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This report was produced under U.S. Department of Education 

Contract No. ED-01-CO-0012, Task Order D010, with WestEd. 

Sharon Horn served as the contracting officer’s representative. The 

views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the positions 

or policies of the U.S. Department of Education. This publication 

includes information about and references to products, commodities, 

services, or enterprises from other organizations, both public and private. Inclusion of these does not constitute an endorsement of them 

by the U.S. Department of Education.

U.S. Department of Education

Margaret Spellings

Secretary

Office of Innovation and Improvement

Morgan Brown

Assistant Deputy Secretary

December 2005

This booklet is in the public domain. Authorization to reproduce 

it in whole or in part is granted. While permission to reprint this 

publication is not necessary, the citation should be: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Innovation and Improvement, 

An Invitation to BuildingChoice.org: Raising Achievement Through 

Public School Choice, Washington, D.C., 2005.

To order copies of this booklet, write to: ED Pubs, Education Publications Center, U.S. Department of Education, P.O. Box 1398, Jessup, MD 

20794-1398;

or fax your request to: (301) 470-1244;

or e-mail your request to: edpubs@inet.ed.gov;

or order online at: http://www.edpubs.org;

or call in your request toll-free: (877) 433-7827 (1-877-4-ED-PUBS). If 

877 service is not yet available in your area, call (800) 872-5327 (1-800-

USA-LEARN). Those who use a telecommunications device for the 

deaf (TDD) or a teletypewriter (TTY) should call (877) 576-7734. 

This booklet is also available on the Department’s Web site at: 

http://www.ed.gov/nclb/choice/buildingchoice.

On request, this publication is available in alternate formats, such as 

Braille, large print, or computer diskette. For more information, please 

contact the Department’s Alternate Format Center at (202) 260-9895 

or (202) 260-0818.

All photographs in this publication were taken by Christian Holden. 

Copyright 2005, WestEd. Used with permission of the copyright holder.
CONTENTS

Acknowledgments	2

Foreword	3

Need Help with Your Choice Program? It’sa Click Away	4

What Is Public School Choice?	5

Why Is Choice Important?	8

How CanI Make Choice Happen?	 11

Createa Vision	 14

Communicate with Parents	 16

Manage Operations	 20

Support Schools	 22

Evaluate the Program	 24

Endnotes	 26

B u i l d i n g C h o i c e . o r g


The development of BuildingChoice.org and this accompanying 

booklet was initiated and directed by Nina S. Rees, Assistant Deputy 

Secretary of the Office of Innovation and Improvement (OII) at the 

U.S. Department of Education. Sharon Horn was the project manager.

This booklet and its related Web site, BuildingChoice.org, were developed by WestEd and its partner, Edvance, under contract to OII. 

This project was greatly helped by the work of a formal advisory 

group consisting of Michael Bell, assistant superintendent, School 

Choice and Parental Options, Miami-Dade, Fla.; Vanessa DeCarbo, 

former director of communications and research, Hispanic Council 

for Reform and Education Options; Bryan Hassel, codirector, Public 

Impact; Linda Hodge, former president, National PTA; Melina 

Wright, consultant, National PTA; Barbara Pulliam, superintendent, 

Clayton County Public Schools, Ga.; Greg Richmond, president, National Association of Charter School Authorizers; and Sylvia Wright, 

former administrator, U. S. Department of Education. 

Staff in the U.S. Department of Education who reviewed drafts of 

this publication and provided guidance for the development of the 

online toolkit include: Kerri Briggs, Steve Brockhouse, Marcie Brown, 

Tom Corwin, Kate Devine, Cynthia Dorfman, David Dunn, John 

Fiegel, Steve Freid, Margaret Guenther, Doug Herbert, Jackie Jackson, 

Dean Kern, Stacy Kreppel, Emily Lampkin, Iris Lane, Andrea Risotto, 

Karen Santoro, Ross Santy, Carol Scannelli, Tiffany Taber, Susan Wilhelm, Christy Wolfe, and Jackye Zimmerman.

The following districts cooperating in the development of this 

booklet were generous with their time and contributed many 

resources to the project: Cambridge Public Schools, Mass.; Desert 

Sands Unified School District, Calif.; Duval County Public Schools, 

Fla.; Hamilton County Schools, Tenn.; Hillsborough County School 

District, Fla.; Hot Springs School District, Ark.; Houston Independent School District, Tex.; Mesa Public Schools, Ariz.; Miami-Dade 

County Public Schools, Fla.; Milwaukee Public Schools, Wisc.; Minneapolis Public Schools, Minn.; Monadnock Region Public Schools 

of Choice, N.H.; Montclair Public Schools, N.J.; and Wake County 

Public School System, N.C. 

Acknowledgments


No Child Left Behind requires that parents receive more information—and more choices—than ever before about their 

children’s education and their community’s schools. In doing so, it empowers our nation’s parents to become successful 

advocates for their children.

