service that provides parents and families the opportunity to expand their options when selecting the right school for their students.” Anyone can enter, and the month-long period does not grant priority based on timeliness: that is to say, you can register up to the lottery’s closing date, February 25, 2013, and have equal chance of getting into the school you applied to. If you would like to read more or have specific questions about the lottery, DCPS has Frequently Asked Questions on both the Preschool/Pre-K lottery and the Out-of-Boundary lottery.
The lottery results will be posted on the DCPS website on March 8, 2013.
2. SWS Expansion
DCPS announced that School Within School (SWS) will be moving to Prospect Learning Center, 920 F Street NE, for the 2013-2014 school year. They will also be adding a PreK-3 class, as well as adding 2nd grade. The school will continue to add a grade each year until 5th grade. They will also be holding open houses, where you can get more information about the expansion, as well as chat with current parents about the school: