Northwest ISD launched a limited open enrollment program on Feb. 1 in hopes it could fill classroom seats in areas of the district experiencing lower enrollment.
According to a press release from Northwest ISD, some areas of the district are continuing to grow rapidly while others are fully built out, which has led to some decline or stagnation.
Northwest ISD Executive Director of Communications Anthony Tosie said some families from other school districts are requesting they allow open enrollment to help keep campuses from shuttering.
“This is us trying to get ahead of the curve and thinking of creative ways we can help areas where we have declining enrollment,” said Tosie. “Even though we are a fast-growth district overall, there are definitely areas that are declining or stagnant.”
In a December board meeting, Tosie said limited open enrollment will help prevent NISD from having to frequently rezone schools and keep other schools from closing.
Limited open enrollment allows students from outside of Northwest ISD’s boundaries enroll in certain schools within the district, not just any school.
According to the district those campuses include Northwest High School and Chisholm Trail, Medlin and Tidwell Middle Schools.
Elementary campuses that will allow open enrollment include Beck, Carter, Cox, Granger, Hughes, Lakeview, Nance, Peterson and Roanoke.
Tosie said even with these campuses allowing open enrollment, there will still be space available for students moving into areas that are zoned for those campuses.
Limited open enrollment applications opened on Feb. 1 and will be accepted until March 1.
Families will be informed of their application status by April 1 and will have until April 15 to inform NISD if they plan to enroll their student in the district and submit payment.
According to Tosie, the district will ensure the program is a good fit for the student and the district via the eligibility requirements.
“We want to maintain high academic standards,” he said. “We don’t want to let in a kid that will disrupt the educational environment, that’s not great for any kids, so we want to make sure we uphold the educational standards of Northwest ISD.”
Tosie said there will be an additional cost to the district, initially, which the district plans to offset with an enrollment fee. However, the district doesn’t plan to add any additional resources that will put a large burden on the district, rather maximizing the amount of staff the district currently has.
“We’re looking at what we can do for the staffing we currently have,” said Tosie. “So, not adding specialized programs.”
According to the district, there is no fee to apply, but a $100 paperwork processing fee will be charges per student to families whose children are accepted.
The cost to a family will be capped at $300, so any family with more than three children accepted into the district’s open enrollment program will pay a maximum of $300.
When students in open enrollment programs transition into upper-level schools, they will be subject to the availability of higher campuses.
If an elementary school feeds into two middle schools, a student in the open enrollment program will go to the one with the most available capacity.
They would also be vulnerable to rezoning, if it were to occur.
According to Tosie, on the athletics side of the topic, athletes will likely have to sit out a year before they can compete at the varsity level, as per UIL rules.
For more information on Northwest ISD’s limited open enrollment program, visit the district’s webpage on open enrollment.
