вЂњWe are having the reports amended to show choice, so this doesnвЂ™t happen again,вЂќ Wilcox said.Д«oulder Valley is in the process of sending out wait-list information to families who either didnвЂ™t get into their top choice or didnвЂ™t get into any school at all. The High Peaks issue arose from the systemвЂ™s failure to consider family choice along with the districtвЂ™s weighed preference system.

This yearвЂ™s enrollment problems were the result of human error in trying to marry the old paper application system with the new online system, Wilcox said. EmployeesвЂ™ children also get preference, as do students who want to return to their neighborhood school after leaving, according to Boulder Valley assessment director Jonathan Dings. вЂњBut I went back and checked all our steps and made sure that we did fill seats based on preference and that families werenвЂ™t being include when they shouldnвЂ™t.вЂќД«oulder Valley gives open-enrollment preference to applicants who live in the district, move out of a neighborhood but want to remain in their school, or have siblings at their choice school. вЂњThere were calls where people were saying it was unfairly done,вЂќ he said. Some people thought that parents who received calls gained the advantage of asking which option gave them the best chance of getting in, Wilcox said. Peak to Peak wanted the district to differentiate between people who wanted half-day and full-day kindergarten, but because paper applications didnвЂ™t include the kindergarten options and some online applicants didnвЂ™t fill out that portion of the questionnaire, district officials had to call 107 families and confirm their preferences. The district then offered the newly available seats to families who listed High Peaks as a first choice, according to a lottery system, he said.ДЄt the same time, some parents or prospective parents at Peak to Peak Charter School in Lafayette were accusing district employees of unfair practices. вЂњWe rectified that by calling and rescinding the offers, which is the worst thing we can do,вЂќ Wilcox said. Boulder Valley officials inadvertently sent acceptance letters to 13 families who listed High Peaks as their second choice before offering the school to some families who listed it as their first choice. вЂњThe big deal for next year is that we have complete communication to ensure our process is consistent.вЂќДuring this bumpy open-enrollment season, High Peaks Elementary was at the center of one of the districtвЂ™s miscalculations. вЂњWe are really looking at ensuring that our processes are discreet, spelled out and practiced by everyone,вЂќ he said. Wilcox said the districtвЂ™s enrollment team is reviewing this yearвЂ™s blunders and making changes to ensure that next yearвЂ™s paper and online processes move along more smoothly and equitably - regardless of how many people apply. Now that the application period is over, preliminary numbers confirmed that 523 more students applied to open enroll this year compared to last year. Officials suspected the crash was caused by an overwhelming number of applicants. The problems started in November with a delay at the opening of the application window, when the new online database crashed within hours of its debut. Mike Wilcox, Boulder ValleyвЂ™s assistant director for student enrollment, said the school choice process - which allows families to enroll their children in any public school as long as thereвЂ™s room - became somewhat unfamiliar and complicated this year because the district launched a new online application process. In other cases, district officials had to call families to confirm information, upsetting some parents who felt the personal attention prejudiced the selection. In some cases, the district had to rescind acceptance letters from prospective families who erroneously received offers to a school. The Boulder Valley School DistrictвЂ™s first open-enrollment season using a new online system drew its largest-ever pool of applicants, along with complaints that the process was unfair and flawed. Below are the number of families who have requested to open enroll into a Boulder Valley school in recent years.

Bvsd waitinglist open enrollment