Three Times More Demand than Pre-K Seats at Georgetown, Glover Park Schools

Between Georgetown, Burleith and Glover Park, nearly 75 children eligible for pre-K in DC Public Schools in the fall were put on a waitlist for their local school during the annual lottery. DCPS announced the lottery results Friday.

Demand from local children for Stoddert Elementary and Hyde-Addison Elementary outstripped the number of available seats, leaving 72 local children on the waitlist. There were 36 slots—each school accepted one class of 18 children for pre-K—but there were 108 in-boundary children who applied for those slots.

Students in Georgetown had a better chance at Hyde-Addison Elementary where 12 in-boundary children were placed on the wait list, compared to 60 in-boundary students on the waitlist at Stoddert Elementary.

Of the 60 on the wait list at Stoddert, seven of them have a sibling currently attending the Glover Park school.

A total of 169 children were placed on the Stoddert waitlist and 130 are on the list at Hyde-Addison.

Waitlists do sometimes shift during the spring and summer as parents opt to enroll their child at a different school. When a seat becomes available the school contacts parents on the waitlist in order. If they do not receive a response within 5 business days they will move to the next family on the waitlist.

Was your child waitlisted at his or her neighborhood school? What will you do now? Do you think there should be more seats in your local school? Do you think the lottery system is fair?

Patch would like to speak with parents facing tough decisions after the lottery results were posted. If you are interested in sharing your experience, please contact Editor Shaun Courtney at shaun@patch.com or 202-210-9853.