At the same time, the law challenges districts in exciting new ways. In particular, as they strive to assist Title I schools in need 

of improvement, they also must ensure that students in these schools have additional education options, chiefly, free tutoring 

or the ability to transfer to another public school. 

Many districts that have invested in public school choice as a vehicle to improve teaching and learning have been asking for help 

in managing their program so parents and children can realize the potential benefits. We are committed to providing that help.

Two years ago, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Innovation and Improvement published six NCLB-related “innovation guides,” four of which address how districts have been making public school choice programs work effectively. Now, 

I’m pleased to extend an invitation for you to visit an important new addition to the innovation series: BuildingChoice.org—a 

Web-based toolkit that shares practical information, examples, and tools from districts across the country that have been 

leading the way in offering choice.

I hope this booklet will entice you and other district decision-makers to explore this new online resource. The information 

at BuildingChoice.org will help districts expand education opportunities for families, moving all of us a step closer to making 

good on the promise to provide every child with a quality education. 

 Margaret Spellings

U.S. Secretary of Education

FOREWORD

B u i l d i n g C h o i c e . o r g
In many places across the country, public school students

no longer automatically attend their neighborhood 

school. Instead, parents may decide that their child’s needs 

are better met elsewhere, for example, at a small alternative school, an arts magnet school, a charter technology 

high school, or a media academy operating within a larger 

school. They may choose a school across town or one next 

door. They might even choose a virtual school, which has 

no building at all. A growing number of parents have such 

options thanks to public school choice programs run by 

school districts across the country. 

The intent of public school choice is to 

increase parent involvement, provide 

varied learning environments that 

may better match children’s different needs, increase school 

integration, and encourage 

educators’ creativity—all 

in the service of improved 

student achievement 

outcomes. 

If you’ve been 

thinking about 

starting a choice 

program in your 

Need help with your choice program? It’s a click away.

own district, or improving the one you already have, lessons 

learned from districts that already have choice programs can 

make your job easier. These districts have already encountered and addressed the kinds of practical challenges that are 

inevitable in getting a choice program up and running. Now 

you can learn from their experiences.

This publication is your invitation to learn more about 

BuildingChoice.org, a new Web-based toolkit brought to you 

by the U. S. Department of Education’s Office of Innovation 

and Improvement. The online toolkit provides a variety of 

practical resources drawn from diverse districts across the 

country that have been identified as having promising practices related to school choice. It is online to help you easily 

read, learn from, share, adopt, and adapt the resources.

If you have already researched the issue of choice and are 

committed to implementing it, you may want to jump immediately to the “How” section of this publication, starting 

on page 11, which introduces you to the toolkit. Those who 

know less about choice as an education reform strategy 

may want to begin by getting more background in the 

“What” and “Why” sections, beginning on page 5. Whichever approach you decide to take, be sure to make time to 

peruse all of the resources available at BuildingChoice.org. 

We feel certain you’ll find them helpful.


Public school choice is just that: giving families options 

within a public school system. Choice comes in a variety of 

forms called by a variety of names.

While No Child Left Behind has underscored the importance 

of public school choice, the concept of choice is not new. 

Some rural communities have a history of choice based on 

necessity. In Maine, for example, the legislature enacted 

a law in 1903 that guaranteed every child a high school 

education. But lawmakers recognized that not every small 

town could support a high school, so the statute required 

towns that did not operate secondary schools to pay tuition 

for residents to attend a school elsewhere.1 There are many 

such examples of choice initiatives throughout the nation.

Alternative schools

The most generic term for schools of choice is “alternative.” 

Educators and parents alike have long recognized that a 

standard school program does not work for everyone. So 

over the years, in different places and different fashions, 

alternative schools have been developed to meet the needs 

and interests of diverse students. These days, the term is 

often used for small secondary schools designed to provide 

a nurturing environment for students considered at risk 

of school failure; federal statistics show that some 610,000 

students are now enrolled in such schools.2 

Magnet Schools

Choice evolved as a key strategy for voluntary school 

desegregation in the 1960s and led to the term “magnet 

schools,” that is, schools intended to attract diverse student 

populations. Until the early 70’s, federal district courts had 

routinely issued court-ordered desegregation mandates to 

school systems, requiring them to racially integrate their 

schools. The courts discovered from the experience of several districts that more desegregation—and more positive 

integration—would occur if parents were instead offered an 

appealing alternative to their neighborhood school. Districts 

across the country began introducing voluntary school 

desegregation choice programs. In the mid-70s, the Houston 

Independent School District described the effect of its Performing and Visual Arts School as working like a “magnet” in 

attracting students.3 By 1980, most major cities had systems 

with magnet schools and had admission policies designed to 

balance the student population, adhering carefully to legal 

requirements that have evolved over the decades. More than 

1,700 magnet schools were reported in 2002­–03.4

CHARTER SCHOOLS

Charter schools are public schools of choice that may have 

very traditional education programs or may have the same 

kind of underlying themes as found at magnet or alternative 

schools. What makes them distinctive is their exemption from 

WHAT is public school choice? 

