Today, the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) and My School DC announced lottery results for the 2022-23 school year, with a total 22,211 applicants participating in the lottery for pre-K through Grade 12 public schools in the District of Columbia. Overall, 73 percent of participants were offered a seat at a school they applied to, an increase over last year’s lottery match rate of 69 percent, and the highest since the My School DC lottery began in 2014. Families have received lottery results for their students and will now complete the enrollment process directly with schools.
“The District of Columbia has a wealth of excellent schools offering families high-quality academics and a variety of engaging programs for students at every grade level. We are thrilled that more DC families have been matched to the school that they believe is best for their young learners through the My School DC lottery,” said State Superintendent Dr. Christina Grant. “Through events such as EdFEST, DC’s annual public school fair, to online tools such as the My School DC website, School Finder and the DC School Report Card, District families are connecting with OSSE resources to explore their public school options and make the most informed decisions for their students.”
To promote greater equity in the Common Lottery, My School DC implemented an Equitable Access Preference which allows students experiencing homelessness, receiving assistance, residing in foster care or who are a year older for their grade, to match at their preferred school. A total of 400 of those students were matched in this year’s lottery to the eleven public charter and nine District of Columbia Public Schools offering the preference.
More applications were submitted this lottery cycle compared to last year, representing an overall increase of 11 percent. However, lottery application submissions are still lower in most grade levels than they were prior to the coronavirus (COVID-19) public health emergency.
Families can still apply to public schools by submitting a post-lottery application or add themselves to additional waitlists, at MySchoolDC.org. The My School DC hotline is available Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., to support families as they navigate their lottery results and schools’ enrollment procedures, as well as with application support. The hotline can be reached at (202) 888-6336 or at [email protected]. The team is equipped with bilingual staff and has access to interpreters through a telephonic interpretation service.