Nearly a third of 27J students choose to attend a school other than the one they are assigned to based on the location of their home.

    Open enrollment, or school choice, is an option offered by School District 27J. Currently, 4,102 of 13,912 students - 29 percent - are choosing open enrollment. A student may apply to enroll in a school outside his/her school attendance area during the open-enrollment window. The deadline to apply to open enroll for the 2010-2011 school year is Feb. 19.

    “We’ve approved 100 percent of applications in the last four years,” said 27J Superintendent Rod Blunck. “Choice is embraced.

    “Our philosophy in 27J is to give parents as many opportunities as possible to have input into their child’s education and to provide high quality opportunities for them,” he added.

    The largest percentage of open enrolled students are in elementary school, followed by middle school, then high school, Blunck said. Seventeen percent of students in the district opt for a charter school option.

    “There are also a number of folks coming in from outside of the district and that’s a great compliment,” he said.

    One reason students choose to opt into a particular school is for certain programs offered at that school, for instance, Project Lead the Way, an engineering program at Brighton High, or the welding program at Prairie View High.

    Applications are submitted to the school of choice and approved applications are valid for the following school year only. Transportation of students participating in open enrollment is the responsibility of the parents/guardians. Approval decisions are made by the school principal and will be made in March.

    “This is our way of making sure that we meet the needs and interests of all families,” Blunck said.  “No matter what building the kids got to, they receive a quality education.”