Des Moines Public Schools loses thousands of students to open enrollment

State of play: Most open enrollments are occurring around the district's borders on the northwest and east sides, according to the report.

• Those areas are close to neighboring suburban school districts, including Johnston, Saydel, Urbandale, Southeast Polk and Carlisle, says spokesperson Phil Roeder.

Zoom in: At the high school level, East had the most open enrollments out — 377 in the current school year. Families there also dealt with several traumatic events, including a fatal shooting and a deadly hit-and-run that killed a student in 2022.

• In comparison, Roosevelt had the least — 151 students.

Reality check: The highest open enrollment occurred in 2021-22 when DMPS was still virtual in comparison to neighboring districts. Student migrations have narrowed since.

Between the lines: When the Legislature loosened the state's open enrollment rules in 2021, education advocates warned that urban districts like DMPS would have greater concentrations of low-income, students of color, as higher-income families left for suburban districts.