B u i l d i n g C h o i c e . o r g


Implementation of charter schools began with legislation in 

Minnesota in 1991, and 40 states now have charter laws. As of 

April 2005, the nation had approximately 3,400 charter schools, 

450 of them new in the 2004–05 school year.6 The vast majority of charter schools are authorized by a local school district.7

Schools within Schools

“Schools within schools” are autonomous subunits within 

large public schools. Placing autonomous new schools 

within existing structures has several advantages, including more efficient use of space and access to some shared 

programming.8 Districts seeking to meet the requirements 

of No Child Left Behind with limited facilities funding are 

among those turning to the school-within-school model. 

Any school within a school is a legally separate entity, administering its own budget and planning its own programs. However, some elements, such as school safety and building operation, may remain vested with the principal of the larger school 

facility, and use of shared space is then negotiated.9 Administrators have devised a variety of plans in accordance with the 

special circumstances and resources of their districts.10 For an 

example of multiple co-located schools in New York City, see 

“One Building for Multiple Schools” (to the left).

Virtual Schools

Virtual schools are made possible by technology advances. 

Instead of taking classes in a school building, students can 

One Building with Multiple Schools

Built in 1923 as an all-girls commercial high school, Julia Richman High School flourished for 

many decades. But by the 1990s, after years of budget cuts, unsuccessful reorganization, and 

academic decline, a new approach was needed for this New York City school.

In 1995, the building was redesigned to house several small autonomous learning communities instead of one schoolwide education program. Collectively, the individual programs 

addressed multiple ages because, as one planner noted, “at the heart of what we were trying 

to establish was a strong community­—a setting that would provide the most natural way for 

people to learn. Strong communities are multigenerational.” She also pointed out that adolescents look at the world differently when younger children are around: “It softens their way of 

interacting with each other.”

For these reasons, the creation of the Julia Richman Education Complex called for an infanttoddler center for the children of teen parents, an elementary school, a middle school, four 

high schools, and a teacher center. The complex is governed by the Building Council. Each 

school principal, along with the buildingwide program director, sits on the council, which 

meets at least once a week and is responsible for all decisions regarding the complex.5 

many local and state regulations that apply to traditional 

public schools. These exemptions allow parents, teachers, 

community leaders, education entrepreneurs, and others 

greater flexibility to innovate, create, and provide students with 

increased educational options. Charter schools must be sponsored by designated local, state, or other organizations charged 

with monitoring their quality and integrity while holding them 

accountable for academic results and fiscal practices.


receive their education using a computer. Virtual schools 

have an organized curriculum. Depending on the state and 

district, students can take the full curriculum or individual 

classes. Some school districts use these online schools to 

offer classes that help students learn at their own pace. This 

type of instruction also is known as “distance learning.” 

Approximately 40,000 to 50,000 students in 37 states are 

participating in online courses through approximately 2,400 

publicly funded Internet-based charter schools and state and 

district virtual schools.11

Virtual schools and distance learning initiatives, such as 

the Illinois, Kentucky, and Michigan virtual high schools, 

are primarily funded by individual states and designed to 

meet each state’s education needs. Arkansas is launching a 

statewide virtual school under the federal Voluntary Public 

School Choice grant program. Regional initiatives, like those 

in the Clovis Unified School District in California and the 

Jeffco Net Academy in Colorado, are examples of homegrown programs in which regions have pooled teaching and 

technology resources to meet community needs.12

Open Enrollment

Open enrollment is a form of choice in which parents can 

ask to have their child attend any school in the district 

or, even, in a different district entirely, through “interdistrict choice.” An open-enrollment district may offer 

Open Enrollment in Seattle

charter schools or other nontraditional options in the mix 

of parental choices along with more traditional options 

like “neighborhood” schools. State law often requires or 

encourages open enrollment; 33 states have interdistrict 

open-enrollment laws, and 15 require districts to offer 

open enrollment.13 Some districts use open enrollment 

as their main vehicle for choice. See “Open Enrollment in 

Seattle,” for example.

The Seattle School District, with an enrollment of 48,000, offers one of the most comprehensive open-enrollment plans in the country. Parents are encouraged to consider any 

public schools that interest them for their children. The district advises them to identify 

their three top choices, and over 90 percent of students are assigned to one of those three.

The process for secondary schools differs from that for middle and elementary schools. 

Provided there is space, Seattle’s high schools are open to students from anywhere in 

the district. In contrast, the district’s elementary and middle schools are clustered by 

geographic region (with at least one alternative school in each region). Students at these 

grade levels are then assigned to a corresponding “reference area” based on home address. 

They are given priority and transportation to schools within their region. Although they may 

choose from beyond their region, they receive no priority and transportation is not provided 

unless their attendance benefits integration. When there are more applicants than spaces at 

a particular school, “tiebreaker” factors are considered, such as sibling preference, distance 

from school, and factors that contribute to diversity. Lotteries also are used. 

