ANN ARBOR, MI – Just over one in 10 students in Ann Arbor Public Schools classrooms are in the district this fall through School of Choice.
But as the number of students leaving AAPS declines, a portion of new arrivals may be increasingly ditching the schools closest to home in neighboring districts, according to the latest enrollment data.
School of Choice allows students whose families don’t live AAPS’ boundaries to enroll in the district, and applications are allowed for a limited number of seats for those from other areas within Washtenaw County, as well as Ingham, Jackson, Lenawee, Monroe, Oakland and Wayne counties. Ann Arbor has utilized the policy since 2012 under Michigan’s School Aid Act.
As of this fall, 1,815 total School of Choice students were enrolled in AAPS. About 22.8% of them, or 414, are newly enrolled in the district and make up roughly half of all new arrivals in first through 12th grade.
School officials said that one-tenth ratio has remained relatively consistent over the last several years with anywhere between 300 and 500 School of Choice students arriving.
About 10.9% of the total AAPS enrollment is School of Choice this fall, according to Dan Berger, AAPS’ director of research and assessment, with “about five times more coming from in the county than out of the county.”
Ann Arbor School Board members were expected to get an overall enrollment update this month. Berger first previewed the data for a board committee Nov. 24.
With AAPS’ per-student allocation in state funds at $11,051, Berger said the School of Choice represents “a little bit over $20 million of our budget.”
So, why is this so important?
Critics of School of Choice often argue it’s a means for school districts to poach students for the benefit of their bottom line to boost state funding.
However, Dawn Linden, assistant superintendent of teaching and learning in Ann Arbor, said it’s about equity and maintaining staff rather than “packing schools.”
“Families of means have always had a choice, and without means, the only choice you have is to attend the school in your neighborhood,” she said last week.
Earlier in November, Linden announced the application windows for School of Choice in the 2026-27 school year. At the time, she also explained the process.
Typically, districts determine specific schools and grade levels where there are open seats. When the number of applications exceeds available space, the district conducts a lottery to place students accordingly.
Once a student enters through School of Choice, they can remain with AAPS until they graduate. Limited options are available for mid-district transfers, those applications opened up Nov. 18.
“We’ve all seen that students don’t often come to us in nice, neat packages of 25 per grade,” Linden said at a meeting Nov. 5. “Sometimes in a particular year, you might have a (smaller) number of first-graders who come in.
“Schools of Choice allows us to fill those seats, to keep our teachers in their positions. You’ve all seen over the years that sometimes teachers have to transfer up a grade, down a grade. This allows us to provide more stability so it’s not happening every single year.”
Linden added, “We remain committed to remaining within that 10% range.”
Still, the fall 2025 enrollment data shows a small but growing number of students coming to AAPS from other nearby Washtenaw County schools
The number of new arrivals this fall overall has fallen within the last two years, going from 1,028 in 2023 to 862 this year. Roughly 78% of all 113 in-county student enrollees arriving from other public schools this fall are from Ypsilanti ― a proportion that’s shot up from 28% since 2023.
School board members hinted at the disparity in committee last week.
“It is troubling to see the numbers coming from Ypsi,” Trustee Rima Mohammad said. “So, we just have to keep thinking about the impact on other districts. But at the same time, it is hard to also say no to 20 million because … that’s a big impact.”
Board Vice President Susan Schmidt, who chairs the performance committee, said she supported “people having options,” agreeing it is “hard to see another district negatively impacted.”
“But what we have to remember is that we lose students, too, to “all these other schools,” she said. “We’re all trying to create the best program, hoping they’ll chose us.”
There have been fewer departures from AAPS in fall enrollments in the last three years.
In 2022, that was 1,093. This fall, 868 left. Most of them have consistently been going to other in-county public schools and private schools regardless of geographic area, as well as moving out of the county, state and U.S.
According to AAPS, School of Choice applications for the 2026-27 school year will be accepted in three windows: April 14 to May 16, June 2 to July 1 and July 23 to Aug. 6.
