I love it when people make my job easier. (What? Ok, no, blogging here isn’t a “job,” child labor laws being what they are and all.) It’s even better when that aid comes from one of my Education Policy Center friends. Marya DeGrow has written two timely posts for the new Colorado School Grades blog — an innovation after the third year of data released rating schools across Colorado from A to F.

Marya’s first post explains how student learning styles may fit certain types of programs. The second highlights some of the great tools on the fabulous School Choice for Kids website:

Click here for a list of the open enrollment web pages for most of Colorado’s largest school districts.

This Open Enrollment Checklist will help guide you if you plan to enroll your child in a public school other than your neighborhood school.

See what I mean about doing my “job” for me? Instead of reminding you about existing options and some useful resources to take advantage of those options, I just point and repeat. Simple, eh? But I do need to exert myself a little. For those who want to go a little deeper, the Center’s public school choice page is a helpful repository of information, too.

The timing is perfect, as open enrollment season is underway (or nearly so) in many major school districts. Did you notice, for example, that Denver’s open enrollment period is nearly 30 days longer than in Jefferson County? What’s up with that?

Then there’s Douglas County. The state’s third-largest district actually just wrapped up its even longer first round of open enrollment (65 days), with an extended second round to follow in the spring.

Even as we work to improve the existing policies, parents need to be informed about the current opportunities to take advantage of what’s there. And even if it requires a little more sweat and strain in the future, I’ll continue doing my part to keep you from going astray.