Enrollment centers throughout the district provide basic information about schools and answer 

questions about enrollment procedures. Parents have the right to appeal school assignment.13 
WHY is choice important? 

✱ Improving student learning and education equity

✱ Increasing community involvement and commitment

✱ Decreasing racial isolation and improving school integration

✱ Improving student attendance as a result of students and 

parents choosing the school

✱ Increasing district budgets because of increasing student 

population and average daily attendance

✱ Increasing parent support and involvement in schools

✱ Providing alternative types of learning environments that may 

better match children’s needs

✱ Encouraging the creativity of educators

✱ Promoting focused, cohesive school programs

✱ Spurring school improvement through competition



For parents, the appeal of choice is obvious: They get to pick 

a school that’s a good match for their child rather than having to send their student to a particular school just because 

it’s closest to where they live. But what does choice offer 

to you as a district? Putting an effective choice program in 

place is no easy feat. So why bother? 

The biggest potential payoff of having an effective school 

choice program is improved student learning. Yet many 

districts first look to choice for other reasons. For example, 

some seek to reverse an enrollment decline caused by dissatisfied parents who send their children to parochial or 

independent schools or move to a different district entirely. 

In similar fashion, some districts adopt choice to improve 

student satisfaction, thereby reducing absences and raising 

average-daily-attendance revenue. Other districts turn to 

choice to meet No Child Left Behind’s requirement that students be allowed to transfer to another school if their own 

has consistently failed to meet achievement targets. Choice 

has something to offer in all these areas but it’s as a lever 

for raising student achievement that a public school choice 

program really earns its keep. 

Choice Alone is not enough

Adopting choice doesn’t automatically yield higher student 

achievement, of course. School Choice: Doing It The Right 

Way Makes a Difference, a 2003 report by the Brookings 

Institute’s National Working Commission on Choice in 

K­­–12 Education, emphasizes this point.14

Choice is not a teacher, a classroom, or an instructional resource. If choice affects what students learn, 

it works indirectly, by leading to changes in what 

students experience, read, and hear. The same is true 

about other possible outcomes of choice. Choice 

forms only part of an institutional framework in 

which particular events can occur (p. 10).

The theory is that for choice to lead to achievement, multiple players must carry out their respective responsibilities, 

as illustrated in figure 1. The district must start by offering 

Districts 

turn to 

choice for 

multiple 

Reasons:


Parents choose well 

and support learning 

at home and school

Schools follow through 

on their mission

Students are engaged 

and willing to work

Schools follow through 

on their mission

Parents choose well 

and support learning

at home and school

Students are engaged

and willing to work

S C H O O L S

P A R E N

T

S

S T U D E N T S

DI S TRIC T CHOICE P ROGRA M • DIS TRIC T CHOICE

P ROGRA M • DI S

T

RIC

T

C

H

OIC

E

P

ROG

RAM • DI S TR CI

T CHO CI E P OR R G MA

T CI RT SI D •

HC I O E C P OR GRA M • DI S TRIC T

CHOIC

E

P

R

O

GRA

M • DI S

T

RIC T

CHOICE

P ROGRA M •

INCREASED

STUDENT

LEARNING

Effective support for schools 

and their staff

Relevant, high-quality

school options

Measurable goals and 

data-driven decisions

Figure 1.

Generating Achievement 

through Public School

Choice: Who’s Responsible

B u i l d i n g C h o i c e . o r g
10

an array of high-quality schooling options that address the 

diverse needs and interests of constituent families. 

Families have to become knowledgeable about these options, which requires a joint effort between families and the 

district. Families must then make the right choice for their 

children. They must opt for a school not necessarily because 

it’s closest to home or because it’s where a child’s friends are 

going (although those factors may warrant consideration), 

but because when all factors are considered—chief among 

them, the education program—a particular school looks like 

the best match for a child. But this is not enough. 

In fact, choice stimulates parental involvement. No matter 

what school they attend, students are likely to have better 

academic outcomes if the adults at home are supportive of 

their efforts and their school. A choice program seeds and 

nurtures that support by encouraging parents and guardians to carefully consider all the schooling options and to 

pick the one that seems most promising for their children. 

Those whose children are admitted to a school that has 

engendered the family’s interest and enthusiasm are more 

likely to stay closely involved as their children progress 

through school. They also become the school’s best allies in 

doing what it takes to ensure that all of its students get the 

best education possible. Choice works best in districts with 

vibrant parent involvement strategies. But even this doesn’t 

suffice for higher achievement.

Students must be engaged in their education, contributing 

to their own success by working hard. Attending a school 

that is a good match for them helps this happen.

Finally, for higher achievement to result, the school of choice 

must deliver on its promises. When teachers, parents, and 

other stakeholders come together to improve an existing 

school so as to make it more appealing in a choice system 

or to develop a new school from scratch, those involved 

commit to a shared vision. They must then carry through 

and effectively implement their mission-driven education 

program. Only then can the rich potential of a school of 

choice be fully realized.

