ALDEN -&160;Open enrollment is a big deal for the Alden-Conger School District – a very big deal.

Wednesday, March 06, 2002

ALDEN -&160;Open enrollment is a big deal for the Alden-Conger School District – a very big deal. With just under 100 families, the school has the highest percentage of open-enrolled students in the state of Minnesota.

School officials would like to keep it that way, and aren’t afraid of advertising what the district can offer to families outside the district. Tuesday evening they held an all-school open house for any families in the area who were interested in finding out what the school has to offer.

Rita Usselman, district superintendent, compares the district to a business, trying to create an image and a market for itself.

&uot;We need to make sure the word about us is out there,&uot; Usselman said.

And the words district supporters are spreading are mainly about the benefits of the small school environment for students and their families.

For example, kindergarten and first grade class sections are small in the district, ranging from 12 to 14 students per teacher in each grade. This creates an ideal environment for learning, according to first grade teacher Julie Drommerhausen. Small classes open up more possibilities for one-on-one instruction, she said.

Small classes continue into the high school, where class sizes of 20 or fewer students are common.

During the open house, more than just student art work was hanging on the walls at the school. Research projects completed by elementary, middle and high school students were also on display. Graduation standards packets were available, along with samples of the curriculum. Teachers from each grade level and speciality, school board members, other staff and students hung out in classrooms or wandered through the building, visiting with people and answering questions.

&uot;The goal is to showcase our school,&uot; said Usselman.

As the open house began, Usselman wasn’t certain just how many families from outside the district would show up at the open house, but she expected to see at least two groups who are opting for open-enrollment: Those whose kids will be enrolled in the school next fall, and families whose kids are still only two or three, and who are starting to think about preschool and kindergarten.

James and Emily Faugstad, who live near Kiester, chose to open-enroll their children to Alden-Conger, starting more than four years ago. The couple currently send their children to Scarville Lutheran School for kindergarten through eighth grade, and after looking at high school programs in the area, chose to enroll at A-C because of the small size and the location. They said they now feel as if they and their family belong in the district.

Whatever district officials might gain from showing off the school to potential open enrollment candidates, the open house is also about letting their current students show off their efforts to people in the community, said Usselman.

&uot;We’re proud of our students and the things they have done,&uot; she said. &uot;This open house is also about them.&uot;