Editor’s Note: In each of the last few years, we have had a parent write about the process of going through the Champaign Unit 4 kindergarten lottery. Today we introduce Jenny Lokshin, our 2014 “Lottery Mom.”
By Jenny Lokshin
Our family moved to Champaign from Chicago three years ago, seeking a slower pace and smaller-town vibe. While searching for a home, I briefly looked into the Champaign Unit 4 selection process, but the process ended up not figuring too strongly into where we decided to buy. It seemed impossible that something referred to as “school of choice” on all those real estate listings could be as complicated as getting into a Chicago public school, so we figured we’d just deal with it when the time came.
And then the time came. My first child will be entering the 2014 Unit 4 kindergarten lottery. I spent the holidays reading up on elementary schools, talking to parents who have already gone through the selection process, and trying to figure out how we’ll make this “choice.” I feel like we’ve done a ton of research, but we are still nowhere close to a decision on how we’ll rank our options. The factors we’re working with are:
- Registration: It’s been extended into January this year, and is actually already available. Registering early won’t get you any additional points towards your top choice, though. Without that factor, I don’t fully understand why anyone would choose to register this early, unless they had an assurance of admission, such as sibling priority.
- Elementary School Tours and Open Houses: We’re a family with both parents working full-time outside the home. The district offers one evening open house date for a grand total of two hours. If I’m expected to rank all 11 schools this year, am I expected to cram 11 school visits into this two hour block? It looks like we’ll be using vacation time to visit a few campuses, either on our own schedule or during one of the daytime Unit 4 events.
- Proximity: With the elimination of Proximity A/B this year, any family can choose the school geographically closest to their home as their top choice and receive proximity preference. My family is lucky – according to Google Maps, we live in a sweet spot, within 1.5 miles of Bottenfield, Dr. Howard, Kenwood, South Side, and Westview. However, we’ll only get a proximity bump if one of those is our first choice, and I clearly recall a horror story from a Chambana Moms contributor last year who lives in my neighborhood, selected a school they could walk to, and still ended up unassigned. (https://www.chambanamoms.com/2013/04/29/2013-champaign-kindergarten-lottery-results/)
- Magnets: We don’t have proximity for any, but the programs at all three are intriguing. I plan on finding out more through campus visits.
- Sibling Priority: I know that students with a sibling attending a school are given priority if that school is your first choice. It’s not a factor for us now, but may have an impact on lottery choices for our second child down the line if the school we’re assigned is overselected in the coming years.
- Language Instruction: My son has been learning Spanish for the last few years in day care and preschool, which he has enjoyed. I’ve read that there is a new Spanish-English immersion program starting this fall, and I’d like to learn more about it, but can’t find any information on the Unit 4 sites that give details on this option.
My husband and I went into this process thinking we’d automatically select the closest school to us as our first choice and we’d get it, since we live half a mile away. We’re now learning that there are great things and not so great things about every school, and perhaps this decision isn’t so cut and dried. My kid may not even get a seat at our neighborhood school. I’m looking forward to learning more about our options, and I’m reminding myself that most of the parents we’ve spoken with, even those with kids who didn’t end up at their top choice, have found a way to make things work and are happy where they are.
Jenny Lokshin fell in love with a Champaign townie while studying at the University of Texas, and made the move to C-U with him in 2010 after a decade in Chicago. Mother to Dexter and Nina, she works in higher education marketing at Human Kinetics.