A version of the following article appeared in the Monday, November 2, 2026, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with local business-y news and insights for Charlotte, N.C.
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CMS School Choice lottery opens today after bumpy process last year
by Ashley Fahey
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ School Choice lottery for the 2027-2028 academic year opens today, after a less-than-smooth lottery experience for many CMS parents last year.
The Ledger previously reported that last year’s lottery (for the current academic year) had many parents in an uproar after results seemed to ignore factors like sibling and continuation guarantees, and transportation-zone prioritization.
In acknowledging the confusion, CMS said that last year was its “first fully digital lottery” and its “first year with a true waitlist for all schools,” and that Student Choice families and continuation students “should not have applied for their existing program.”
This year’s lottery is open from today through Dec. 11. CMS’ School Choice lottery includes specific programs and “specialized learning pathways,” and getting into certain schools and programs can be highly competitive.
The Ledger reviewed ParentSquare emails from the start of the academic year from Collinswood Language Academy Principal Dina Modine that said the K-8 dual language school had 18 open seats each in its kindergarten and first grade classes. In an early September ParentSquare post, Modine asked parents of Collinswood students to reach out if they knew anyone interested in attending the school.
The Ledger reached out to CMS on Oct. 1 with questions about the ParentSquare emails and, more broadly, about how School Choice lottery waitlists are handled in the event of open seats, then followed up on its inquiry with CMS nine times in the past month. As of Monday morning, The Ledger has received one response from a CMS spokesperson on Oct. 13 that said that the system is “working with our School Choice team to get you specific answers and info.”
School Choice lottery results for the 2026-2027 academic year, last updated in April, say there were 133 waitlisted for the Spanish immersion program at Collinswood, although the amount varies widely based on grade. For example, there were none on the waitlist for second and seventh grade, but 84 for sixth grade. There was one kindergartener and six rising first graders on the Collinswood waitlist.
For this academic year, Central Piedmont Early College had the largest waitlist per grade, at 506 for students entering the ninth grade. The magnet program at Rea Farms STEAM Academy had 332 waitlisted students for rising sixth graders and 219 for rising kindergarteners. The Charlotte Engineering Early College had 301 on its waitlist for rising ninth graders.
Lottery results are expected to be published Jan. 5. Several open houses, information sessions and tours are scheduled this fall.
