The deadline to submit applications for Prince George’s County Public Schools Specialty Programs and public charter school lottery is March 16.
The lottery is open to all students who are residents of the county. According to the PGCPS, the computerized lottery assigns random numbers to each application. Then applications are sorted based on the randomly assigned number and assigned a sequential number. So in essence, if the number 22 is the lowest number, then it would be first in line.
Then applications are sorted by program.
For specialty programs, school boundaries still apply.
Assignment through the lottery is based on a student’s home address. Charter schools have no school boundary and guardians may choose whichever school they like regardless of school zone.
Specialty programs offered by the county Biotechnology, Creative and Performing Arts, French Immersion, Montessori, and Talented and Gifted.
There are several public charter schools. There are the four schools run by Imagine Schools; Lincoln in Temple Hills, Andrews on Joint Base Andrews, Foundations I in Upper Marlboro and Foundations II in Morningside. Then there is Excel Academy in Riverdale, Chesapeake Math and IT in Laurel, and Turning Point Academy in Lanham.
The number of charter schools is growing in Prince Georges County. County Executive Rushern has said that he wants to provide a greater variety of options for the county’s students. The county now has the largest number of charter schools in the state outside of Baltimore City.
The District has had a lottery program for charter schools for several years after President George W. Bush passed the No Child Left Behind Act.
Meanwhile, other cities around the country such as Philadelphia and New Orleans have had their public schools integrated with charter schools. Philadelphia recently announced that it was turning four of its underperforming schools into charters and most of the students living in New Orleans attend public charter schools.
They’ve been polarizing in that some believe that they’re providing the best education to kids, while others believe the government is trying to privatize education and weaken teachers’ unions.
Prince George’s county is far away from both cities in its charter school population.
The lottery drawing will be held on April 10. Placement notifications will go out the fourth week of April and placement will take place from then until August.
The waiting list for the lottery program remains active until Sept. 30. Those students enrolled in a charter school or specialty program won’t have to reapply again.