The power of choice as one strategy to strengthen public 

education extends beyond the walls of individual schools of 

choice. Having such schools also can prompt improvements 

in other district schools. Faced with the possibility of losing 

enrollment when choice becomes available, many neighborhood schools check out the competition and examine their 

own program to see how to make themselves more attractive. One superintendent whose district has a choice program 

says the drive to show that “our school is as good as yours” 

has had a “ripple effect across the district,” with traditional 

schools pushing themselves harder and all working to continuously improve. Thus, many districts that begin a choice 

program for a specific purpose come to see it as part of a 

larger systemic improvement effort.
Developing a public school choice program can seem daunting. But the good news is you don’t need 

to reinvent the wheel. Choice is already thriving in hundreds of diverse districts across the country, and 

much can be learned from their experiences. Their efforts have yielded stories and examples that offer 

ideas and insights, as well as tools and artifacts that can be adapted or used as models. Such resources 

are now available at BuildingChoice.org.

How can I make choice happen? 

11

To the right is a screen shot of 

the BuildingChoice.org homepage. 

Note the easy access to hot topics, 

profiled districts, and tools. 

B u i l d i n g C h o i c e . o r g
12

Don’t expect to find a universal action plan or a stepwise checklist. When it comes to choice, districts start 

at different points, have different needs and resources, 

and operate in different contexts. BuildingChoice.org was 

conceived with this variability in mind. Its offerings are 

compiled from a range of districts, some like yours, some 

not. The point isn’t to identify the districts most similar 

to yours, but to look across all the practices and choose 

those that are most workable for your circumstances or 

that can serve as a model for tailoring something more 

suitable to your needs. So keep an open mind.

In this initial stage, the Web site includes materials drawn 

primarily from districts studied in 2004 for a series of U.S. 

Department of Education guides about promising practices in American public education. Four of the guides 

highlight innovative programs for increasing parents’ 

public school options: Creating Strong District Choice 

Programs, Creating Successful Magnet School Programs, 

Creating Strong Supplemental Educational Services Programs, and Creating Successful Charter Schools.16 In addition, the Web site highlights emerging practices from 

sites funded under the federal Voluntary Public School 

Choice program.17 The site will be expanded over time 

as more is learned about how to develop and improve 

choice programs.

BuildingChoice.org offers several types of resources:

✱ Promising practice vignettes describing how an existing choice district has handled 

some aspect of developing or operating its program

✱ Sample materials such as forms, brochures, and meeting agendas that a district has 

created and used as part of a promising practice

✱ Tools, such as templates and processes developed specifically for the toolkit for your use 

in creating or managing a choice program

✱ Links that direct you to other helpful Web sites, articles, and organizations

✱ Profiles of districts experienced with public school choice

Resources 

for Building 

Your Choice 

Program
13

BuildingChoice.org is organized 

around five action areas that are 

ordered in a general progression from 

planning through implementation to 

evaluation for continuous improvement. The second half of this publication introduces these areas: 

✱	 Create a vision

✱	 Communicate with parents

✱	 Manage operations

✱	 Support schools

✱ Evaluate the program

To give you a flavor of the kinds of help 

available at BuildingChoice.org, the following sections also include illustrative 

examples of its Web-based resources. 

To the left, to help orient you to the site, is a 

screen shot of the Communicate with Parents 

area of BuildingChoice.org. Note that this section of the site is organized by three subtopics: 

Build Awareness, Assist Parents, and Engage 

Community Organizations.

B u i l d i n g C h o i c e . o r g
14

Here’s a sample 

of what the Web 

site offers.

✱ Survey parents on options

✱ Create a community council

✱ Partner with local businesses 

✱ Define guiding principles

✱ Identify the data that matter 

(see next page)

materials

✱ Growth and diversity report

✱ NCLB implementation timeline

✱ Community council by-laws

✱ Advisory committee meeting 

minutes

✱ Calendar of events

tools

✱ Checklist for data analysis

✱ Community meeting tips

✱ Guidelines for creating a vision 

✱ Strategic planning template

✱ Action planning template

Create a Vision 

Districts with thriving choice programs stress the importance of starting with a shared vision that clarifies the district’s purpose in offering choice. When it is based on the needs and interests of the community, a clearly articulated vision can engender the broad stakeholder buy-in necessary for success. With the vision defined, a planning team can then map out the steps 

for bringing it to fruition—researching, creating timelines, and beginning to identify the innumerable decisions that must be 

made on the way to a successful program. 

As you begin to formulate a vision, consider:

1. What types of data should inform planning?

Using data to construct understanding before making decisions increases the likelihood 

of success. Reviewing the results of those decisions leads to continuous improvement.

