Open Enrollment in Colorado

Apparently, this week was National School Choice Week. In Colorado, this was celebrated and promoted in Castle Rock with the "Restoring American Exceptionalism" event put on by Hugh Hewitt and featuring consultant Dick Morris.

Reports from the event revealed the presentations to be a not remotely subtle attack on teacher's unions and public education in general. That's not surprising considering the location. Castle Rock is in Douglas County, one of the most affluent and conservative parts of the country, as well as the location of school board approved private school voucher program that was halted at the start of this year by the courts. Strangely, the event was introduced as "not a political evening" because it was simply about parents being able to make the best choice for their kids.

Well, clearly, a call to weaken teacher associations and provide vouchers to allocate public funds to private religious schools is, in fact, a political evening. But that's OK. School choice is an issue that is timely and important and must be resolved in a prudent and effective manner. And that process is clearly in place in Colorado.

The prudent answer is, obviously, open enrollment policies as a state law.

In Colorado, a student is allowed to enroll in any school he wants as long as seats are available. This condition has been key in the rise of charter schools in the state, and made it a pioneer in charter and magnet education. The caveats are that the school must be "open," as in not at capacity for seating and staff, and if the school is outside the kid's "home school" he is responsible for transportation. There are some hurdles, bussing being a big one. In urban areas, students have a lot of access to public transportation. In rural areas, not so much. And, of course, Colorado's budget is strained and public transportation is taking a hit.

Additionally, some of the top schools are "closed," meaning their neighborhood constituents already take up the seats. My school - Cherry Creek High School - is one of the top schools in the state, and it's located in a rather affluent area. However, at 3600 kids, it's at capacity, and students are not allowed to "choice in." That's a condition that is troubling for some.

Ultimately, though, open enrollment is the perfect compromise solution for school choice advocates and public school defenders. It allows for freedom while maintaining a core of neighborhood schools and seeking to improve them. My long-standing opinion of education reform is that our policies should be "whatever works."

And open enrollment works.

Kids Caring about Kids

So, here's some good news about the world for a change:

This week Cherry Creek High School had our spring Spirit Week - normally a kick off to spring sports. This year, Student Senate teamed up with the Make a Wish Foundation and changed Spirit Week to Wish Week. CCHS students accepted the task of raising money to grant the wish of a seven-year-old boy battling cancer, whose wish is to go on a Disney Cruise.

The Senate set a goal of $5000 to grant this young boy's wish, and they organized various events all week. I was co-host of our first talent show at Creek in nearly twenty years - and that night brought in almost $2600. The Senate also coordinated fundraising at our musical, choir concert, and various school activities. Today, we held a pep rally to present the money to him.

At the rally, Student Senate announced that in this week, CCHS students raised a whopping $17,500 for the Make a Wish Foundation. From what I understand, that amount set a new national record for a single week of fundraising by a high school group. The amount has allowed Creek to grant the wishes of two other Make a Wish children who are also battling cancer.

Let me tell you - it was pretty wonderful to watch a very happy seven year old boy run through a tunnel of arms from our cheer squad into our gym where he received a huge standing ovation from a couple thousand high school students. He also took great joy in throwing t-shirts to the crowd and joining in some of the activities such as spraying Silly String in the faces of more than a few teachers and students.

There is a lot of negativity out there these days, and a lot of criticism of young people. And, so, it's important to acknowledge that we are raising some pretty amazing kids - kids who look out for each other, kids who, quite simply, care.

I am so impressed with our young people these days. They are hopeful, optimistic, caring, tolerant, and more. Feel free to spread the news of this really neat and hopeful moment.