Implementation Description
Invest Collegiate Imagine (IC Imagine) is focused on increasing enrollment of educationally disadvantaged (ED) students, increasing the diversity of their student population which has been shown to produce stronger results for students and society (Stuart, et.al., 2016). As part of their recruitment strategy, school leadership chose to implement a weighted lottery for the 2020-21 school year. The weighted lottery, which by NC law requires that it be weighted for economically disadvantaged students, has been shown to allow for a more socioeconomically diverse student population within a school (Potter, 2019). In order to determine socioeconomic need, the school simply asks parents to provide a letter sharing their family income level. Families that qualify for the National School Lunch Program are automatically entered into the weighted lottery. Because IC Imagine has been open since 2014, it is currently at full enrollment, so while there are a few open seats in the upper grades, the school is able to offer a greater number of slots in their incoming kindergarten classes. During the first year of the project, 30% of the kindergarten seats were made available to students in the weighted lottery. Each of the following years, the number of seats prioritized will grow allowing for a gradual school wide increase in the ED student population from a projected 33% to 40% over four years.
IC Imagine was very intentional in planning and recruiting for the weighted lottery, conducted prior to the general lottery, and maintains separate waitlists to ensure that the enrollment numbers remain constant even with some turnover in the student population. There are many moving pieces to the lottery process, so it was important to identify a staff member who maintains responsibility for oversight of the lottery process. In addition, the school carefully developed a clear written lottery and enrollment policy that was shared with all current and prospective parents, and this content was presented at a number of school information sessions.
Research shows that “low income, minority and immigrant families rely on school-based sources of information about school choice and other educational matters” (Buckley, 2010). Once the school decided to utilize a weighted lottery, they still needed to get the word out to families who could benefit most from the enrollment preference. In order to increase awareness, understanding, and trust among these families, school leaders focused on high needs areas in the community and scheduled visits in their community centers where they were able to meet with families and answer questions.
Results
Prior to the implementation of this project, 29% of the student population was considered educationally disadvantaged. No data is yet available, but the goal after implementing the weighted lottery is an increase to 33% ED students in the first project year rising to 40% by the fourth year.
Challenges
Some stakeholders at the school may feel that a weighted lottery provides an unfair advantage to certain applicants. It is critical to create a communication plan that proactively addresses these concerns and to be transparent with current school families and the community. Weekly informational gatherings are a great place to educate stakeholders, thus creating ambassadors that can potentially inform and influence others. A concise enrollment policy and weighted lottery implementation strategy should be freely shared and made accessible to everyone.
Future Modifications
Successful recruitment of ED students is just the beginning. The next step is to ensure that the targeted, newly enrolled ED student population has a successful experience at the school. This requires a focus on providing supports to students and families needed to ensure academic growth and ongoing recruitment of ED students. To learn more about one such support see Families First – School Based Healthcare.
Critical Components
Getting Started
Before deciding to adopt a weighted lottery, the school must have plans in place to support the needs of the ED student population.
As soon as school leadership makes the decision to use a weighted lottery as a way to increase ED enrollment, it is important to establish the procedures necessary to run the lottery. In the case of IC Imagine, the school determined that they needed a staff person who was responsible for managing the lottery process.
Once procedures are in place, it is important to create messaging, marketing materials and a written communication plan that can be shared with staff, and current and prospective families.
Ongoing Supports
As the ED population increases at the school it will be important to ensure that the education program as well as other family support systems are meeting the needs of these students and to maintain transparency and on-going communication with current and prospective families.
Equity Connections
Traditional lottery systems are often inadequate in ensuring diverse enrollment for charter schools. Frequently, the applicant pool itself may be unbalanced as wealthy families have more resources available to research and apply to high ranking schools. In contrast low income families generally spend a greater percentage of their resources meeting basic needs with little leftover for navigating the school choice options available to their children. In essence, underprivileged youth are often underrepresented not only in student enrollment, but in the applicant pool itself (Toch, 2019).
Instead of a traditional lottery model, a weighted lottery can balance out the inequity of the applicant pool by reserving a percentage of its enrollment numbers for educationally disadvantaged students (Potter, 2019). A weighted lottery system has proven itself as a successful equity strategy when used in combination with other best practices to build diverse schools. In particular, a weighted lottery works in combination with equitable recruitment efforts (Quick, 2016).
Another additional advantage of the weighted lottery system is the effects it has on the educationally disadvantaged students already enrolled in the school. Frequently students who are underrepresented cite they feel isolated from their peers (Potter, 2019). A weighted lottery system can help schools maintain healthy diverse student populations in which students feel connected and form strong friendships.
Research
1. Buckley, J., Sattin-Bajaj, C. (April 27, 2010) Journal of School Choice. Are ELL Students Underrepresented in Charter Schools? Demographic Trends in New York City, 2006-2008.Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1080/15582159.2011.548242
2. Potter, H. (2019, January 29). The Century Foundation. Recruiting and Enrolling a Diverse Student body in a Public Choice School. Retrived from https://tcf.org/content/report/recruiting-enrolling-diverse-student-body-public-choice-schools/?session=1
3. Potter, H. (May 16, 2019) The Century Foundation. Testimony: D.C. Charter Schools Should Use Weighted Lotteries to Promote Integration. Retrieved from https://tcf.org/content/commentary/testimony-d-c-charter-schools-use-weighted-lotteries-promote-integration-halley-potter/?agreed=1
4. Quick, K. (2016, October 14). The Century Foundation. How to Achieve Socioeconomic Integration in Schools. The Century Foundation. Retrieved from https://tcf.org/content/facts/achieve-socioeconomic-integration-schools/
5. Toch, T. (2019, March 20). The Lottery That’s Revolutionizing D.C. Schools Washington Post Magazine, March 20, 2019, Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/magazine/wp/2019/03/20/feature/the-lottery-thats-revolutionizing-d-c-schools/
6. Stuart Wells, A., Fox, L., Cordova-Cobo, D. (February 9, 2016) The Century Foundation. How Racially Diverse Schools and Classrooms Can Benefit All Students. Retrieved from https://tcf.org/content/report/how-racially-diverse-schools-and-classrooms-can-benefit-all-students/
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