Charter school lotteries - held in secret?

[Cap'n Ken]

I dropped off our enrollment packet for Wesley this morning and was surprised to learn their lottery is not something (according to the person processing the paperwork) that is open to prospective parents. She said the lottery is not something you can attend; you're just notified the next day if you got a spot.

Given the fact that spots are limited, schools face all sorts of pressure to meet all sorts of standards and at least in the case of Wesley the enrollment form asks questions ranging from race/ethnicity to whether the kid has been in special education to the educational attainment levels, employers and marital status of parents ... well a closed enrollment selection process purportedly based upon random selection raises questions.

So for those of you with experience at the charters - is the Wesley lady correct in what she told me? And for Drew and NCS, do they hold lotteries behind closed doors or are prospective families allowed to attend?

[T@B]

ANCS's Lottery is public and I have it as March 29 on my calendar.

[J. Grouchy]

As far as I know the Wesley lottery was not public...we just got word of acceptance in the mail.
Surely there must be some sort of oversight of the process by a third party...?

I did attend the NCS lottery last year.

[Cap'n Ken]

So Wesley's charter renewal document says pretty clearly that the lottery shall be public:

Lottery and Waitlist
If a lottery is required after any registration or enrollment period, that lottery is held in an open
forum at the time and place listed in the registration materials and/or flyers and website.  All
lotteries are conducted in a manner that is consistent with Georgia law and that ensures that each
eligible student receives an equal chance of being selected.  All names are selected in each lottery and
the students who are not selected for registration are placed on a waiting list in the order in which
their name was selected.  Once all grades are filled or once the registration and lottery are complete,
any additional students who register shall be placed at the end of the waiting list on a first come, first
served basis.  Students on the waitlist are also called through the process of a public lottery.  The
waitlist is only in effect for one school year; students must reapply each year for open seats in the
school.

I don't see anything on their website stating the time and place for the lottery, nor does the calendar there have any entry for March 5. And of course I was told by a school official today that the lottery is not, in fact, public.

[stopgo]

Capt!

Sounds to me like the answer to which school's lottery you should be shooting for is in this thread.

Signed
Very happy ANCS parent

[J. Grouchy]

Capt!

Sounds to me like the answer to which school's lottery you should be shooting for is in this thread.

Signed
Very happy ANCS parent

Uh...yeah...good luck with that.  He's not even in Tier 1.

[Cap'n Ken]

Capt!

Sounds to me like the answer to which school's lottery you should be shooting for is in this thread.

Signed
Very happy ANCS parent

Well, applications are going to all three Charters. We have preferences but will have to wait for outcomes before making actual decisions.

[J. Grouchy]

BTW...the application online for ANCS reads '2011-2012'.  I can't imagine the application for this year has changed aside from the year...but if it has, they need to update their site.

[BarHeel]

Capt!

Sounds to me like the answer to which school's lottery you should be shooting for is in this thread.

Signed
Very happy ANCS parent

I always feel obligated to weigh in on this well-worn assertion. They're different schools, plain and simple. I know CK has done his legwork and knows this and knows how they're different. They're both good schools. Send your kid to the school that's best for him/her.

Also, CK: I am predicting significant changes in administrative openness/responsiveness at WIA with the impending exodus of Imagine Schools (as well as adherence to the express terms of the charter).

[T@B]

BTW...the application online for ANCS reads '2011-2012'.  I can't imagine the application for this year has changed aside from the year...but if it has, they need to update their site.

That one is still up since (at this time) registration for next year is limited to existing ANCS families and the school has not stopped registering for this year (cut off is February 1st).

[PoopAlley]

Well, I can't speak for Drew's K-8 school lottery but I know that they seem to have some sort of filtering process for the Pre-K program.  Whether it was lottery (definitely wasn't open) or based on some criteria that the school sort of vaguely defines as choosing from it's preferred zones to APS city wide.  From what I've seen so far they are not transparent with their application process.  After we got in the Pre-K, I did ask questions about the process out of basic curosity but wasn't given a very satisfactory answer given that I know of several families that were put on the wait list or just had their applications outright not accepted due to space constraints.

[Cap'n Ken]

Well, I can't speak for Drew's K-8 school lottery but I know that they seem to have some sort of filtering process for the Pre-K program.  Whether it was lottery (definitely wasn't open) or based on some criteria that the school sort of vaguely defines as choosing from it's preferred zones to APS city wide.  From what I've seen so far they are not transparent with their application process.  After we got in the Pre-K, I did ask questions about the process out of basic curosity but wasn't given a very satisfactory answer given that I know of several families that were put on the wait list or just had their applications outright not accepted due to space constraints.

Drew is just not very transparent at all. Just to see their charter you have to visit the school and all they tell you about the application process is it starts February 1, geographic preference is given to East Lake and Kirkwood and come to the school to get an application. Maybe that's rooted in their desire to maintain their educational mission and not just serve as a school people use to escape their local ones, but it doesn't really present a inquiry-friendly image.

[The Lord of the Jungle]

Well, I can't speak for Drew's K-8 school lottery but I know that they seem to have some sort of filtering process for the Pre-K program.  Whether it was lottery (definitely wasn't open) or based on some criteria that the school sort of vaguely defines as choosing from it's preferred zones to APS city wide.  From what I've seen so far they are not transparent with their application process.  After we got in the Pre-K, I did ask questions about the process out of basic curosity but wasn't given a very satisfactory answer given that I know of several families that were put on the wait list or just had their applications outright not accepted due to space constraints.

Drew is just not very transparent at all. Just to see their charter you have to visit the school and all they tell you about the application process is it starts February 1, geographic preference is given to East Lake and Kirkwood and come to the school to get an application. Maybe that's rooted in their desire to maintain their educational mission and not just serve as a school people use to escape their local ones, but it doesn't really present a inquiry-friendly image.

And keep an eye on the Demographic Study.  If (when) East Lake ES is closed, you're going to see what few EL kids that don't already go there applying to a school that's become mad popular based on recent publicity.  I can only imagine it'll have the effect of making the process even more opaque...

[stopgo]

For the record- There are many EAV residents whose children go to ANCS. Do not assume that you cant get in. The facts prove otherwise,obviously.

[Dave2PVD]

For the record- There are many EAV residents whose children go to ANCS. Do not assume that you cant get in. The facts prove otherwise,obviously.

stopgo, you are right of course, but realistically, how likely is this now?

The applications from zone 1 were ~58 last year. For what - 17 available places?