Reviewed and Updated August 2026
Sibling Preference
At E.L. Haynes, we offer siblings of enrolled students and of matched/waitlist offered students preference for admissions through the common lottery managed by My School DC. If a family of a currently enrolled student would like a sibling to attend E.L. Haynes, the family must submit a completed application to My School DC and indicate that a sibling attends E.L. Haynes. We will verify this and approve that preference. All siblings must apply through the lottery!
Siblings of matched/waitlist offered students will receive the offered sibling preference automatically through the lottery. Siblings of enrolled students will receive a preference over applicants from new families. If there are more siblings than spaces available for a particular grade level, the student will be placed on the waitlist in the “band” of the list for their preference, in the order of their assigned lottery number.
E.L. Haynes uses the following definitions for sibling:
- Siblings are children who share one or more biological or step-parents or who share a custodial guardian. First cousins residing in the same dwelling each with their own parent and no common guardian are not considered siblings for the E.L. Haynes Sibling Preference.
Founding Board Member and Staff Preference
E.L. Haynes also offers a preference for the children of Founding Board Members and full-time staff. These individuals must also apply through the MySchoolDC lottery and claim their preference through the Operations Team. The school distributes information about these preferences directly to founding board members and current staff.
Admissions Preference Order
E.L. Haynes implements its admissions preference in the following order:
- Staff Preference: Student is the child of a full-time E.L. Haynes staff member and/or founding board member.
- Sibling Attending Preference: Student is the sibling of a student who is currently enrolled at E.L. Haynes at the time of the lottery (March).
- Sibling Offered Preference: Student is the sibling of another student who was offered enrollment at E.L. Haynes for the upcoming school year. Note that the sibling offered preference remains for the full lottery cycle and does not change to sibling enrolled preference even after the student’s enrollment is complete.
Equitable Access Preference
E.L. Haynes currently offers an Equitable Access (EA) Preference via designated seats in grades Pre-K3, 6, and 9. Having EA status improves a student’s chance of being matched or receiving a waitlist offer from Haynes.
Equitable Access-eligible applicants are those who meet at least one of the following criteria:
- Experiencing homelessness
- In the District’s foster care system or ward of the State
- Receiving Temporary Assistance for Need Families (TANF) or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits
- In high school and one year older, or more, than the expected age for the grade in which they are currently enrolled
The designated seat preference sets an amount of seats in the above grade levels and designates them for those who meet the definition above. Only applicants that have applied to the school and meet the criteria of that specific group are entered into the lottery for the designated seats. All applicants (including those that meet the criteria for that specific group) are entered into the lottery for the remaining general seats.
Any Equitable Access-eligible students may also have other preferences applied to their application.
A student’s eligibility for Equitable Access is verified automatically through MySchoolDC. Any family that believes their child should qualify but has not received any confirmation of that status should reach out to E.L. Haynes Operations Team immediately to request an appeal.