Clark County School District offers limited form of open enrollment

The Clark County School District unveiled plans Monday to expand school choice for students in 2011-12, but many of the district's most desirable options probably will be off limits.

Current schools of choice, such as magnet and vocational schools, won't be included in the open enrollment plan. Schools that are at or above their normal enrollment capacities also will be excluded.

That would rule out schools such as the Las Vegas Academy, the district's magnet school for the performing arts, and Henderson's Green Valley High School, which is at its enrollment capacity this year.

"We don't want to overload schools," said Lauren Kohut-Rost, deputy superintendent for instruction.

The schools with the space to offer open enrollment will be announced today on the district's website, www.ccsd.net. The list will include 41 elementary schools, 19 percent of district elementary schools; 48 middle schools, 81 percent of district middle schools; and 16 high schools, 33 percent of district high schools.

Attendance zones will remain in place under the open enrollment plan, but families will be able to apply for transfers without obtaining a zone variance first.

Students have until Jan. 7 to apply. Applicants will be notified of their status by early February.

If the number of applicants exceeds the number of seats available at an open enrollment school, students will be chosen by lottery. Families also must provide their own transportation.

Kohut-Rost said she believes in choice because students who select their schools are "ultimately more successful. They're more engaged."

Open enrollment also provides an alternative to parents at schools with severe crowding problems, but district officials don't think it will do much to relieve campuses that are overpopulated. In general, neighborhood schools are valued by their families, and officials do not expect open enrollment to spur an exodus.

Even when transportation is provided to support school choice for families at failing schools -- as it is under the federal No Child Left Behind school accountability law -- only 3 percent of students exercise the option to leave, Kohut-Rost said.

About 30,000 of the district's nearly 310,000 students already go to a school outside their normal attendance zone, Kohut-Rost said. That would include students who have received zone variances and those who opt for vocational or magnet schools.

Certain restrictions will apply to open enrollment.

Students who were expelled for disciplinary reasons cannot return to their former schools.

In general, students must stay at a new school until they complete the school's exit grade. A sixth-grader, for example, must stay at a middle school through the eighth grade.

Student athletes will be eligible to play immediately at their school of choice. But student athletes would have to sit out for 180 days if they are permitted to transfer a second time.

Ray Mathis, who serves dual roles as the district's executive director for athletics and extracurricular activities and as board president of the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association, thinks the restrictions are sufficient to discourage recruiting by coaches and prevent unfair athletic advantages.

"We may have a few takers (under open enrollment), but I don't think it will be a big factor because there's no transportation," Mathis said.

He noted that it still will be a risk for a student athlete to go to a new school because there's no guarantee a student will make the team.

Mathis said he was satisfied that high schools with magnet programs, such as Valley, Rancho and Canyon Springs, have not had unfair athletic advantages despite having limited open enrollment.

Tammy Malich, principal of Legacy High School, near Centennial Parkway and Commerce Street in North Las Vegas, thinks open enrollment has created educational opportunities for military families.

Legacy is near Nellis Air Force Base but is not its zoned school. Under an open enrollment pilot program, Legacy was chosen by many military families in the past two years.

Because it offers eight foreign languages, Legacy also attracts many students from civilian families who live in other school zones, she said.

Jim Sink said his 15-year-old son, Brandon, chose Legacy because he wanted to study German. The teen, who was initially zoned for Mojave High School, also wanted to attend the same school as many of his friends.

"It's beneficial for my kids that they go to school with a core group of friends," Sink said. "Being able to choose different options to further your children's educational opportunities is never a bad thing."

Contact reporter James Haug at jhaug@review journal.com or 702-374-7917.