Laurie Hodgson wants her son Brendan to go to kindergarten at Mount Erie Elementary School next year.

She said the school comes highly recommended from friends, it’s close to Brendan’s grandparents — and her husband attended school there too.

“I hear it’s a very good school,” Hodgson said. “We played soccer there a few times and said ‘hopefully this will be your school.’”

Hodgson stopped by the Anacortes School District office Thursday to fill out a school placement preference form.

She said giving parents input into their child’s school is a good idea.

“I think parents should have a say,” she said.

Unlike many other districts that place students in schools based on where they live, the Anacortes School District gives parents a say in which school they want their child to attend.

The district’s open enrollment policy gradually evolved as traditional geographic boundaries blurred. School leaders now take into account nine different guidelines when placing students — including parents’ preference.

It’s an option that is now ingrained in the culture of Anacortes’ schools.

“It’s part of the unique flavor of the Anacortes School District,” said Bob Knorr, Mount Erie Elementary School principal. “It does really take into account the concerns, the desires and wishes of parents.”

Knorr has been with the district since 1973.

He said a majority of parents make some sort of notation on school preference when registering their students.

District officials are careful to stress that all three elementary schools — Fidalgo, Island View and Mount Erie — provide a great education.

“The ability to offer powerful programs for student learning at all three schools has made it easier for parents to go to any of the schools,” Knorr said. “We’re way more alike than we are different.”

That connection between schools is what helped the district gradually move from a more boundary-linked enrollment policy to its current option.

“At one time there were so-called boundaries in the district,” said Superintendent Chris Borgen.

Whitney (which was K-2) and Mount Erie (which was 3-6) served the Skyline area, Fidalgo served rural students and those on the east side of Commercial Avenue and Island View served the rest.

But sometimes schools weren’t filled based on the number of students living in the designated areas.

“The reality is we’ve always had to balance the schools across the district,” Borgen said.

In the 1980s there was a steady increase in population at the elementary schools.

“It was about time the district was renting four classrooms from St. Mary school because we didn’t have space in our schools to provide for all the elementary-age children,” Knorr said.

In the late 1980s Mount Erie was remodeled and changed to a K-6 school. At the same time there were more students living in the Skyline and Clearidge areas.

“When we ended up with three similar size schools that changed a lot of the perceived boundaries,” he said.

Because three schools, Whitney (which was serving as a K-3 school), Island View and Mount Erie are so close to each other, it was hard to draw boundaries to fill the schools fairly.

“All three schools are on the same straight line going up the hill,” Borgen said. “It’s pretty hard to draw real strict boundaries.”

Combined with the size of the district and its busing between schools, strict boundaries just didn’t make sense.

“Our bus routes are very efficient and yet they overlap and allow parents to send their kids to any school,” Knorr said. “We have such a comprehensive transportation system that we are able to provide access to all of our schools equally.”

Borgen said people often wonder about the cost of transporting all those students. Experts studied the busing program when he signed on as superintendent and the district continues to look at cost.

For now, he said this is the most effective use of district funds.

In late May and early June the district’s principals spend the better part of a day sequestered at the Whitney School library choosing where to place students.

“We go through folder by folder and read every request. We look at every address, at performances,” Knorr said. “We struggle with placement.”

The two factors that matter most when placing students are their proximity to the school and where their siblings attend.

Knorr said half the requests are easy because the student fits in one of those categories.

Along with parents’ preference, other placement factors include the availability of services, balancing of classes and the educational welfare of the student.

“We don’t want 22 kids in a first-grade class at one school while another one has 12,” Borgen said.

Knorr said the most challenging part is not being able to honor every request.

“Sometimes making those real tough decisions is difficult,” he said.

Despite the lack of traditional school boundaries, Borgen said there aren’t many students who live near one school and attend another.
“We’re surprisingly geographically oriented,” he said. “The good news is all our elementary schools have a history of strong instruction and programs.”



Board’s enrollment policy
According to Anacortes School Board policy, principals take into account several factors when placing students in schools. They include:

• The availability of special services as required by the student;

• Balance of class size at grade levels within buildings and across the district. Considerations include the gender balance of each classroom and the number of students receiving supplemental services and/or have behavior control problems;

• Educational welfare of the student. Considerations include continuity of the school program, social and behavioral factors and matching the learning styles of the student and the instructional styles of the teacher.

• Keeping siblings together;
• Proximity to school;

• Transportation costs when significant; and

• Preference of parents or guardians.

]Parents of students requesting a specific elementary placement have to submit requests in writing between May 1 and May 15. Requests received during that time receive equal consideration, no matter what day they are turned in.

Students find out their placement by the end of June, said Bob Knorr, Mount Erie Elementary School principal. If parents are unhappy with the placement they can make a second request. At the end of August district principals sit down again and look at open spaces.

If a request is received after May 15, a student can not be placed in a specific school until Aug. 26.

Students living outside the district are placed at schools after resident students. Returning non-resident students are treated as resident students.