Take Stock
Each district has its own unique context for creating a choice program. It is important to take careful stock of your own district and community, identifying resources that can support choice as well as potential constraints, and deepening your understanding of the context (e.g., demographic, fiscal, political) in which your choice program would be implemented.
Program Practices
| Each practice below comes from an individual school choice program. |
Engage and Partner with Local Businesses to Assess Their Needs
When planning new choice programs, Desert Sands Unified School District takes into account the needs of many different stakeholders in their community such as the local universities and housing developers.
Explore an Array of Educational Options
Houston Independent School District created an array of educational options that other districts may find helpful to explore.
Host a Vision to Action Forum for Parents
To generate support for and provide the opportunity for community input into the design of choice programs, Monadnock Region Public Schools of Choice offers Vision to Action Forums for parents.
Identify the Data That Matter
In creating and carrying out its vision for choice, the Wake County Public School System relies heavily on a wide range of data to inform decisionmaking.
Survey Parents and Students to Identify Attractive Options
Duval County Public Schools conducted a telephone survey of parents and students to determine what types of instructional programs they would find attractive and what factors would influence parents to enroll their children in schools outside their neighborhood.
Sample Materials
| All sample materials under the topic of "Take Stock": |
Indio High School
Desert Sands Unified School District listened to its local Justice Center's need for stenographers and paralegals when creating a law and medical theme for its Indio High School.
Specialty Areas or Themes
Houston Independent School District has created many themed schools to provide choices for parents and students.
Parent, Staff, and Student Perception Survey
One way Wake County Public School System utilizes this survey is to identify the performance and popularity of each school to see if there are high-performing, high-demand programs that should be replicated.
Guiding Principles
Wake County Public School System uses these guiding principles to create criteria for student recruitment and placement in magnet schools.
Parent Survey - Executive Summary
Duval County Public Schools sampled parents in the county about its magnet school offerings and summarized the results of the survey in this report.
Business Leader Survey
Desert Sands Unified School District administers this survey to its local business leaders to learn about their needs and resources they are willing to contribute to the district.
Vision to Action Newsletter
A Vision to Action newsletter summarizes a forum’s activity for the Monadnock Region Public Schools of Choice community.
Vision to Action Forum
Monadnock Region Public Schools of Choice offers forums to encourage community involvement and input for the development of their choice programs.
Demographics Growth and Diversity Report
Wake County School System's Office of Growth Management collects demographic data along with plans for facilities. The data is then used to determine district choice needs and inform future policy decisions.
Media
| All media under the topic of "Take Stock": |
Three Things to Consider
- Look at multiple sources of data
- Engage parents, community organizations to find out their perceptions of the challenges and potential solutions
- Establish norms of open, honest, and safe communication
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–Paul T. Hill, Chair, National Working Commission on Choice in K-12 Education
