Washington, D.C. — About 368 seats are still open at nine “Tier 1” public charter schools citywide, according to April 2014 data released today by the DC Public Charter School Board (PCSB). Data on open seats for all public charter schools, along with waiting list numbers, are now available. Click here to see the full report, which will be updated monthly.
PCSB also released school-by-school waitlist numbers, which show continued strong demand for public charter schools. There are more than 18,419 names on waiting lists, representing more than 7,205 unique students. Last year there were more than 22,000 names on public charter school waiting lists, including duplicates. This year’s criteria for placing names on waiting lists was stricter for the many schools participating in the My School DC common lottery, however, making the lists not comparable from year to year. (My School DC assigned children to a school’s waitlist only if the school was ranked higher by the parent than the school to which the student was granted admission.)
“Our data shows that demand for quality public charter schools remains sky high,” said Scott Pearson, PCSB Executive Director. “We must do more to ensure that every family can choose a high-quality school that is right for their child.”
Of the nine schools with available seats rated “Tier 1” on PCSB’s Performance Management Framework, the breakdown is as follows:
Achievement Preparatory Academy PCS – Middle (Ward 8) has 61 seats open in the fourth grade;
Achievement Prep Academy PCS – Elementary (Ward 8) has 16 seats open in kindergarten;
Cesar Chavez PCS for Public Policy - Chavez Prep (Ward 1) has 53 seats in the sixth and seventh grades;
KIPP DC – AIM Academy PCS (Ward 8) has 25 seats in the fifth grade;
KIPP DC – Connect Academy PCS (Ward 5) has 19 seats in PK3;
KIPP DC – Northeast Academy PCS (Ward 5) has 63 seats in the fifth and sixth grades;
KIPP DC - WILL Academy PCS (Ward 6) has 17 seats in the fourth grade;
Paul PCS - Middle School (Ward 4) has four seats in the eighth grade; and
Washington Mathematics Science and Technology PCS (Ward 5) has 110 seats across grades nine through twelve.
“Tier 1 schools are PCSB’s highest rated schools. I encourage any parent to look carefully at these schools as an option for their child,” said Pearson.
Students who missed the Round 1 My School DC lottery deadlines, and students not matched with a school in Round 1 may apply to Round 2, which closes May 15 for all grades. For more information on public charter school quality, please click here. To learn more about how to apply in the lottery, visit MySchoolDC.
About PCSB: The DC Public Charter School Board (PCSB) is setting a national model for creating quality public school options through its rigorous review of new charter applications and effective oversight of charter school performance that is leading the transformation of public education in Washington, DC. PCSB oversees 60 public charter schools on 109 campuses serving more than 36,000 students living in every ward of the city. Learn more at dcpcsb.org.