WASHINGTON — There are changes in store for D.C. parents applying to the city’s public school lottery.
Those with the youngest students may not encounter a waiting list for pre-K, and those with teenagers have a few new school options when ranking preferences for their children.
Catering only to teens of color, the Empowering Males High School is one of a few new programs in D.C. Public Schools.
“The whole program is designed around making sure young men grow into men, being ready for college and being ready for careers,” said Chief of Schools John Davis.
Led by former Assistant Principal Ben Williams, there will be an inaugural class of 150 ninth-graders, in a program that’s worked in other parts of the country, Davis said.
“If you talk to ninth- and 10th-graders, they want to see different things in their schools. And for some young men, the Empowering Males High School will be it, and for some kids Roosevelt High School will be it because it offers something different,” Davis said.
Roosevelt High School will offer a Spanish dual language program with an international academy for students aimed at kids who are new to the country and those interested in a global studies theme, Davis said.
“At H.D. Woodson, we’re going to have IT and engineering academies. At Anacostia High, there’s going to be a public safety academy that we’re putting together with the Metropolitan Police Department,” Davis said.
He said early acceptance as a cadet could put students on a path to college. Parents of all students grades 9 through 12 have to apply to the lottery by Feb. 1.
For the youngest students, this year might be easier for their parents to apply to the school of their choice, depending upon where they live. DCPS is rolling out an early action pre-K plan at 13 District elementary schools and the Browne Education campus.
“It’s where students who apply to their in-boundary school are guaranteed a spot, even in an early childhood classroom, if they’re not a match with a school that they rank higher,” Davis said.
That wasn’t always the case. The change is in response to waiting lists, as well as a review of boundary and feeding patterns by DCPS that indicated more pre-K spots were needed, Davis said.