2. How can we involve stakeholders in creating a vision for choice in our district?

When parents and others with an interest in choice are invited into the early planning 

stages, a program is more likely to reflect community interests, and stakeholders are 

more likely to champion it. 

3. What critical planning activities should we consider?

A strategic plan must work on two levels, identifying goals, objectives, strategies, 

and tasks that (1) fall within the purview of the central office and (2) are the 

responsibility of individual schools of choice. 

PROMISING PRACTICE SAMPLE
15B u i l d i n g C h o i c e . o r g

Below you’ll find an example of a Promising Practice Vignette from BuildingChoice.org. This vignette

describes how one district is using data in planning and implementing its choice program. The blue text

represents hyperlinks that in the Web version will take you to related sample material or to another related

Web site. Additional related materials found on BuildingChoice.org are listed to the right of the vignette.
16

Here’s a sample 

of what the Web 

site offers.

✱ Create an Online School Choice 

Center (see next page)

✱ Research parent information needs

✱ Personally assist parents 

✱ Communicate NCLB information

✱ Enlist community organizations

materials

✱ School brochures

✱ Television advertisement

✱ Resource center pamphlet

✱ School tour checklist

✱ Report to the community 

(see page 18)

✱ School comparison matrix 

(see page 19)

tools

✱ Notification letter templates

✱ NCLB communication checklist

✱ Media plan template

✱ School visit checklist for parents

✱ Parent organizer checklist

PROMISING PRACTICE SAMPLE

Communicate with Parents 

Choice isn’t really choice if you don’t know you have it or don’t know how to exercise it. And if information about school choice 

only reaches or is understood by a portion of eligible families, then the system is inherently inequitable. Thus, any district embarking on or expanding a choice program must put careful thought into how to reach and successfully communicate the options to 

its target audiences. In deciding what strategies to pursue, it is important to assess the communication needs of local families and 

to consider the available time and available budget for addressing them. Then, use that data to guide communications decisions.

As you plan how to communicate, consider:

1. How can we build awareness of the choice options in our district? 

Any awareness-building plan should start with an assessment of community communication needs (i.e., 

identifying home languages, cultural context, hard-to-reach parent populations, and literacy rates).

2. How can we assist parents in making the best decisions for their children?

To make informed decisions, parents need adequate data on each school’s program 

and performance.

3. How can we engage community leaders and organizations to help 

connect with our hard-to-reach parents?

If parents receive information from people or organizations they trust, they 

are more likely to accept and act on it. 
17B u i l d i n g C h o i c e . o r g

Giving Parents the Data They Need to Make Good Decisions

Due to NCLB requirements and advances in technology, school performance data are increasingly available. Parents and the general public can see how schools are doing at making adequate yearly progress

(AYP). This accountability will drive improvement across the system. Having access to these and other

data will also help families judge the quality and characteristics of schools to make more informed choices.

Here and on the following pages,

you’ll see several related resources

available from BuildingChoice.org.

The Promising Practice Vignette

on the right and the sample materials that follow paint a broad picture of how one district is helping

parents to use a variety of data in

considering school options for

their children.
18

Below you’ll find, as an example of Sample Material on BuildingChoice.org, a portion of one

school’s Report to the Community. The full report is included on the site.
19B u i l d i n g C h o i c e . o r g

Below you’ll find another example of Sample Material from BuildingChoice.org. This is a screen shot

of a school comparison matrix from the Web site of the district introduced in the promising practice

vignette on page 17. The matrix is accessible through a link on BuildingChoice.org.
20

Here’s a sample 

of what the Web 

site offers.

Manage Operations 

Developing appealing choice options won’t matter if students never take advantage of them because parents are turned off by 

an unwieldy assignment system, students can’t get to school on time, there isn’t a good match between teachers and programs, 

or a facility isn’t adequate for the choice program it houses. Smooth operations are requisite to the success of a choice program. 

An operations plan should be carefully thought out, flexible and open-ended enough to allow for growth, attentive to the needs 

of all participants, and affordable enough to begin implementing in the near term.

As you plan district operations, consider:

1. What district staff roles and responsibilities are needed for implementation of our 

school choice program? 

Decisions about assigning new responsibilities and fostering cross-department collaboration 

should be based on the district’s strategic plan for implementing school choice, which, among 

other things, should identify start-up tasks.

2. How can we effectively manage the transportation needs of students enrolling 

in schools of choice?

Given the limited resources in most districts, finding cost-effective and time-efficient 

transportation solutions is essential.

3. How do we create an application and assignment process that is 

equitable and consistent with the goals of our school choice program?

To attract the full range of parents to choice, districts need to make the 

entire process as clear, equitable, and consistent as possible.

