ORANGE COUNTY VOICES : COMMENTARY ON EDUCATION : Public Schools of Choice Offer Optimal Learning Experience : Program gives parents options and the opportunity for greater commitment to their children’s future.

President Clinton, in his State of the Union message last month, referred to Goals 2000, our national plan for improving education. He said this plan “will empower individual school districts to experiment with ideas like . . . more public school choice.”

His challenge to schools is to experiment with creative ideas such as public school choice while, at the same time, guaranteeing our customers--our students and their parents--an education that will prepare students for success in the global economy.

Some students excel in science and mathematics. Others have a keen interest in the performing arts. There are students who want to learn more about the environment, while others enjoy expanding their communication skills.

Some students thrive in a technologically rich educational setting. Others prefer the nurturing environment of a strongly child-centered staff. Some students want the continuity of a year-round school program. Others want the academically challenging environment of a Gifted and Talented (GATE) Center.

The nearly 32,000 students in Capistrano Unified School District not only come in all shapes, sizes and colors, but with a myriad of interests, needs and abilities as well. Our school district’s Public Schools of Choice Program will allow and encourage the exploration of individual wishes, skills and aptitudes, while doing so in an environment in which all of Capistrano’s students continue to receive a fully enriched and solid core educational experience.

The concept of choice is as American as apple pie. That is why it is an appropriate new endeavor for public schools. Choice is a very popular term these days, and that’s understandable. It reflects the democratic principles upon which this great nation was founded and has prospered. All of us want to be able to take control of our lives and exercise options about what we do in our lives.

We choose our supermarkets, the type of automobile we will drive and where we live. Why not also choose the public school our children will attend? Public Schools of Choice gives parents options and the opportunity for the ultimate in parental involvement. After all, parent buy-in and support are essential factors toward a student’s success in school.

It is important for students and their parents to understand that the public schools offer something for everyone. Schools throughout Capistrano Unified as well as all of Orange County provide a comprehensive array of programs and services to meet the needs of a multitude of students.

Moreover, some schools even specialize in, and focus on, a particular area of the curriculum. Public Schools of Choice gives students a chance to participate in those specialized schools, even if those schools are not located in their immediate neighborhood.

As part of any Public Schools of Choice Program, all parents exercise a choice, even if they choose their “home” school. Research tells us that most parents will probably select their neighborhood school, the school serving their children’s attendance area. This is where their children’s friends are. It is the school with which they are already the most familiar, and one that friends and neighbors living in close proximity to each other can rally around, get behind and support.

However, we recognize that some parents will choose a school other than their home school, for a variety of personal or educational reasons. Our Public Schools of Choice Program gives parents a chance to make those choices on a space-available basis.

The state has mandated that all school districts in California implement an open enrollment policy, beginning next September. I am pleased to report that our school district is already well on its way to doing just that, since we have been discussing choice and planning for it for some time as a part of the development of our school district’s strategic plan, Capistrano 2000.

Our community is buzzing with excitement regarding CUSD’s Public Schools of Choice Program. We have prepared choice program catalogues. We also are holding evening meetings to provide even more information for interested parents.

Families who would like to get a firsthand look at schools other than their home school will have the opportunity to do so during a two-day open house in early March.

Then, the moment of decision will be before them. During a two-day period, on March 11 and 12, Capistrano Unified parents who wish to place their children in a school other than the home school will be asked to submit their choice applications.

It is anyone’s guess exactly how many people will exercise choice and where they will choose to apply. Whatever happens, I am confident that our school clients--parents and children--will appreciate being provided with many options and opportunities to consider as, together, educators and parents collaborate to provide an optimal educational program for each and every child in our school district.

I am equally as confident that parents throughout our county will make a greater commitment to their children’s education as all Orange County school districts enter a new era of parental choice in public education.