Philly Charter School Had 9,190 Applicants for 96 Spots

MaST Charter School (via Google Street View)

By all accounts, MaST Community Charter School is a success.

The Philadelphia school opened in 1999, and eventually consolidated all its grades into an old steel factory on Byberry Road in the Far Northeast. The “MaST” in the school’s name stands for Math, Science and Technology, and it has been recognized as an excellent school on numerous occasions.

The school serves students in kindergarten through 12th grade, and even opened up a second school in September on Rising Sun Avenue in the old St. William’s school building in Lawncrest.

As such, people want to send their kids to MaST. And so there were almost 9,200 applications for the 2017–18 school year. MaST has room for just 96 kids.

MaST held its lottery last night. “The kids, it’s their place, so if there’s an idea they want to do here and we can make it happen, if we get that feedback, then we try to make it happen,” MaST CEO told Channel 6.

The only requirement for the MaST lottery is that you have to live in Philadelphia; anyone in the city may apply. There is a “sibling preference policy,” but otherwise it’s a complete lotto. Michael O’Brien, an alum of the school’s first graduating class who is also on the board, told Action News his kids did not get in.

The lottery for MaST II, the school in Lawncrest, will be held on March 7th at 4 p.m. in the Northeast Philly school building.