Twin Cities Open Enrollment – A few phone calls and a lot of answers

Moving within the metro can be daunting. The sheer effort of packing up your home to list it and shop for a new home takes lots of time and energy. On top of your day to day activities it can be too much at times. One key question people ask about is open enrollment. If I end up in a different school district than I prefer how does open enrollment work? Today I spoke to a coordinator for district 196 which includes Eagan (651)683-6900 and the coordinator for Minnetonka (952) 401-5700. Here are a few key take-aways..

Eagan:
-has been able to accept all qualified applicants who open enroll at least a few weeks prior to the school year for the past 8 years
-bussing might be an option so parents can drop the child at a closest bus stop vs. driving to the school, additional paperwork is required for this; may be additional cost for this
-once in the district say for kindergarden you continue to be eligible for in-district education through your child’s 12 years of school. At each milestone – middle school and high school – you are sent paperwork to enroll in the schools that have room. Space has be available in Eagan.

Minnetonka
-Reach out to a coordinator for the district to get on their list as soon as you know you want to enroll in the district. You may still be in the process of moving at this time
-For young children not yet school age, you can enroll in the preschool Mtka program and get priority for kindergarden enrollment the following year

Both coordinators were easy to reach by phone, knowledgeable and extremely willing to answer all of my questions.

Happy house and school hunting!