It also dipped because that district is horrible at teaching and dealing with bullying. I have talked with a few parents and grandparents that have enrolled children in other districts. Before I moved to Hopkins my son was in 3 advance placement classes. By the time I bought a house in osseo district 3 years later my son was getting F and D grades and had been bullied almost daily.

Dear jh, I am so sorry to hear of your child's experience with bullying, however the Hopkins school district has a very strong stance against bullying. I am not sure what help you sought from the principal and school counselors but I know them to be responsive, caring and thoughtful people who are concerned about each child's welfare, school experience while ensuring a first class education.

For those who are interested here is a link to the school website:
http://www.hopkinsschools.org/about-us/policies/students/bullying-prohibition-policy
This site includes a form that a student can complete if they have a concern about bullying.

I do know that Hopkins' schools offer an exemplary education and a caring educational environment . However, at some point we must realize that school districts deal with hundreds of children thrust together in a school environment; children who are not fully developed emotionally, and who come with their own personal stories and history that can create the situations you refer to. No school district is immune from this but school districts can put the tools and resources in place to show that bullying is not acceptable and to help those in that situation. The Hopkins School District has these tools and resources in place.

Mark Jones, Hopkins parent

One issuing causing many families to open enroll to other districts is the high number of ESL students in the District. The District needs to find away to educate the families on the importance of education in our society, so they can instill that importance at home. If education is not valued at home, it shows at school and with the testing. They also should look at a program to catch these children up on their English prior to the first day of Kindergarten. Another big reason is that Hopkins has refused to cap the number of students open enrolling into Hopkins through The Choice Is Yours program. It has grown so large, that the number of kids in that program is 1/7th of the student population. I'm all for diversity, but Hopkins has plenty of diversity within its own boundaries. I have spoken with a couple of teachers at the high school and many of the school problems are related to kids coming into the District through that program. I think the program is great, but feel the numbers should be capped. Unless these issues are addressed, the enrollment out of the District is going to continue!

womanhearmeroar writes "I'm all for diversity, but Hopkins has plenty of diversity within its own boundaries" - if you are all for diversity then the ethnic background or the color of children's skin should not even be entering into this conversation!
Children are children are children. Perhaps womanhearmeroar would like to return to the days of "Separate but equal” but I would prefer to move on from 1950's America.

One wonderful aspect of open enrollment is that, unlike womanhearmeroar, it does not differentiate based on race or ethnic background. This means that she too may have the opportunity to open enroll into Edina or Minnetonka - where she may feel more comfortable as a parent.

Hopkins has sold out to open enrollment and will be one of the worst schools in the state very soon.
I moved to this district for the great schools in 1999, now i have moved my kids to another school.Hopkins High School is getting worse by the day.

Coach joe, I assume that name means you are coach, it is great to see such a positive attitude from someone who mentors and leads children. What do you mean by worse, more students of diverse ethnicity? Much of the reason for drop of enrollment in Hopkins is related to changes in demographics, our population is growing older. I believe the Hopkins school district has known this was going to happen for a number of years and has been planning for it (e.g closing down Catherine Curren Elementary.

What other school in the state won't allow an 8th grade student to attend a High School Football game without being seated with a parent? This school is going down hill fast, and i see open enrollment as the problem.It may take you a little longer to find this out if you don't see it on a daily basis as i do.

Joe, what do you see on a daily basis and where do you see it?

I see the decline of student behavior in and around the school,Crime has spiked in the last year around the campus,now 47 percent of the students have scholarships for lunches and sports.The automated phone calls about school issues are on a weekly basis now(e.g stabbing,firecracker,weapons).I do not turn a blind eye to this,it needs to be fixed before it starts,not after it happends.Do you have children in the high school mark?

1) Curious why you are getting the automated phone calls if you no longer have students in the district. Are you a member of staff?

2) You exaggerate the number of automated phone calls relating to violence or the perception of violence. There have been 3 phone calls this year, one was to clarify a rumor about a stabbing that did not even occur , the other two were related to a firecracker incident and a purported weapons incident. FYI I believe that the firecracker incident had nothing to do with any open enrollment students.

3) The school district does have more students in free and reduced lunch and in sports scholarship. Is this a bad thing?

4) I have 2 children who have graduated from the high school and two who are in the high school. I hear no stories of weapons, of fear of other students etc. I do not believe the experience of my oldest son has been any different from that of my youngest son!

I also had 1 graduate in 2008,and i have a son who is a senior this year,as for my other 2 children they are attending a different school as of last year,Trust me when i say i know what's going on at the high school.(on a daily basis).
I'm not here to debate with you a ton of issues about this school, i am posting facts and concerns as a parent.Time will tell my feelings towards this school were true.
Athough i wasn't going to try to change anything, we just did what we had to do.(find another school)

Joe, I am sorry you felt the need to take your students out of the school, that must have been a difficult decision for you. That being said my experience as a parent has been very different and very positive.

However I do have a concern when you put out facts in a public forum which are inaccurate. Here are facts you cited other than those relating to your own family and its relationship with the school discrict.

1) There are almost weekly automated phone calls about violence in the schools.
NOT TRUE
I verified this with Hopkins High School Communications.
Total of 3 calls all year - one was relating to quelling a rumour for an incident that did not occur, one relating to a firecracker thrown in poor judgement.
In addition with the ability to send out automated phone calls and the terrible school massacre that has happened, the school district is much more likely to keep parents in the loop on any minor incidents like this than it did in the past.

2) Crime has spiked on campus.
NO EVIDENCE
Please offer evidence other than hearsay for this questionable fact.

3) 8th graders cannot go to High School Football games unaccompanied.
TRUE - I assume this to be true although I would be unlikely to drop my 8th grader of at a high school game without me being present or another parent.

4) 47% of students are F&R lunch/Sports Scholarships. TRUE - I assume

As i said mark i am not going into a debate with you,I stated crime has spiked AROUND the campus not ON the campus,Look up police reports for yourself.How many phone calls are ok due to violence?3,4,5,6,7,what's the cut off?
Please read my posts before you start posting your opinions.
I'm not angry at the school or you mark,i'm posting facts.I do not have to prove anything to you or anyone else.

Y'all may be interested in this story I just posted about open enrollment:

"Open Enrollment Isn’t Making Hopkins School More Segregated"
While it’s segregating white students from minority students in neighboring districts, it’s actually diversifying Hopkins.
http://hopkins.patch.com/articles/open-enrollment-isn-t-making-hopkins-school-more-segregated

The Choice was mine also when i didn't have 2 dimes to rub together after having to help support my mother instead of going to college.
The Choice was mine when i worked all the overtime i could get my hands on and saving as much as i could for years.
The choice was mine when i got ahead,met a girl and had a good enough income to have children and move to minnetonka.(#270).
The choice is mine to still work very hard daily to allow them to play sports and attend activities.
As a parent involed with fundraising for club or school sports it's getting to the point where i have a problem.
To see a parent drive up and drop thier child off in a new SUV drinking Starbucks and wearing nicer clothes then i can afford while being sponsored does not sit well.
I know this is not every sponsored child,but there are way to many.
Asking for volunteer help from most of these parents don't work.
The Choice is now mine to drive my children to another school at my own expense for a better education.
Hopkins has set a much lower standard to accomodate The Choice.