Photo by jeffk on Flickr.

Parents trying to apply to out-of-boundary DC public schools or charter schools have to deal with a dizzying array of separate applications and last-minute shuffles. “It’s madness we’ve sent parents through,” said Councilmember David Catania last night, and called for a unified application and lottery for DCPS and charter schools.

Catania was participating in a panel discussion, “The State of Education in the District,” organized by the Washington Post. Emma Brown, the paper’s education reporter, related frustrations she hears from parents at the complicated process of researching, applying to, and choosing among multiple charter and DC public school options. Moderator Natalie Hopkinson said, “You need a Ph. D. to figure it out.”

Catania said that building a common system was crucial to sustain the city’s educational reforms in the long term. He and new Deputy Mayor of Education Abigail Smith have agreed to collaborate on this priority.

Other panelists included Scott Pearson, executive director of the DC Public Charter School Board; Daniel Del Pielago, education organizer with Empower DC; and Cathy Reilly, executive director of the Senior High Alliance of Parents, Principals and Educators (SHAPPE). The discussion explored very real differences between panelists. They disagreed over the fate of DC Public Schools and charter schools, Chancellor Kaya Henderson’s performance, and the role of neighborhood schools.

But even panelists who didn’t agree on many hot-button issues concurred: it’s time to ditch the spreadsheets, conflicting deadlines, and tiered waiting lists in favor of a new system that best serves families and students.

What’s the current system for applying to schools?

Currently, if you are happy with your neighborhood school, you can take no action. However, if you’d like to have your child attend a different DC public school, you’ll need to apply to DCPS’s out of boundary lottery. If you’d like to try to get your child into a charter school, you’ll need to fill out different applications for each school.

Ultimately, it’s a tangled web for even the most dedicated and savvy parent.

Smith has been deputy mayor for less than a month. In her previous job, she consulted with charter schools to help them move from over 30 separate application deadlines toward a single, common March 15. She called that a “big step” on the path to a better, more comprehensive system.

The “lottery shuffle” worsens the problem

Many schools experience the “lottery shuffle,” where numerous students shift schools at the beginning of the year. This disrupts classrooms, teachers, and school communities.

Let’s say that “Sara’s” grandmother enters her in 10 lotteries for various schools around the city. She is lucky and gets off three wait lists. One spot is at a school that goes all the way to 8th grade; one is at her top choice for curriculum and fit; and one is closest to their home.

Sara’s grandmother might decide to hedge her bets. She could pick the school that goes up to the highest grade or is the closest to their home. If she doesn’t like the school after 2 weeks, she still can send Sara to the school she’s confident is a great fit — leaving two newly opened spots at the other schools.

The school goes down the waitlist, calling “Malcolm’s” parents. They entered all the same lotteries as Sara, but while she got 3 lottery wins, Malcolm secured no spots and enrolled at his neighborhood school. His parents jump at the chance to take Sara’s spot, opening up a sudden space at the local school, which then reaches out to students from the out-of-boundary waiting list, and so on.

The cycle repeats, creating enrollment instability in schools across the city. Steve Glazerman and Ken Archer have described many other problems that come from the current system.

If schools could know their student body ahead of time and be confident their students would come to school, it would allow them to better plan to serve their students and better plan their budgets.

How could a common lottery work?

A single lottery would be simple. Parents fill out one application and rank any number of DCPS and charter schools. The lottery randomly chooses students, one by one, and assigns each to their top choice that still has room. Every student would receive one and only one spot at a school based on his or her list.

Still, there are many unanswered questions. For example, what happens if a student gets his or her 7th choice, but isn’t really happy there, and now the family feels trapped by the “streamlined” system? Would this be a step backward on the fluid school “choice” that is championed as providing real, diverse options for parents?

Would neighborhood school advocates still see this as not providing strong local options? There are also bigger questions about why, despite many parties believing this is essential, this hasn’t yet been built. And the potential for a tech nightmare would be very real.

Consensus is clear for a common application

It’s rare to find a policy issue that meets the top demand of parents, schools, administrators, charter leaders, and politicians alike. Smith and Catania made a clear commitment on Wednesday to advancing a DC school common application process for next school year.

There are still additional details to be worked out, including how this works with DCPS’s secondary schools. Catania cited a few groups that wouldn’t necessarily apply in the common application, such as special education students and applicants to “selective” high schools, while Smith felt optimistic a common application could tackle high school as well.

The panelists expressed their desire to move forward on bold improvements to the city’s schools — and a move to a common application will do just that.

Laura McSorley is a former DC teacher who taught Head Start in two DCPS schools and pre-K at Bridges Public Charter School. She lives in Southeast Capitol Hill with her husband, Tom, and is learning to be a runner. Laura works with Teach For America’s early childhood education initiative around the country. All opinions, views, and mistakes are solely hers alone.