Getting Started with Marble: A Quick Guide for School Administrators
Welcome to Marble
If you are a school administrator preparing for your first enrollment lottery, this guide will walk you through the essentials. Marble is designed to be intuitive, but a quick overview of the key concepts will help you hit the ground running.
Step 1: Set Up Your School
Your district administrator or platform admin will create your school profile and invite you to the system. Once you log in, you will see your admin dashboard with an overview of your school's enrollment activity.
From the dashboard, you can access:
- Lotteries — Create and manage enrollment lotteries
- Applications — Review and track submitted applications
- Users — Manage your school's admin and teacher accounts
- Analytics — View enrollment trends and statistics
Step 2: Create a Lottery
A lottery in Marble represents a single enrollment opportunity — for example, "Kindergarten 2026-2027" or "1st Grade Spring Lottery."
When creating a lottery, you will configure:
- Name and grade level — Identifies the lottery in your dashboard and for parents
- Available spots — The number of seats available for this enrollment
- Application window — Start and end dates for when families can apply
- Preference tiers — Optional priority categories like sibling preference, staff children, or geographic proximity
Once created, the lottery starts in DRAFT status. Publish it when you are ready for families to see it.
Step 3: Manage Applications
As families apply, their applications appear in your Applications view. You can:
- Filter by status (pending, selected, offered, accepted, declined, waitlisted)
- Search by student or parent name
- Export application data as CSV or PDF
- Review and verify preference tier claims (like sibling verification)
Marble automatically tracks every application's journey through the enrollment process, creating a complete audit trail.
Step 4: Run the Draw
When the application window closes, it is time to run the lottery draw. Marble uses a seeded Fisher-Yates shuffle algorithm — the same approach used in academic research and regulatory contexts.
Here is what happens:
- You click "Run Draw" on the lottery detail page
- Marble generates a random seed and records it
- The algorithm shuffles all applicants, respecting preference tier ordering
- Results are displayed immediately, with each applicant's status updated
The seed, algorithm version, and complete results are recorded permanently. Anyone can use the seed to independently verify the draw.
Step 5: Manage Offers and Waitlist
After the draw, Marble helps you manage the offer lifecycle:
- Send offers — Selected families receive email notifications with a deadline to accept or decline
- Track responses — See who has accepted, declined, or has not yet responded
- Waitlist promotion — When a family declines, the next person on the waitlist is automatically promoted
- Deadline reminders — Automated reminders help families respond on time
Step 6: Export and Report
Throughout the process, you can generate reports:
- CSV exports — Raw data for your records or external analysis
- PDF exports — Branded, formatted reports suitable for board presentations or compliance filing
- Audit logs — A complete record of every action taken in the system
Tips for a Smooth First Lottery
- Test with a draft lottery first — Create a draft lottery to familiarize yourself with the interface before going live
- Set clear deadlines — Give families enough time to apply (at least 2-3 weeks) and to respond to offers (at least 5-7 business days)
- Communicate early — Share the lottery link and timeline with families before the application window opens
- Verify preference claims promptly — Review sibling and other preference claims as they come in, not all at once before the draw
- Export your results — After the draw, export a PDF for your records and board reporting
Need Help?
Marble includes a built-in help center accessible from your dashboard. For additional support, reach out through the contact form on our website.
Welcome aboard — and here is to a fair enrollment season.