Ellington honors Open Choice liaisons; board declares 63 Hartford Open Choice seats

The Ellington Board of Education recognized Open Choice liaisons and community partners who support Hartford students enrolled in Ellington schools, then approved a declaration opening 63 Hartford Open Choice seats for 2025–26 and gave the superintendent discretion to adjust the number as enrollment develops.

Board Chair (name not specified) opened the evening’s special recognition of Open Choice liaisons and invited representatives from the Capitol Region Education Council (CREC), parents and students to the podium. Board members praised programs that bring Hartford resident students into Ellington schools and highlighted recent events intended to strengthen ties between Hartford and Ellington families.

The recognition acknowledged a year of activities organized by liaisons and partners, including a family event at the Hartford Public Library that drew more than 80 families (about 175 participants), a middle-school event at Parkville Market, multiple skating events at Bushnell Park Rink and an upcoming Windermere event at the Hartford Public Library. “I would like to say that they come to Ellington to learn, but I actually think the adults do a lot of the learning as well,” said Beth Shaw, who represented the middle school at the podium.

Diana Maldonado, a Hartford parent whose children have attended Ellington schools through Open Choice, described her family’s experience and the program’s impact. “I’m here today to tell you about my family experience with the Open Choice program,” Maldonado said, recounting how the program offered her son social and academic opportunities and enabled her daughter to participate in extracurriculars despite long commutes. Her daughter Angie, an Ellington Middle School student, told the board: “If you want change, be the change,” and described early-morning schedules and bus-stop problems that were later corrected.

CREC’s managing director for school choice, Curtis Rodriguez Porter, sent a statement the board read aloud praising Ellington’s partnership: “The choice liaison’s work is a testament to Ellington’s deep commitment to fostering connections between communities and empowering students to recognize the unique value they each bring.” Jenny Maldonado and Carla Cruz of CREC were also acknowledged at the meeting.

After the recognition segment, the board discussed the annual Hartford Open Choice declaration. District staff said the program typically enrolls between 95 and 105 Open Choice students across grades (about seven students per grade), representing roughly 4 percent of the district’s student population, and that seats are filled through a lottery. District staff told the board they generally declare more seats than they expect to fill because the yield from initial offers is roughly 20–25 percent; this year the district proposed declaring 63 seats as openings. The staff representative said the lottery will run approximately every three weeks (about 15 rounds through October) so early rounds prioritize families who list Ellington as a top choice and to reduce late-year uncertainty about class sizes.

Board member Marcia seconded the motion to approve the seat declaration. A board member moved that “the Board of Education approve the Open Choice seat declaration as presented, and give discretion to the superintendent to make adjustments as needed.” The motion was approved by voice vote and the chair announced the motion carried.

The board and staff emphasized the operational details that follow the declaration: the district will monitor early rounds of the lottery, fill in seats as attrition occurs, and close additional seats when grade-level totals are near target. The superintendent was given authority to adjust declared seats during the enrollment period to keep class sizes and school assignments balanced.

Why this matters: the Open Choice program places Hartford students in neighboring districts through CREC’s regional choice system; those placements affect enrollment counts, bus logistics and classroom composition. Board members and community speakers described both the benefits (expanded opportunities and cross-community connection) and the practical burdens (long bus rides, earlier wake times and occasional bus-stop errors) that come with cross-town placements.

The board did not vote on changes to Open Choice policy language at the meeting; this action was limited to declaring seats and delegating adjustment authority to the superintendent. District staff said they will monitor lottery results and return to the board if a substantive change to policy or budget is required.

The recognition and the seat declaration were part of a broader meeting that included personnel announcements and committee reports; the board moved on after the Open Choice action to other agenda items.