Educational Choice: the Real Deal

Over the next couple months, parents in many Colorado school districts will have the option of applying for enrollment in schools outside their local communities. Known as “open” or “choice” enrollment, such programs grant families some degree of flexibility in how and where their children are educated.

But what if we didn’t stop there? What if choice became the very basis of education?

At Alpine Valley School, we believe that the best education results when young people are allowed to direct their own learning. Our students decide what to learn, when, and how. From this they figure out how to prioritize and how to manage their time; they come to understand who they are, what they want, and how to make their dreams a reality.

What’s more, our school is run democratically—so students are equal participants in decisions ranging from making the rules (and enforcing them!), to how to spend the school’s money, to hiring staff. Throughout their schooling, they wrestle with difficult issues of fairness and practicality. They think and speak up for themselves, becoming articulate and persuasive.

Over the past 43 years, schools like Alpine Valley have proven that when students are given a wide range of choice over how they are educated, they become stunningly mature, self-directed, responsible people.

For more information on Colorado Open Enrollment, click here. To learn more about the wonders of choice-based education, contact us.