Braving the BPS Lottery is a blog documenting my journey through the public school selection process in Boston's West Zone. My son will be eligible to join a K1 class in the fall of 2010. We’re trying to getting a head start on learning about BPS so it won’t be so overwhelming when we do it for real next fall. (Also, I just get slightly obsessive about these things and am trying to channel my energy/anxiety into something productive.)

I plan to go to as many school previews as possible and post my notes from these visits. I focus on schools within our walk zone and schools I’ve heard about that pique my curiosity. In case you’re new to this process, a walk zone school has to be within 1 or sometimes 1.5 miles of your home if the school also teaches middle schoolers (Not like a 4-year-old could regularly walk 1.5 miles, but whatever). Our walk zone schools are Bates, Conley, Lyndon, Mozart, and Sumner.

I also post occasional news stories about the school system that may (or may not) be relevant to the selection process, e.g. notes on School Committee meetings or news stories about various West Zone schools. I encourage other parents to comment and help me find my way through this thing, because it feels impossible for one parent to do it alone.