Read about the concept of "school choice" on paper and you would learn much about an important educational concept being worked out here in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and among other "portfolio" districts around the country.

But place it squarely into the circular concourse of the Cleveland State University Wolstein Center and you end up with a real-life, real-time demonstration of just how valuable and meaningful it can be to the students and families of the city and region.

Hundreds of families showed up at the CSU arena Wednesday night for the District's annual High School Choice Fair. Each of the District's more than two dozen high schools had a table and made presentations to prospective students and their parents or caregivers during a two-hour open house in the concourse.

The Wednesday night program followed three days in which the District brought all of its eighth-grade classes to the Wolstein Center so that students would have a broader understanding of their choices.