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Members of the task group identified the following questions and issues related to choice. Among major issues the task group identified is the tension that exists between the choice program and strong neighborhood schools, and how it is possible to operate a program of choice without the perception that there is a "two-tiered" school district. Not all the issues were responded to in the recommendations, but they were helpful to the task group as it began to discuss school choice. These issues will be reflected throughout the discussion and recommendations that follow.
- Are there inequities with regard to the current choices available, including funding, availability, and access to information about choice?
- How can the district offer a fair, non-two-tiered system and still have choice?
- How do we reconcile equality and equity with choice?
- What are the implications of the disparity of per pupil spending between schools?
- How are resources spread among schools?
- How can we "level the playing field" about the public’s perception of choice?
- How do we help children feel positive about the schools they attend, when they are evaluated against one another?
- How does the public know what options are available to them?
- Is the district’s choice program planned?
- How do we maintain a sense of community when students are scattered throughout the school district?
- What is the differing success rates between the programs?
- What are the transportation impacts on neighborhoods (e.g., environmental impact and breaking up of neighborhoods)?
- What environmental impacts are there related to transportation?
- If there is no transportation, can there be equity?
- Should we subsidize transportation for low-income families?
- What is the ideal size of a school, especially with declining enrollment and resources?
- Is school size important? Is there a size that matters?
- How can we be assured that changes in the choice program increase and not decrease quality?
- What is the effect of capping enrollment at alternative schools and not at neighborhood schools?
- How do we ensure stability in neighborhood schools when there are fluctuations in enrollment?
- What are the implications of the differences in SES between neighborhood and alternative schools?
- What is the impact of declining enrollment district-wide?
- What are the implications of the location of alternative schools? The South Region has more than other regions.
- Is it feasible to start a program in 4J to support home-schoolers, as exists in Bethel?
- How do we balance diversity (size, population, and curriculum) with quality?
- Should there be a greater breadth of alternative choices?
- Does standardized testing fit with alternative schools? Perhaps there should be different ways of evaluating alternatives.
- How can we dispel the public’s perception that neighborhood schools are just CIM/CAM schools?
- The language of choice is a problem (e.g., you "win" or "lose" a lottery).
- What is alternative now? What was alternative 20 or 30 years ago may be routine now.
- There is increasing pressure to be different and stand out.
- How can neighborhood schools increase the perception that they offer real choice?
- Why are no special programs placed in alternative schools?
- Since there is no best way to learn, how can we provide an array of educational options?
- How can we provide relevant options for students? Schools too often seem to place emphasis on students who are "college prep" and other students tend to have to fend for themselves.
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