The Lottery and Waitlist ……Powerball Anyone?

It seems that certain staff members (or any with children who are interested in sending them to MVRCS) and/or friends should play Powerball as they seem to have incredible luck!

We’ve blogged before about the issues relating to the handling of the lottery and waitlist at MVRCS but feel the need to do so again. In November the school held its annual lottery for incoming Kindergarten students. We didn’t give it much focus as we wanted to gather information and review the information before jumping to any conclusions. We were fortunate to have several different individuals in the audience who either manually recorded or (secretly) voice recorded the drawing. It’s taken us a while to put it all together and find the discrepancies but we found some. We had seriously hoped that the school had handled it with integrity and ethics this year but found otherwise. It seems that regardless that the school has an outside CPA handle the drawing itself, the school officials have somehow managed to continue manipulating the list to ensure certain individuals gain entry. We have heard from some reliable sources that not only has the Department of Education taken possession of the school’s waitlist, it is also now being managed by an outside source as a result of a change in the law and (we would imagine) wrongdoing on the part of the school.

We’ve compiled a comparative list of the numbers that were called and the final list that the school has published (located @ http://www.mvrcs.com/files/Lottery_Results_11_23_10.pdf). We see a number of differences and will be forwarding the data to the DOE for their review and (in)action, along with the names of the individuals who we believe will have benefited. It seems that being friends with Danielle Ferrara in the office is one way of ensuring entry into the school. We have also heard that parents also have the option of bribing their way into the school but have been unable to confirm the specifics. We’re also not sure if Ferrara is the person to bribe or if she is just the one doing the dirty work at the lottery drawings and/or working of the waitlist (either on own accord or at the instructions of someone else)..

As a side note, we have noticed that staff members of the school have unbelievable luck gaining entry into the school. We’ve mentioned before the high number of Kinnon’s and Finn’s and that they were all unbelievable fortunate to gain entry, never mind all the relatives of Henry Gennetti. Also worth mentioning is that relatives of both Finn and Gennetti who were so fortunate to gain admission not just once but twice! Somehow at least two families chose to leave the school and then somehow managed to be at the front of the waitlist when other children left (how that can happen is beyond us). We did hear that the school has some kind of allowance for this in their By-laws although how this can be is again beyond us as it is not permissible per the Department of Education (but then again, the rules that apply to all other charter schools don’t seem to apply to MVRCS). We have been unable to locate the school by-laws to confirm this but are continuing to work on it.

We have noticed that with a few exceptions, any staff member who places their child in the lottery or on the waitlist seems to gain entry. We’d heard about past teachers who somehow managed to gain access to MVRCS for their children after beginning to work there. Two good examples would be Dr. Biegler and Ms. Herrera. More disturbing is that it appears as though Ms. Herrera’s children got in ‘from the waitlist’ which we seriously question if they were ever on. We’ve come across other examples as well which leads us to believe that this was not an isolated incident.

Bringing the focus to current practices, it amazes us how many staff and faculty members have been fortunate enough to gain entry through the lottery and/or waitlist. Yes, we know that some staff members began working there after their children were admitted but it doesn’t seem as though many who work there and have children DO NOT GAIN ENTRY. Funny enough it doesn’t seem to just be limited to staff member’s children but also includes staff member’s relatives and friends. Isn’t it amazing that Gina McKinnon and Jen Mullen were both fortunate enough to have their children selected? Amazing, what luck they have. We did hear that Jen Mullen was not originally selected but did have a low number on the waitlist and made sure her child managed to get in (probably one of those non-english speaking kids that were systematically eliminated or encouraged not to enroll). Then again, it appears as though being a friend to Danielle Ferrara (or is she the person to bribe?) is one way of ensuring entry as a few of her friends that work at a popular Melrose seafood restaurant have managed to gain entry (one of which doesn’t even live in one of the sending districts). Who knows, we could be wrong but... It seems Val Doherty and Peter Connolly were fortunate enough to gain entry into the school for their nephews. This was in the year that a number of other staff members also were fortunate enough to have their children admitted. The current first grade class has a number of employee’s children sprinkled among it. It amazes us that out of only 125 spots that so many staff members, friends of Danielle Ferrara (not to mention Neil Kinnon) and relatives were selected from the lottery YET individuals who have been included in numerous lotteries have NEVER been selected. Isn’t it amazing? That is why we think the these staff members, family members, and friends should play Powerball – the odds are in their favor. Although the Powerball lottery isn’t fixed, is it? 

NOTE: We'd like to clarify that when we 'verify' our information, we aren't speaking to other parents but individuals who are either currently or have been employed by the school, a number of which have been there for numerous years. Through these individuals and our own resources (such as class lists and year books), we are able to confirm our information.