✱ Create a school choice division

✱ Collaborate in the central office

✱ Manage the assignment process 

✱ Define transportation zones

✱ Coordinate busing

materials

✱ Organization chart

✱ Student application

✱ Student assignment process

✱ Map of school choice zones

✱ FAQ about transportation 

tools

✱ Sample job descriptions 

✱ Checklist to create a student 

application (see next page)

✱ Outline of transportation letter

✱ New school proposal template

PROMISING PRACTICE SAMPLE
21B u i l d i n g C h o i c e . o r g

Below you’ll find an example of a Tool from BuildingChoice.org. This is the first page of a two-page

checklist available for districts to use in developing an effective student application form for placement in a school of choice. The full checklist is online.

Make sure that parents can quickly and easily find out:

®	 The application deadline. It should be prominently and

clearly displayed on the form.

®	 Where to return the application. 

®	 What documents need to be copied and attached to

the application.

®	 What options are available for their student.

®	 The district’s transportation policy and how it might

affect their choice.

® Information about the student

 ̧	 Name and home contact information

 ̧	 District identification or Social

Security number, or both

 ̧	 Date of birth

 ̧	 Entering grade level

 ̧	 Ethnicity

Creating a Student Application Form to Request Placement in a School of Choice

the

Below

student

is a checklist

application

of features that contribute to an effective student application form. As you consider the design and content of

form that you will use in your district school choice program, use the features below as guidelines.

Make sure that parents can quickly and easily read 

and complete the application.

®	 To the extent possible, make the form available in all

languages spoken in the district.

®	 Use straightforward language and avoid jargon

and “legalese.”

®	 Make the form parent-friendly by using a large, easy-toread type font.

®	 Use color to highlight important information.

Make sure that parents can quickly and easily provide the district with:

 ̧	 Gender

 ̧	 Special needs such as language

and disabilities

 ̧	 Current school and grade level

 ̧	 Assigned school

 ̧	 Preferred school or program

placement

 ̧	 Sibling school attendance

® Information about the parents or guardians

 ̧	 Father’s name and contact information

including work and cell phone

 ̧	 Mother’s name and contact information

including work and cell phone

 ̧	 With whom the student lives

(continue)
22

Support Schools 

A district choice program is only as effective as the individual schools that constitute its choice options. So in addition to 

setting up programwide operational systems, a district must find productive ways to support schools as they transition to 

becoming schools of choice. Support is especially important for schools that are implementing a specialized curriculum, managing complicated transportation route information for students and parents, or communicating a variety of options to parents, 

as may be needed in secondary schools that offer multiple themes. 

As you plan how best to support your schools, consider:

1. How can we help schools implement choice programs? 

Some areas needing attention in a new school of choice include ensuring the adequacy of the 

facility and resources, determining specific professional development needs, and aligning the 

new curriculum to standards. 

2. How can we increase parent and other volunteer involvement to support choice? 

To formalize parent involvement, several districts and schools of choice have created parent volunteer “contracts,” which, while not legally binding, can help set expectations 

and goals for involvement throughout the year. 

3. What staff and roles will we need in schools to support implementation?

One new role that many schools of choice find helpful is that of a coordinator at the school site to help with such activities as communicating with 

parents and monitoring students attending after-school programs. 

Here’s a sample 

of what the Web 

site offers.

✱ Train school staff to communicate 

with parents

✱ Develop an implementation plan

✱ Require a volunteer commitment 

from parents (see next page)

✱ Align curriculum to state standards

✱ Create parent and student contracts

materials

✱ Guidelines for hiring principals

✱ Site coordinator job description

✱ Principal’s data book

✱ Record of parent volunteer hours

✱ Parent workshop schedule

tools

✱ Marketing planning template

✱ Parent involvement survey questions

✱ Parent contract template

✱ Thematic curriculum planning template

PROMISING PRACTICE SAMPLE
23B u i l d i n g C h o i c e . o r g

Below you’ll find another example of a Promising Practice Vignette from BuildingChoice.org. This

vignette describes how one district is supporting its schools by encouraging parent volunteerism. As

noted earlier, the blue text represents hyperlinks and additional related materials found on the Web

site are listed to the right of the vignette.
24

Evaluate the Program 

To make sure choice programs are effective and continue to be relevant, district leaders have found it important to use 

data to guide necessary program improvements. This may require building staff capacity to analyze and use information in 

increasingly sophisticated ways to understand where schools are making progress, where they are not, and why. “Getting the 

data is one thing,” says the superintendent in one district experienced with choice. “Understanding what it is trying to tell 

you, and using it as a blueprint for change—that’s where data can help.”

As you plan your evaluation, consider:

1. How should we monitor both school and district program effectiveness?

Initial definition of goals for both a choice program and its schools occurs at the outset 

of planning, and identifying appropriate indicators is a critical early step, but as a program matures, achievement indicators must be revisited and, if need be, adjusted. 

2. How can we best monitor stakeholder satisfaction?

Program improvement hinges in part on leaders knowing the degree to which program 

constituents (e.g., students and parents) are satisfied and addressing their concerns. 

3. How can we ensure that our evaluation leads to an improved program?

Many districts designate a program improvement team representing key stakeholder 

groups to lead the evaluation process and keep everyone focused on the goal of 

continuous improvement. 

