Parents’ interest in sending their child to a D.C. Public Schools preschool or campus away from their own neighborhood surged this year, with 10 percent more applications submitted for the “out-of-boundary lottery” than last year.
As DCPS dealt with a record 7,299 applications for limited spots across the city for next school year, half of families were shut out from their requested schools. More than half of the applications were for preschool and pre-K seats, the most sought-after programs being on Capitol Hill.
“The increase in applications, particularly at the preschools and pre-K levels, indicates a growing trend of families seeking to enter the school system,” Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson said. “We expect interest in our schools will continue to grow as we continue to strengthen our academic programming and instruction and improve the quality of our schools buildings.”
| In demand | ||
| DCPS programs that received the most applications in the out-of-boundary lottery for the 2012-2013 school year: | ||
| School/grade | Neighborhood | Applications |
| Peabody Elementary School – preschool | Capitol Hill | 563 |
| Capitol Hill Montessori at Logan – preschool | Capitol Hill | 557 |
| Brent Elementary School – preschool | Capitol Hill | 479 |
| Oyster-Adams Bilingual School – prekindergarten | Woodley Park | 459 |
| Janney Elementary School – prekindergarten | Tenleytown | 447 |
| Murch Elementary School – prekindergarten | Tenleytown | 423 |
| Lafayette Elementary School – prekindergarten | Chevy Chase | 371 |
| Eaton Elementary School – prekindergarten | Cleveland Park | 361 |
| Maury Elementary School – preschool* | North Capitol Hill | 322 |
| Bancroft Elementary School – preschool* | Dupont Circle | 303 |
| *Schools with programs new to the top 10 list | ||
| Source: D.C. Public Schools | ||
And growing interest means more competition for select seats. About 52 percent of all applicants were placed at one of their desired schools, while many others are dangling on wait lists. About two-thirds of applicants at the preschool and pre-K levels were offered a seat. DCPS said fewer seats remain open at schools that were less popular in the lottery — about 28 percent, compared with 32 percent in 2011.
“It was really the scenario we thought was least likely,” said Victoria Sherk, a Petworth resident who landed a preschool spot for her daughter at Hearst Elementary in Cleveland Park. She had explored private schools and public charter schools in addition to the lottery, choosing mostly Northwest schools along Reno Road based on the schools’ high test scores.
Sherk’s neighborhood school is Powell Elementary School, which she says was never an option because of the school’s low proficiency rates on the D.C. Comprehensive Assessment System.
“It’s not about my politics, it’s not about my community — it’s just about giving my kid the best start I can,” she said.
Not everyone fared as well in the lottery’s most competitive year to date. Even though Sam Chaltain wasn’t gunning for the typical Ward 3 schools, or a popular Capitol Hill seat, the Columbia Heights father achieved only waitlist status for his 2 1/2-year-old at Ross Elementary in Dupont Circle and Bancroft Elementary in Mount Pleasant.
“A rising number of families are opting to stay and are investing the time it takes to negotiate this wild, wild West of school choice,” said Chaltain, an education activist who is writing a book about school choice. “This is the new normal, and most of the families I’ve talked to — and every low-income family I’ve talked to — thinks this is an overwhelmingly positive development.”
