These Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools were the most popular lottery options in 2023
Some Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools seated many more students than others and had bigger waiting lists after the district’s annual lottery.
The results are from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ February release of the initial school choice lottery numbers. And students’ new assignments will apply for the coming school year.
The lottery is an opportunity for families who want their children to be in a particular magnet school or program and aims partially to keep families from going down the route of private or charter schools. But the numbers for individual schools aren’t a perfect one-to-one comparison due to certain ones bringing all of their student body through the school choice lottery.
Seats are allocated across different socioeconomic status categories (high, medium, and low) to achieve the greatest diversity possible.
Phillip O. Berry Academy of Technology seated the most students from the lottery, with 1,649 students seated in grades 9-12 and 140 still on the wait list. But it’s unlike a traditional high school in that it doesn’t have an assigned attendance zone for students. So, it gets all of its students through the lottery.
There are 104 different magnet programs in CMS, including STEM, world language immersion and International Baccalaureate programs. Some of the most popular schools in the lottery are:
▪ East Mecklenburg High School IB: 1,332 total seated, 181 on wait list
East Mecklenburg IB program offers middle-year (ages 11-16), diploma (ages 16-19), and career-related programs(ages 16-19). The middle-year program was authorized in 2008, the diploma program was authorized in 1998 and the career-related program in 2017.
▪ Charlotte-Mecklenburg Virtual School: 1,225 total seated, 0 on wait list
CMVS is a fully online school that allows students to work at their own pace.
▪ Randolph Middle School IB: 1200 total seated, 68 on wait list
Randolph is a fully IB middle school. The school has been an International Baccalaureate magnet since 2006.
▪ North Mecklenburg High School IB: 689 total seated, 19 on wait list
North Mecklenburg offers IB programs as well as language immersion, automotive, culinary and cosmetology courses.
▪ Myers Park Traditional: 675 total seated, 181 on wait list
Myers Park Traditional is a non-magnet elementary school and students seated are attending classes as normal — just in a different school.
▪ Collinswood Language Academy: 603 total seated, 11 wait list
Collinswood is an elementary Spanish language immersion school. The school looks to educate students while having them become bilingual.
Some schools have a lower number seated, but a big wait list. REA Farms STEAM Academy is among them, with 750 waiting for a seat.
Irwin Academic Center is another school with a large wait list, with 305. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Engineering Early College at UNC Charlotte had 209 on the wait list.
Last year, about 30,000 students participated in the CMS school choice lottery. Data released by CMS show that’s about the same number as participated this year. CMS says 26,486 students got seats and 3,260 were put on waiting lists.