Here’s a sample 

of what the Web 

site offers.

✱ Develop assessment tools

✱ Evaluate schools in person

✱ Train staff to collect and use data

✱ Survey stakeholders

✱ Replicate successful programs

materials

✱ Program and site evaluation form

✱ Parent survey (see next page)

✱ Student survey

✱ Teacher survey

✱ Annual performance report

tools

✱ Site evaluation template

✱ Guidelines to conduct a 

focus group

✱ Tips for surveying stakeholders

✱ Checklist for creating community report

PROMISING PRACTICE SAMPLE
25B u i l d i n g C h o i c e . o r g

Below you’ll find another example of Sample Material from BuildingChoice.org. Shown here is the

first page of one district’s survey for parents of students in its choice program. The survey, available in its

entirety on the Web site, yields information that helps the district gauge the effectiveness of its program.
26

ENDNOTES

1.	 Cable News Network. (2001) Legal History of Vouchers. Available

from www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2000/democracy/privateschools.

publicmoney/stories/history/. Last accessed on November 21, 2005.

2.	 See Tables 2 (p. 7) and 4 (p. 11) in Kleiner, B., Porch, R., and Farris,

E. (2002). Public Alternative Schools and Programs for Students 

At Risk of Education Failure: 2000-01 (NCES 2002-004). U.S.

Department of Education. Washington, D.C.: National Center

for Education Statistics. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/

pubs2002/2002004.pdf. Last accessed on November 19, 2005.

3.	 Waldrip, D. (2003-04) A Brief History of Magnet Schools.

Washington, D.C.: Magnet Schools of America. Retrieved from

http://s95269489.onlinehome.us/about.htm. Last accessed on

April 16, 2007.

4.	 Hoffman, L., Sable, J., Naum, J., and Gray, D. (2005). Public Elementary and Secondary Students, Staff, Schools, and School Districts: 

School Year 2002–03 (NCES 2005–314). Washington, D.C.: U.S.

Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.

Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2005/2005314.pdf. Last

accessed on November 18, 2005.

5.	 Julia Richman Education Complex at http://www.jrec.org/news.

html. Last accessed on April 16, 2007.

6.	 The Center for Education Reform. Data retrieved from http://

www.edreform.com/index.cfm?fuseAction=document&documen

tID=1964. Last accessed on November 22, 2005.

7.	 National Association of Charter School Authorizers. (2004) The 

Principles and Standards for Quality Charter School Authorizing,

p. 15. Chicago, Ill.: Author.

8.	 Raywid, M.A. (1995). The Subschools/Small Schools Movement­—

Taking Stock. Madison, Wisc.: Center on Organization and

Restructuring of Schools. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service

No. ED-397-490).

9.	 Magnuson, P. (2001, November). “Small or Large: The Debate Over

School Size.” Communicator 25, 3: 1,7. Retrieved from http://www.

naesp.org/ContentLoad.do?contentId=189&action=print. Last

accessed on April 16, 2007.

10.	 Sicoli, A. (2000). Creating a School-Within-a-School. Bloomington,

Ind.: Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation.

11.	 Pape, L. (2005). High School on the Web. American School 

Board Journal. Retrieved from http://www.asbj.com/2005/07/

0705coverstory.html. Last accessed on November 18, 2005.

12.	 Ibid.

13.	 Kafer, K. (2003). As part of panel on School Choice 2003:

How States Are Providing Greater Opportunity in Education.

Washington D.C.: The Heritage Foundation. From a policy

brief by the Education Commission of the States, Center for

Community College Policy. Event can be viewed at http://www.

heritage.org/Press/Events/ev071603a.cfm. Last accessed on

November 18, 2005.

14.	 Seattle Public Schools at http://www.seattleschools.org. Last

accessed on July 20, 2005.

15.	 Commission on Choice in K-12 Education. (2003). School Choice: 

Doing It the Right Way Makes a Difference. Washington, D.C.:

The Brookings Institution.

16.	 (All guides) U.S. Department of Education. (2004) Washington,

D.C.: author. These guides feature a variety of districts—or in

the case of charter schools, individual schools—that have been

on the leading edge of expanding education options for local

families. In addition to tapping the lessons learned by these

districts, BuildingChoice.org and this publication also draw from

the collective experience of districts participating in the U.S.

Department of Education’s Voluntary Public School Choice and

Magnet Schools Assistance grant programs. The information in

the toolkit is not intended to be a step-by-step guide, rather a

dynamic resource to help district leaders learn from others who

have many valuable experiences to share.

17.	 The Voluntary Public School Choice program supports states

and school districts by providing grants to establish and expand

public school choice programs. More information available at

http://www.ed.gov/programs/choice/index.html. Last accessed

on November 22, 2005.
www.Building

Choice.org BuildingChoice.org
Our mission is to ensure equal access to education and to promote 

educational excellence throughout the nation.

www.ed.gov