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:
DON’T apply for ‘School Choice’ if you:
12 Days of School Choice #1: What School Choice is All About (Dec. 25, 2019) #2: How do I apply? (Dec. 26, 2019) #3: About the School Choice "Lottery" (Dec. 27, 2019) #4: D60's IB, STEM, Innovation and Specialty schools (Dec. 28, 2019) #5: School choice for incoming middle and high school students (Dec. 29, 2019) #6: The rules behind high school athletic transfers (Dec. 30, 2019) #7: Can I use school choice for my incoming Kindergartener? (Dec. 31, 2019) #8: Your 5th- or 8th-grader at 'Parent Nights' (Jan. 1, 2020) #9: Out-of-district transfers to District 60 schools (Jan. 2, 2020) #10: Which applicants have 'preference' in the school choice lottery? (Jan. 3, 2020) #11: Do I need to fill out a school choice request to keep my child in the same school? (Jan. 4, 2020) #12: How does the wait list work? (Jan. 5, 2020) |