A Case Study on Open Enrollment: Reimagining the Future of the Small Rural School
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Authors
Funnemark-Clapper, Mickolyn E.
Issue Date
2017
Type
Thesis
Language
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
Many small rural schools are facing a crisis of declining student populations and in the era of
school choice, school districts are looking at innovative ways to attract and retain students.
Research is limited on the qualitative experiences of people in communities who are focused on
increasing inter-district open enrollment in K-12 schools as a means of combating declining
enrollment in rural schools. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the factors
that may impact parents’ decisions to open enroll their children in a school district that is not the
school district in which they live. This case study examined the experiences of parents as well as
school district and community leaders as they explored reasons people are choosing to open
enrolling into their district. The case study approach was used to gain an holistic understanding
of the phenomenon of open enrollment and the experiences of parents, school and community
leaders in a the study district who have experience with open enrollment. This study was built
upon Strange and Banning’s (2015) comprehensive environmental model on educational
environments. Twelve participants who were associated with the Baxter Community School
District and have experience with open enrollment were interviewed. Through analysis eleven
themes emerged; having one building to house all students preschool through twelfth grade is
positive, the location of the school and community are convenient, the safety of the students is
important, differentiation for the needs of students is a common practice, building relationships
and creating a sense of belonging are important, small school brings multiple opportunities to
participate, ensuring easy access to district leadership is important, organizational structure
provides for focusing on student development, the school is the heart of the community, as
demographics change the community is working on welcoming all, and recruiting and marketing
of the school and community attracts open enrollment families. Implications suggest a need for collaboration between school and community leaders to ensure this partnership remains strong.
Information gained from this study will be valuable to district leaders because district with large
numbers of students open enrolled out could use the information to address some of the areas of
concern in their own schools.
Description
184 leaves
Citation
Publisher
Drake University