What is the open enrollment policy in the Boulder School District? Do parents choose any school?

Yes, in the Boulder Valley School District kids living in the county can attend any public school f their choice if they apply before a certain deadline. It is the districts choice but both times I open enrolled by daughter it was excepted no questions asked.

Parents can choose any school. They submit their choices sometime between November and January, and are informed if they've made it into their top choices in February, and with the second round goes through in April (after the folks notified in February make the choice to move or not). These are rough dates. All entries are pulled in a lottery system. Depending on the popularity of the school, there may be many more entries than room for students, and waiting lists are created. We went through the open enrollment system last November, and were told our daughter was 5th on the wait list for kindergarten. Two weeks after the start of Kindergarten, we got the call that there was a space for her, and we shifted schools. It is the luck of the draw, but preference is sometimes given to siblings, or offspring of employees at the schools.

You can usually do open enrollment (OE) tours of various schools in Nov and Dec. Some schools even have them in January. You must submit your paperwork by the deadline on the BVSD website. BVSD sends a letter in February letting you know if you receive your first choice. You have a certain number of days to accept. 1st preference is given to student's who have siblings in the school. 2nd preference is given to staff members of BVSD. 3rd preference is given to student's living in Boulder County. Finally, if there is room....student's living out side of the county are given a spot. This year, Louisville Elementary only had room for siblings. Louisville Middle only had room for siblings and a few BVSD staff.

Also...my daughter is in what BVSD calls 3/3 Hybrid, meaning she takes 3 courses at Boulder High and 3 courses online through the district's own online program BoulderUniversal.org. She loves the freedom and lessons in self-discipline (for real she loves and appreciates it!). Away from half of the chaos that is high school and the freedom and quiet to study in the quiet of her room. I am a freelance writer that works at home part-time so she has seen that you can achieve abundance AND peace without being under a boss or teacher and spending your life in an office or job that is uncomfortable and where you do not want to be. Times are a changin;)

Heather...I had no idea that was an option. Thanks for the info!

You're welcome it really is a great program, we are impressed by their ability to offer challenging courses and offer mentoring, administrative help when needed, orientations and teacher assistance. My daughter mentor/advisor is more in tune with her by far than her busy Boulder High advisor

One other thing to keep in mind, if you missed the open enrollment lottery, is to be proactive and call the principal of the school you would like to get your child into in the Spring to see if they have any openings. They usually know sometime in February or March. Even though the waiting lists seem long at the end of the lottery, many parents have 3 or 4 options which when decided can create openings in the Spring.