Now Totally Random or Not?

[Lottery Question]

In the past I heard the principal has discretion on a handful on entries and now that has changed? Just curious as I have a child entering K this fall

Thanks!

P.S. Not that I would bribe any principal lol but maybe lobby and promise to volunteer my time!

[Anglina]

From what I've heard, they have totally withdrawn principal discretion, probably a good thing considering it could be abused (nepotism/bribes?) although I think most principals would have always used it wisely...

1. accommodate sibling entrance
2. admit talented kids in the spirit of the school e.g. a kids who is already fluent in 3+ languages to go to a school focused on foreign language
3. any kind of special circumstances, but again criteria could easily be stretched and abused.

In any case, Good luck! and let us know how it goes!

[CPSObsessed]

Principal discretion is still used in the high schools, but is a more regulated process (principals still get to choose who they want, but there is a special application form/time and you can apply for PD at only one school.) I get the sense it was more an under-the-table free for all in the past.
But currently (may 2012) the elem schools do not have PD slots.

[MomtoFive]

This is a difficult position for a principal to find himself in, but it comes along with the job. I do think he should have the right to make decisions in special cases, but he should be able to explain his reasons to a board rather than get to pick and choose among special interest groups.

[Lottery Question]

Thanks to everyone for the responses, this makes sense.

[Benji]

I think this practice could potentially lead to trouble. I would always have in the back of my mind that students chosen in this method may have had some type of bribed help. I also agree that this puts the principal in a very difficult position. I'm glad it is not done in the elementary schools.

[Mrs. Parker]

Once all the applicants meet the criteria, if there are more applicants than openings, then to make it completely fair, it all those who meet entrance criteria should be put into a random lottery.

[Maude]

I think it should all be merit based. If there are 25 openings, then I think the top 25 students should be selected. There would be no question about the process that way. If there were several people with scores that tie the bottom score but not enough openings, then those with same score should be randomly selected via lottery.

[JenK]

Maude - for 'lottery' (magnet) schools, there aren't scores, just the lottery. Selective Enrollment goes by scores/merit.

[c.l.ball]

Principal discretion is gone at the elementary level.

Whether the lottery is random or not is a separate question. CPS does not disclose how many students applied to which schools and at which grade, and how many were accepted at the first lottery drawing. The lottery process is opaque -- is random number generation used? what is the code for the randomization? who supervises and conducts it? None of this is know outside CPS. You could ask, but I was told by OAE that it did not maintain data on how many apply to each school and at each grade or how many were accepted. How CPS can conduct a lottery with a waitlist without having this info handy is a puzzle to me.

You could try to file a FOIA request but CPS either ignores them or says it has no relevant documents in almost all cases.