Open enrollment at Southwest High School in Minneapolis? South High? (Waite Park: fit in, homes)

[sm2010]

I don't have high school age kids yet, but I'm just wondering how hard it is to open enroll to Southwest High School in Minneapolis if we do not live in the attendance area for that school. Will they admit anyone or do they limit the number of students who can enroll there? We are thinking of moving to a home in Minneapolis that would be in the Washburn H.S. attendance area, but we would prefer Southwest H.S. or South H.S. I know that anyone can attend South High since it is a citywide school, but I'm not sure if it is more difficult to enroll at Southwest. Also, I'm wondering about bussing. I know that my child would not have bussing to Southwest if we did not live in the attendance area, so I'm wondering if some kids take the city bus.

[IA_Energy]

Originally Posted by sm2010

I don't have high school age kids yet, but I'm just wondering how hard it is to open enroll to Southwest High School in Minneapolis if we do not live in the attendance area for that school. Will they admit anyone or do they limit the number of students who can enroll there? We are thinking of moving to a home in Minneapolis that would be in the Washburn H.S. attendance area, but we would prefer Southwest H.S. or South H.S. I know that anyone can attend South High since it is a citywide school, but I'm not sure if it is more difficult to enroll at Southwest. Also, I'm wondering about bussing. I know that my child would not have bussing to Southwest if we did not live in the attendance area, so I'm wondering if some kids take the city bus.

I'm not a huge help to you for most of your questions, but I do live within walking distance of Southwest. I see a number of kids who I assume are open-enrolled on the city bus when I head downtown for happy hour about the time they get out of school. But there are also several kids walking to their homes close by, so I have no clue what the ratio of open-enrolled kids actually is.

[uptown_urbanist]

I don't yet have high school age kids, but it's my understanding that it's tougher than before to get into Southwest if you don't live in the attendance area. It used to be that you could apply to the IB program from outside of the attendance area, but now that they've expanded IB into other schools I think that option is out (unless there's room available, but I wouldn't count on that). You could probably check directly with the district, though. They won't admit anyone, and space limitations do apply. There used to be some other specialized programs there that took kids from around the city, but I don't know what's there now (I think some ESL programs and a teenage mother program, so presumably not relevant in your case, anyway; not sure if there's any other options these days).

How old are your kids? For what it's worth, Washburn is getting MUCH better these days. They still lack the full range of advanced courses offered by South or Southwest, but that seems to be changing fast. It's come a long way in just a few years, and more and more parents are starting to send their kids there; these are parents who are demanding South and Southwest-style academic offerings (both S and SW offer a much more extensive range of advanced IB/AP courses, for example), and while there have still been some growing pains, I think they'll get there eventually. In the meantime, I think many parents are still happy with the school, even despite their concerns.

As far as city bus, yes, kids take the bus to Southwest, but, depending exactly where you live, it could be a hassle. The nearest convenient bus routes are the 6 (there are several different 6 routes, but any will work) or, possibly more likely given your attendance area, the 46 bus route. The 46 runs right through core Washburn territory to right by SW, with the only downside being that the frequency leaves something to be desired (think it's every 30 minutes or so). Another option is biking; a lot of SW kids these days bike to school. There are bike racks available, and it would be an easy ride from most places in the Washburn attendance area.

[katmu]

My youngest graduated from South in 2010. He open-enrolled into South as we live in Waite Park (far NE corner). School buses were available from NE for all 4 years he attended. I'm not sure with the current budget situation if the bus situation may have changed so check with the district.

We had originally tried for Southwest but we were basically told at the time that Southwest was not generally available for most students outside of the attendance area (with the exception of a few special programs like the ones Uptown Urbanist mentioned above).

[scantee]

I know that anyone can attend South High since it is a citywide school

I don't think this is true anymore with the changes that took place a couple of years ago. My understanding is that every kid is assured entrance to the high school in their zone. If there are spots left after all of those kids have been admitted, additional spots are awarded via a lottery to other kids trying to open enroll. The issue with Southwest is that most of the spots are taken by kids in the zone so there aren't many spots left over for kids from other zones, or other districts for that matter. This is true of South as well but probably to less of an extent than Southwest.

