Pre-K Lottery Process

Many people wonder how the Portland Public Schools Pre-K lottery process is conducted. Please read on to learn more about it:

To conduct the Pre-K lottery, we first consider the pool of applicants who applied within the lottery application window, which is a three-week time period when the application is live on the website. We use a random number generator to mix all the applicants together and pull names from that pool at random. This means that it does not matter when you apply within the window, as long as your application is received by the deadline.

Once the names are pulled, we initiate our placement process. Our first priority is to place students at their neighborhood school or, when the neighborhood school doesn’t have a Pre-K classroom, at the nearest community partner site. If a child who has a twin or same-age sibling is pulled in the lottery, we will automatically place their twin/same-age sibling in class with them.
According to the School Board Resolution on Increased Access to High Quality Pre-K, our Pre-K classrooms must reflect the socio-economic balance of the city of Portland, so we look to fill the seats with a 55% Low Income, 45% Not Low Income balance.

Pre-K Info Night

Learning more about our Pre-K program and the application process by watching our January 4th, 2023 zoom recording:

Pre-K Info Night Recording

Pre-K Info Night Presentation

As classrooms begin to fill up, and the neighborhood school is no longer available, we place students in the nearest possible school/community partner site, as long as they indicate on their application that they don’t require transportation to get to school. If a family does require transportation, they will only be considered for placement in their neighborhood school. But that means if their neighborhood school is full by the time their name is pulled from the lottery, they will automatically be added to the waiting list.
Once all seats are filled, English-speaking families will receive a letter in the mail indicating either where they have been accepted, or that they are on the waiting list. Families who speak a language other than English and who require translation receive a phone call from our Multilingual Department to let them know either where they have been accepted, or that they are on the waiting list.
Families have three weeks from the date of notification to complete their enrollment paperwork. If enrollment paperwork is not completed in that time period, the spot will be considered forfeited and given to another child on the waiting list.
Once the placements are complete from the initial lottery window, we keep the waitlist open and continue to add families after the lottery deadline up until October 1st of the new school year. Families who applied within the lottery window will retain their place on the list from the initial randomized pull of names. Families who apply after that point will be added on in the order in which they are received. If a student experiencing homelessness is added to the waitlist, we prioritize placing that student. In addition, we continue to monitor for the socio-economic balance in each classroom and consider transportation needs, so a family who is first on the waitlist may not be the first family taken from the waitlist.

Pre-K Waitlist Applications for the 2023-24 School Year

Thank you for your interest! We are accepting applications for the remaining spots on our waitlist for the 2023-24 school year. If your child was born between October 16, 2018 and October 15, 2019, click below to apply in your preferred language:

Pre-K Applications for the Current 2022-23 School Year

Thank you for your interest! We are still enrolling students for the 2022-23 school year. If your child was born between October 16, 2017 and October 15, 2018, click below to apply in your preferred language: