Jacob Mnookin stood on the edge of the boardwalk in Coney Island, greeting the families who had come to witness the inaugural lottery for Coney Island Prep, south Brooklyn’s first charter school. Mnookin, the founding principal, still wasn’t sure where he would be holding classes in the fall, so the admissions lottery was taking place in the education room at New York Aquarium, a boxy facility between the iconic Cyclone roller coaster and the beach. Families sat next to giant turtle shells, sea sponges, and mounted fish skeletons, waiting to see if their child’s name would be one of the first 81 names pulled out of a plastic bingo drum, ensuring a place at the new school.

Like all charter schools in New York that receive more applicants than places, Coney Island Prep is required to hold a random lottery, with preference giving to students from the district and siblings of admitted students, to determine who would be offered a seat in the inaugural 5th grade class. The lottery was held on Tuesday, April 7 – referred to as “super Tuesday” by charter operators, since 28 of the 99 charter schools in New York were holding lotteries that evening. Heavy recruitment leads to tough odds

With no “zoned” students, charter schools are responsible for their own recruitment. In order to fill their first class, charter school founders like Mnookin must find dozens of families willing to enroll their child in an untried school. Many New York charter schools successfully recruit hundreds of families, exponentially more than they could ever accommodate. This year, there were more than 42,000 applications filed for approximately 8,500 available seats in city charter schools, more than double the 18,672 applications reported last year for 3,500 seats, according to the New York City Charter School Center. Of nearly 100 charter schools in New York City accepting students for next fall, only five schools didn’t have more applicants than places by the April 1 application deadline. Applicants to the Carl C. Icahn Charter School in the Bronx faced the most difficult odds, with space for only three percent of the 868 applicants.

Since the concept of charter schools is still relatively new and controversial, high numbers of applicants are used to score political points in the debate over school choice, and since individual school’s charters are up for review every five years, a highly competitive lottery can boost a school’s claim to existence. Some charter school leaders also try to recruit as many students as possible to counter the claim that they “cream” the savviest and most involved families - those who would know about the charter school lotteries and make the effort to apply - from the traditional public schools. By sending fliers to every family in the surrounding districts, stopping parents on the street with kids who look the right age for the school, knocking on doors in public housing projects, and holding events and rallies, some charter school leaders try to recruit the most representative sample of their community as possible.

Lotteries: Public or private?

Charter school lotteries can either be public or private, but many charter schools choose to hold public lotteries, in part to draw publicity to the high number of applicants. Mnookin was upfront about the three main reasons he decided to hold a public lottery. “First, we wanted to begin to build excitement amongst families and students,” he said. “Second, as the first charter school in South Brooklyn, the concept of charter schools is new to many people. We wanted the event to serve as a means of introducing or reminding the community about what a charter school is, how students are enrolled, etc. Third, we thought it important for politicians and local community leaders to see the demand for the school and to witness how excited people in the community are about the school.”

As gulls swooped and cried over the ocean, many of the parents at the Coney Island lottery admitted that they didn’t completely understand the difference between a charter school and a traditional public school. Several said that they had decided to apply to Coney Island Prep after receiving mailings advertising the school’s college preparatory mission. “They said it was college prep.,” Roxanne Callari said. “My daughter likes school. I would rather have her someplace like this that goes all the way through high school.”

Moonkin introduced himself, explained the process, and asked families to refrain from reacting publicly if their child’s name was called. “Please be reserved in your excitement and celebration, recognizing that while this may be a very happy occasion for you, it may be a very sad occasion for those around you,” he said. In neighborhoods more accustomed to the lottery process, such requests are often ignored. Families jump to their feet, whooping and clapping if their child’s name is called. In south Brooklyn, however, the families listened to Mnookin and sat silently, barely giving any indication of excitement or disappointment, as a community representative called out the names she plucked from the drum.

There were 253 applicants for 81 places in the inaugural fifth grade class at Coney Island Prep. Out of the 253 applicants, 177 were from District 21, therefore receiving preference, and the remaining 76 either lived outside of the district or did not submit proof of residence.

Parents react to the lottery

Despite the subdued atmosphere in the room, parents who trickled out after their child’s name was called were visibly excited once they stepped out of the building. Nadia Sandker’s son received the 35th spot. She immigrated to the United States from Russia and had not been impressed with her son’s elementary school. “I am sick and tired of all those public schools,” she said. “This staff is young, ambitious with new thoughts and a new attitude. It sound like it is going to be a great school if people support it.” She said she wished that the admissions policy had been based on merit, however, not a random lottery.

Rasaki Akoshila, an immigrant from Nigeria, came to the lottery as soon as he could after getting off from work. He was thrilled to see his daughter’s name already on the board. “They prepare them for higher class,” he said. “She is my first kid. In Nigeria, education is legacy. You have to boost the family. She will make me proud.”

When the 78th name called was one of the six sibling pairs, there was a quiet murmur. There was no fanfare, or even mention, when the 81st name was called and the lottery switched to a waitlist draw. The lottery administrator continued to pull names, but as the waitlist got longer and longer, some parents went to the back of the room to quietly ask the teachers their chances of getting off of such a long waitlist. When all of the 177 students’ names from District 21 had been drawn, the out-of-district names were dumped into the plastic drum and the second round of the lottery began. A few parents looked confused and went to the back to ask why their child’s name hadn’t been in the first group. Although Mnookin had explained the rules in the beginning, many of the parents, for whom English was not their first language, hadn’t understood. “So this was all a waste?” one father asked.

By the time the last name was called, the room was almost empty. A couple from Pakistan, who hadn’t understood that their son wouldn’t get preference since they lived in another district, went up to Mnookin and asked about their chances of getting off the waitlist. Their son’s name had been the 159th called. “There is always a chance,” Mnookin said.

“Always a chance?” the father said, laughing. “Okay.”

A couple from Mexico, whose son was one of the first names on the waitlist, were more optimistic. “This is for good school,” said the father, Jose Luis Magallanes. “Small class size. We go home now to tell him the good news.”