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Applications welcome in March for
April 16 selection
Prekindergarten students in all 20 City School District
of Albany schools and programs will be enrolled through a new lottery
designed to assure access and opportunity for all families.
The prekindergarten lottery will be held April 16 in
conjunction with the annual magnet lottery, which this year will apply
only to kindergarten and above (click here to see related story).
All 591 pre-K seats, including those seats at the three magnet schools,
will be filled through the new lottery.
Applications for the prekindergarten lottery are
available the Central Registration Office in
Lincoln Park and at each elementary school and
community-based organization. You can also download an application by
clicking here. The district offers prekindergarten in all
12 elementary schools, including the Dual-Language Program, and at seven
additional sites operated by community-based organizations (click
here to see list).
In the past, prekindergarten seats have been filled on a
first-come, first-served basis. The State Education Department has
mandated the new lottery system. The Board of Education approved the
plan at its Feb. 4 meeting following a months-long study that included
many opportunities for community feedback.
“The new lottery system will provide all families equal
opportunity and access to quality prekindergarten programming in all of
our schools and sites,” said Assistant Superintendent for Elementary
Education Linda Rudnick. “The readiness experience, especially as it
impacts students’ growth in the area of hands-on, project-based literacy
learning, is an invaluable achievement-gap closing intervention that the
district proudly supports.
“We look forward to meeting and serving our newest
students in September.”
Children must turn 4 by Dec. 1 to be eligible for
prekindergarten in 2010-11.
On the lottery application, parents will be asked to
select their top three school choices. Student selection will be random,
but certain factors will take priority when determining where children
will be placed:
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Sibling preference. A
child with a brother or sister already in elementary school will be
given first preference at that school.
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Neighborhood preference.
Second preference will be given to a child who lives within a
half-mile of a magnet school or within a given neighborhood school’s
attendance zone.
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Open enrollment. This
option allows parents to choose a non-magnet school outside their
attendance zone if space is available
Lottery applications will be accepted throughout March;
completed applications must be received by 3 p.m. on March 31.
The prekindergarten and magnet lotteries will be held together at Thomas
O’Brien Academy of Science and Technology (TOAST).
All families will receive a letter following the
drawings. Families whose children are selected will have until May 14
to register at the Central Registration Office in Lincoln Park. Families
that miss the deadline will lose their seat and be put on a waiting
list.
The district will not provide bus transportation to any
prekindergarten program next year.
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