The Capitol Region Choice Program is a part of the statewide Open Choice program that allows urban students to attend public schools in nearby suburban towns and suburban students to attend public schools in a nearby urban center.

The Capitol Region Education Council (CREC) is one of four agencies in the state that manages an Open Choice program.  The other three are centered around the cities of Bridgeport, New Haven and New London.

The Open Choice program is intended to improve academic achievement; reduce racial, ethnic and economic isolation; and provide a choice of educational programs for public school students.

Students
To assist in the transition, the Capitol Region Choice Program provides School/Family Liaison Services to support participating students, parents and schools.  School visits, student rap sessions, a parent network committee, activities for both students and parents, and other initiatives help address the academic and social issues that may arise.

The students enrolled in the Capitol Region Choice Program live in towns throughout the Capitol Region. They come from diverse racial/ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds. They have a wide range of educational needs, including talented and gifted programs, as well as special education courses.

In the 2004-2005 school year, there were 1,014 students participating in the Capitol Region Choice Program.  The racial breakdown of those students was 823 African-American students, 181 Hispanic students, 7 Caucasian students, 2 Asian students and 1 American Indian student.

Parents
There is one common factor among all of the children in the Choice Program:  the parents of each child have sought the best educational opportunity for their child.  Parental involvement is a key factor in each child’s success in the Choice Program; this is a challenging program.  To assist new parents, a group of existing Choice parents formed a Parent Network (link) to answer questions and serve as a resource.

There are no tuition costs for the Capitol Region Choice Program. 
A lottery system is used to place students in the slots available in the various school districts.  For more information, please see How to Apply (link to that).

Other Programs
The Capitol Region Choice Program also offers summer programs for students, a college incentive award for Choice high school students nearing graduation and a full-day kindergarten program called Early Beginnings.  To learn more about these programs, please visit our Other Programs section.