When The Rolling Stones wrote their classic rock song “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” it’s possible that it was about the realities of the school choice process. Okay, probably not. However, it’s an unfortunate reality that not every child will win a spot at their school of choice. Some schools are more popular than others, and as a result, only limited space is available. Let’s pretend that 50 students want to enroll into “The Greatest School in Pueblo,” but because of building size and teacher availability, only 31 spots exist at that school. The only truly fair way to determine who gets one of those 31 spots is to have a “lottery.” During the school choice “open enrollment” process, many students get into their chosen school with no problem at all. If there’s any room at the school in which you applied, you’ll get in. It only gets complicated if there are more applicants than there are open spots. That’s when the “lottery” comes in. How the lottery works Once the School Choice lottery period ends on Feb. 9, 2020, each school that has more applicants than available spots will hold a lottery. However, it’s not as simple as throwing everybody’s name into a proverbial hat, and drawing a name at random. To foster educational continuity and convenience for families, preference is given to some applicants over others at each school. Some examples of individuals that get preference over others include:
It’s important to note that the lottery is not “first-come, first-served.” Whether you filled out your application on the first day of the School Choice lottery period or the final day, there is no difference in the chances of winning a seat in a preferred school.. Names will be drawn on Feb. 27, and you will be notified if your child has won a spot at your chosen school, or if he will be added to a waitlist. Please be sure to monitor your email at the address you provided in the application at the end of February.. If you have more questions, read one of the blog posts below or contact the District 60 School Choice team at (719) 253-6014 or schoolchoice@pueblocityschools.us 12 Days of School Choice #1: What School Choice is All About (Dec. 25, 2019) #2: How do I apply? (Dec. 26, 2019) #3: About the School Choice "Lottery" (Dec. 27, 2019) #4: D60's IB, STEM, Innovation and Specialty schools (Dec. 28, 2019) #5: School choice for incoming middle and high school students (Dec. 29, 2019) #6: The rules behind high school athletic transfers (Dec. 30, 2019) #7: Can I use school choice for my incoming Kindergartener? (Dec. 31, 2019) #8: Your 5th- or 8th-grader at 'Parent Nights' (Jan. 1, 2020) #9: Out-of-district transfers to District 60 schools (Jan. 2, 2020) #10: Which applicants have 'preference' in the school choice lottery? (Jan. 3, 2020) #11: Do I need to fill out a school choice request to keep my child in the same school? (Jan. 4, 2020) #12: How does the wait list work? (Jan. 5, 2020) |