5.2 School Choice

This is the second of a set of posts that relate, broadly, to the difficult question of how students and schools should be matched. This is a big topic, so I have attempted to break it up a bit.

The first post, “5.1 Where Do You Live?” confronted the reality that zip code is usually destiny, especially for those without many economic options. Middle class families, by contrast, have always enjoyed the benefits of school “choice.” If parents with the means are dissatisfied with the local school, they can move to a home within a district or attendance boundary of a school they prefer. Residential property values can be very sensitive to differences in school reputation. This fact is not lost on real estate professionals, who are attuned to the local rules for determining attendance “catchment” areas. Changes in those rules can have a direct impact on housing values.

Not all schools have rigid catchment areas, however. Some are designed to serve students from throughout a school district.

Magnet schools, for example, are designed to attract enrollment from throughout a district by offering something different and attractive – most commonly an unusually rigorous curriculum, or a curriculum oriented toward a particular interest such as art or science. The first magnet schools were established in high-poverty neighborhoods in the 1960s. After rapid initial growth, such schools settled to less than 3% of California enrollment by 2009.

The upcoming posts will overview many different approaches to changing the way that students are placed into schools. Post 5.3 will explore models of Selectivity. Post 5.4 will address both Continuation Schools and juvenile halls. Post 5.5 will reveal the tip of the Charter School iceberg. Post 5.6 will describe Private Schools. Home schooling will be addressed in post 5.12.

Next:  5.3 Selectivity and Diversity