My School DC Information

My School DC is a random lottery. There is no advantage to applying first; however, applicants must apply by the application deadlines: February 1, 2021 for grades 9-12, and March 1, 2021 for PK3 grade 8. My School DC, in partnership with DC Public Schools (DCPS) and the majority of DC public charter schools, makes it easier for families to take advantage of DC's many school options. The My School DC application is a single online application you must use to apply to attend a: Participating schools will only accept the My School DC application available at MySchoolDC.org . Each student can apply to up to 12 schools. On each students application, a family lists schools in the order they like most their 1st choice, 2nd choice, 3rd choice, and so on. Parents should only select schools they want their child to attend. 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 the number of available spaces at each school; sibling, in-boundary, and other lottery preferences ; how each student ranked their school choices; and each student's random lottery number. (Through the My School DC common lottery, DCPS selective high schools and programs select students based on specific criteria.) Why have a common lottery? Prior to 2014, DCPS had a lottery for out-of-boundary spaces and for all PK3 and PK4 spaces, plus a separate application process for the selective high schools. Public charter schools also had their own applications and lotteries. Many families found accessing schools confusing and difficult to manage.