The Harwood Unified Union School District (HUUSD) will hold an open informational meeting on its intradistrict choice (IDC) program on Thursday, December 15, at 7 p.m. at Harwood Union High School. The meeting will be recorded and made available on the HUUSD website.
IDC allows HUUSD students in grades K-8 to apply to attend any school in the district (Crossett Brook Middle School, Fayston Elementary School, Harwood Union Middle School, Moretown Elementary School, Brookside Primary School, Waitsfield Elementary School, Warren Elementary School), regardless of town of residence. After addressing the timeline and processes for IDC, attendees will break out into two sessions, during which the middle schools and elementary schools will share details regarding their programming.
Families interested in applying to a school other than the one in the town in which they live for the 2023-2024 school year must complete an IDC application (available at https://huusd.org/apply-for-intradistrict-school-choice) by January 15, 2023.
Previously, schools’ decisions on whether to approve an IDC application were made in March-April, though, at the HUUSD Board’s November 9 meeting, HUUSD principals Kaiya Korb (Waitsfield Elementary School), Meg McDonough (Harwood Union High School co-principal) and Celia Guggemos (Fayston Elementary) presented a new timeline with final decisions on IDC applications being made by the second Friday in February. Families/guardians would then have seven days to make their final decision.
Factors the HUUSD considers when determining whether to approve an IDC application include the school’s capacity, staffing, student services and class composition. The HUUSD’s IDC policy has been in place since March 2017, after the district consolidated in 2016. “IDC is integral to our district,” Korb said. For instance, it allows parents or guardians who may work closer to one school than the school in their town of residence to allow their students to attend a school easier for them to access.
The HUUSD is developing an FAQ about IDC for families. Those with questions they want included can fill out a Google form Superintendent Mike Leichliter emailed to all district families on November 15 prior to the December 15 meeting.
