The My School DC common lottery is a single, random lottery that determines placement for new students at all participating schools. Student-school matches are based on various factors including the number of available spaces at each school, siblings, proximity, and other lottery preferences as well as how each student ranked his or her school choices and each student's random lottery number.
Some of the benefits of having a common lottery include simplifying the process for families and matching students with the schools they want most.
The My School DC lottery is designed to match students with the schools they want most, and maximize the number of students who are matched. The matching algorithm is the computer program that runs the lottery. It is a deferred acceptance model that was developed specifically for My School DC by the Institute for Innovation in Public School Choice (IIPSC) and is based on the Nobel Prize-winning work of economist Al Roth of Stanford University. IIPSC also developed the lottery algorithms for New Orleans and Denver and is currently working with several other urban school districts.
The two most important things to know about the algorithm are:
- Because of the way the algorithm works, students who rank schools on their application according to their true choices have the best chance of being matched to the schools they most want to attend.
- Students who apply early get no advantage in the matching process.
You can get your lottery results online at MySchoolDC.org. Log in to your family account on April 1 and click on the blue "View Lottery Results and Current Waitlist Positions" button to view your lottery results.
If you created a family account using an email address, you will receive notification that your results are available. My School DC will also mail a letter to the address listed on your application. You’ll receive a separate letter for each child for whom you submitted an application.
You can also get your results by calling the My School DC Hotline at (202) 888-6336, Monday through Friday, from 9 am to 5 pm beginning April 1.
Which school will you call "My School"? Learn more about how My School DC matches are calculated.