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12 Days of School Choice: What 'school choice' is all about

posted Dec 24, 2019, 1:47 PM by anthony.sandstrom@pueblocityschools.us   [ updated Jan 6, 2020, 10:54 AM by Bruce Richards ]

In an effort to inform District 60 parents and others about the school choice process, this is the first of 12 blog posts explaining the process and helping guide parents with helpful tips along the way. Open enrollment for the 2020-21 school year begins Jan. 13, 2020. 

For the past 25 years, parents in Colorado have had the option of enrolling their child in the public school of their choosing, granted that there is room for their child to enroll at their school of their choice.


In Pueblo School District 60, we’ve done our best to make the school choice process as simple as possible, trying to make a sometimes complicated process easy for parents to navigate.


While school choice applications are accepted from January until the end of August, a month-long “lottery” period, beginning Jan. 13 and lasting until Feb. 9, makes it easy for parents to choose their child’s school for the 2020-21 school year.


What is ‘school choice?’

In 1994, the Public Schools of Choice law was passed in Colorado, allowing students the option to enroll in the school of their choice, provided that the student has transportation and that there’s room in their child’s specific grade at their newly-chosen school.


Before the law was passed, students had to attend the school that served their specific neighborhood. If they didn’t want to attend their neighborhood school, their only option was to enroll in a private school or be home-schooled. 


Today, school choice offers parents the option to enroll their child for the following school year in any school for any reason, whether they’re seeking a school that better meets their child’s needs, caters better to their strengths, or any other reason imaginable. 


The “lottery” period from Jan. 13 to Feb. 9 gives parents the best chance to enroll their child in the school of their choice. Parents that wish to change their child’s school get entered into a “lottery” system, which gives each child a fair chance to enroll in the school of their choice.


Is school choice right for my child?

School choice isn’t right for everyone.


First and foremost, if a parent doesn’t wish for their child to attend different school in 2020-21, or is a 5th-grader and 8th-grader that intends on attending their neighborhood’s middle or high school, disregard the school choice process. The school choice process only applies to you if you wish to enroll your child in a school other than their neighborhood school. 


Some helpful rules of thumb:

DO apply for ‘School Choice’ if you:

  • Want to transfer your child currently in grades K through 11 to a new District 60 school
  • Want your pre-school aged child to attend a non-neighborhood school for Kindergarten
  • Live outside District 60 and want to begin attending a D60 school
  • Live outside District 60 and your child has attended a D60 school but is entering 6th or 9th grade

DON’T apply for ‘School Choice’ if you:

  • Wish for your child to remain at their school, when your child won’t be entering 6th or 9th grade
  • Your pre-schooler, 5th-grader or 8th-grader will continue at their neighborhood school next year
  • You’d like to attend a charter school (charter schools have their own application process)
If you have questions, call the District 60 School Choice Help Line at (719) 253-6014, or email schoolchoice@pueblocityschools.us.

12 Days of School Choice
#2: How do I apply? (Dec. 26, 2019)
#12: How does the wait list work? (Jan. 5, 2020)