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Cohoes City School District conducts UPK3 lottery to allocate Harmony Hill spots
Summary
District principal Jacqueline DeChiro held a public lottery to set placement order for UPK3 students whose home school is Harmony Hill; students not placed there will be offered seats at Abram Lansing or Van Schaik and will be contacted by letter and phone. A wait list will be maintained.
Jacqueline DeChiro, principal at Vance Guide Grade School and UPK liaison for Cohoes City School District, conducted a public lottery to determine placement order for Universal Pre-K (UPK) 3 students whose home school is Harmony Hill.
“Everyone who registered for UPK3 has a spot in our program; however, there are more registrants for … Harmony Hill than we have spots,” DeChiro said before drawing ping-pong balls that established the placement order. DeChiro read the winning numbers and corresponding student names aloud; the district recorded the full draw sequence in the meeting transcript.
The district’s placement rule for this lottery, as described by DeChiro, is: Harmony Hill will be filled first according to the lottery order. After Harmony Hill is filled, remaining students will be asked for a preference between Abram Lansing and Van Schaik; once one of those buildings fills, remaining students will be placed at the school with remaining openings. DeChiro said parents will receive letters and phone calls informing them of placements and requesting preferences when applicable.
DeChiro also said the district maintains a wait list and will contact families if openings at Harmony Hill become available. She directed families with questions to call either Elena Severia or herself for more information.
No motions or formal votes were taken during the lottery; the event was a procedural placement process rather than a governing-body decision. The placements are scheduled to take effect for the September start of the school year, according to DeChiro’s remarks in the transcript.
