Schools

Which School Choice Plan Do You Prefer?

After months of wrangling, there are three proposals left on the table. Which do you think is best for Boston's families?

After months of deliberations, trial balloons and many neighborhood meetings, Boston school officials on Tuesday released three alternatives to the current school selection process.

The three plans are designed to provide families with flexibility to select quality schools close to home, according to the Boston School Choice website

The three plans are as follows:

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10-zone plan: In this plan, parents would rank the schools in their zone. The child would then be placed based on availability in each school. This plan is structurally similar to the current zone-based system for placing students in schools.

Home-based proposal A: This plan would give parents the choice of at least six schools of different quality near their home address. 

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"For Home-Based: A, every family’s list would include the closest two schools from Tier I, as well as the four closest schools from Tiers I and II, then the six closest schools from either Tier I, II or III," school officials wrote on the proposals Web page.

Home-based proposal B: According to the proposal, "For Home-Based: B, every family’s list would include the closest three schools from Tier I, as well as the six closest schools from Tiers I and II, then the nine closest schools from either Tier I, II or III." 

Schools would be placed in tiers according to MCAS scores, with the best-performing schools in Tier I. 

What do you think? Do any of these plans offer parents the flexibility to choose a quality school near their home? Would an expanded zone system solve the problem, or do either home-based plans hit the mark? Is there another option you'd rather see the school system try? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.


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