Deer Park ISD has been offering open enrollment for over 10 years to anyone from anywhere. Open enrollment is a program that allows students who live in other school districts to attend a school in Deer Park Independent school district.
“Deer Park has become a home away from home for some of our students and we believe that it is our duty to provide them with the safety that some other districts may be unable to provide,” Vice Principal, Kim Edwards said.
Open enrollment is a program that benefits those who are considered for a position. It allows students from other districts to attend deer park through a short application process.
“We handpick these students based off how they acted at previous schools and the impact they could have on our school. This is important because our students reflect us as administrators, so it is very important that Deer Park has only the best,” Registrar Counselor, Erika Oliver said.
While being an open enrollment student definitely has its upsides, there can be downfalls as well. Sometimes transportation can become an issue if they live outside of the city entirely, and the district clearly states in their open enrollment policy that all open enrollment students must provide their own transportation. Furthermore, if a student’s friends live in a different city than they do, they may find it increasingly difficult to hangout with them.
“Before I could drive I had to rely on my parents to take me places. If I wanted to hang out with someone, I had to plan at least a week in advance. Making the drive from Clear Lake takes about 20 minutes, so I can’t just walk over to my friends house whenever I’d like to,” open enrollment student, Jackson Allen said.
The open enrollment program provides students with a good education as well as a safe environment and will continue to do this for as long as possible. It is important that every student gets the chance for a good education.