Son No. 2 happily attended the neighborhood elementary school. Now he wants to exercise his options. Virtually none of his friends are opting for their neighborhood middle school. They've either applied to a special program in a DPS middle school or are going to private school. Admittedly, this isn't typical.
Most families still patronize neighborhood schools.
But it is an indication of how choice schools' popularity is growing. It takes extra savvy and work to find what's available, what admission hoops must be jumped through and by when. Of course, the most important factor is still that your child has to be happy. That's normally accomplished through school visits and talking to students already in the programs. I know our inability to take time to make visits and do extensive research isn't unusual, though.