My School DC has suggested these additional resources to accompany your viewing of the 2024 DC School Lottery Info session hosted by FIT4MOM DC. Additionally, THIS is a link to the slide deck.

(1) Watch this video to gain a better understanding of how the matching algorithm accounts for lottery preferences, ranking, and random lottery number when matching students to schools. It’s also a great video to learn how waitlists work. Check out the Applying to PK3-PK4 page on our site. Additionally we have a new Guide to My School DC e-zine that can be found at the bottom of our resources page.

(2) Use the School Finder to begin creating a list of schools that match your (and your child’s) needs. You can also identify your DCPS in-boundary school by entering your home address and filtering by “Display in-boundary schools only”. The individual school profiles and DC School Report Card are also helpful tools to learn more about a school.

(3) Plan school visits and bring along these helpful questions and any additional questions you have specific to your (or your child’s) needs.

(4) For specific DCPS policies around dual language schools, proximity preference, special education, and feeder rights, please review their Enrollment and Lottery Handbook.

(5) Finally, do not miss the Feb. 1 (Grades 9-12) and March 1 (PK3 – Grade 8) deadlines! Sign up for alerts here to stay on top of the application process.

Some of the other links we discussed include:

School Options Outside of My School DC (Community Based PK Options)

Data Page + Historic Waitlist and Lottery Preferences Data

SY23-24 Match Rate by Grade & Number of Schools Selected < breaks down match %

SY23-24 Lottery Applications & Seats Offered < shows the # of seats vs. applicants (more seats than applicants in PK3 by ~2,000)

A reminder that our hotline is an incredible resource. They’re available Mon-Fri, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. at 202-888-6336.