This is the breakdown of how the district awards enrollment spots:
School Placement Protocol

If you're set on Southwest, your best bet is to move to the geographic area covered by Southwest, zones 3a, 3e, 3g:
http://www.mpls.k12.mn.us/uploads/k-12-map_2012-13.pdf

[scantee]

It looks like 3b is in the Southwest enrollment area as well.

[MarcyHolmesMaven]

To the original poster and anyone else interested: never going to happen. Southwest is all but impossible to get into unless you live in the attendance area. The only exceptions I know of is extremely zealous, creative parents who were able to make a very special appeals case, e.g., bullying at a previous school. Getting into South isn't as hard, but isn't easy either. The only program there that is citywide is the Open program, which my kids are in (finishing 9th and 11th grades) and have been very happy in. Liberal fills up with kids in the attendance area, plus it is the default attendance area program, so even families from the area that don't submit choice cards get placed there. That means your one option for getting into South would be the Open program, which may or may not be a good fit for your child. Good luck with your choices!

[peachesplease]

MarcyHolmesMaven -- could you tell me a little bit about South and about the open program? We are moving to the area -- and will be living in the Southwest High school district, but South looks like an interesting school because of its theatre program. My daughter is starting high school this fall. We don't know much about the schools, being from out of town . . .

[MarcyHolmesMaven]

Sure, love to talk about South. South and Southwest are both good schools, and both graduate a large number of very talented, smart, interesting kids. They are rivals, and the kids at each school would like you to believe they are very, very different from each other, but as a parent, I'd be happy to have kids at either school. The biggest difference is demographics: Southwest Minneapolis is a much whiter and more prosperous area, and that is reflected in the student body. By and large, in my opinion, the test scores are better at SW because they have better prepared kids coming in with more involved families. That also means there's less diversity. Some parents like that, some don't. I have heard more than once from parents who think SW would be a harder place for girls, just because there is a higher standard when it comes to "presentation," clothes, style, etc. I guess they think the girls are harder on each other, though I don't personally know if that's true. South, on the other hand, is incredibly diverse, with students of every type -- the diversity is racial, ethnic, economic, religious, etc. Because it is so diverse, everyone finds somewhere to fit in -- honestly, even the "nerdiest" kids I know are very happy there because they find friends and activities they enjoy. It does have a greater number of kids who live in poverty, and unfortunately that translates into a greater number of lower test scores. That being said, there are also a large number of very smart, very hardworking kids there doing wonderfully challenging work. Not meaning to brag, but both my kids have 4.0 GPAs and their test scores are at the top of the charts. So in my opinion, kids can do very well at South or they can get lost in the shuffle; they can really achieve or they can go off the rails. But the kids who do best are those who are highly motivated to work hard and take advantage of all the great activities there. South does have a tremendous, well-established theater program that is putting on all sorts of plays all the time. I'll also put in a word for the music program, which my son is highly involved in -- great teachers, many really talented musicians, fabulous experience. Sorry to go on for so long! I hope this helps you get a sense of South. Oh, and just a word on the Open Program: it really only makes a difference for 9th and 10th grade, and only for three subject areas: science, English and Social Studies. The spirit of the Open Program is that it should be an interdisciplinary approach where kids have a lot of choices about how they "show what they know," whether it's taking a test, writing a paper, doing a presentation, etc., while the Liberal Arts program is more traditional. My kids are great "Open" kids because they're hard workers, self-motivated, etc., while some kids really need more structure. That being said, the main thing is that you're not likely to get into Liberal unless you live in the South attendance area, as it is considered the 'community school' program. Coming from outside, as we do, Open is your one chance to get in to South. And most kids would do perfectly well in either program. Hope that all helps!

[peachesplease]

Thank you for your insight, MHM. Nice to know a bit more about the options.