Elementary School Planning School Board Action Item February 6, 2020
Superintendent’s Recommendation: School Moves Recommendation: School Moves Effective for 2021‐22 School moves would take effect concurrently with new elementary school boundaries and the opening of new 725‐seat elementary school at Reed site • Majority of McKinley students move to new school at Reed site • Option school students can choose to move together, or attend their neighborhood schools: Arlington Traditional community to the McKinley site Key Immersion community to the ATS site • Key site opens as a new neighborhood school This recommendation positions APS for sustainable boundary changes ahead of Fall 2020 boundary process by addressing the imbalance between seats and students across the county: • Current and future enrollment growth in the Rosslyn/Courthouse area • Surplus of seats around Reed site www.apsva.us/engage/planning‐for‐2020‐elementary‐school‐boundary‐process 2 2/6/2020
Superintendent’s Recommendation: School Moves • Opens neighborhood seats at the Key site where there is the greatest need ‐ ASFS enrollment is now 130% of building capacity, and will have 10 relocatable classrooms next year ‐ More multi‐family developments east of ASFS are preparing to open in the next few years ‐ APS has no other properties in this area to address this need in the short term ‐ Repurposing the facility meets this urgent capacity need while offering immersion at a more central location • Builds a foundation for boundary process and minimizes impact on neighborhood school students ‐ Placing a countywide option school at the McKinley site will reduce the number of students reassigned in the fall boundary process and allow more students to attend the neighborhood school closest to where they live ‐ With 43% of its current students living in the Reed walk zone, moving the majority of McKinley students to the new school at Reed site will keep together most of the school community ‐ More neighborhood school students overall can walk to school, helping to manage demands on transportation • Reinforces APS commitment to options, while shifting from “a system of schools” to a “school system” • School moves create challenges and opportunities that APS can begin to address early if the move is confirmed • Key Immersion moves to a central location, closer to where more Spanish‐speaking students live • Arlington Traditional can maintain its diversity and accept more students from its waitlist • Prepares for the Fall 2020 boundary process that will advance APS’ mission, promote diversity, and contribute to the efficiency of operating the school system www.apsva.us/engage/planning‐for‐2020‐elementary‐school‐boundary‐process 3 2/6/2020
Community Engagement • Countywide Approach − Aligned with stakeholder recommendations − Designed to encourage discussion across the school division − Included both neighborhood and option schools • Consistent and Accessible Information − Regular information in English & Spanish − Additional interpretation in Arabic, Amharic & Mongolian − Forum with PTA leaders and detailed responses to PTA letters • Transparency: All data posted at www.apsva.us/engage • Multiple Platforms − Multiple channels, both online and in person − Information distributed via internal and external channels • Community Input − Two‐way communications to answer questions and gather input − Stakeholder ideas and suggestions reviewed − Input was used to inform this process and related work • Additional Forum − January community webinar shared staff analyses of recommendation and community members’ ideas and proposals www.apsva.us/engage/planning‐for‐2020‐elementary‐school‐boundary‐process 4
Community Participation • 51,000+ page views of APS Engage Elementary School Planning webpages • 13,100+ total views of elementary planning videos, online broadcasts, and webinars • 1,800 responses to two bilingual Community Questionnaires • 900 views of Dec. 2 Q&A Session with PTA Presidents livestream broadcast • 340+ messages sent to staff and responded to through engage@apsva.us • 160+ attendees at three in‐person Community Meetings • 24 Ambassador updates and School Talk Engage messages • Targeted Countywide Outreach: − Information shared at meetings (e.g. ACTC, CCPTA, ACI, Comité Hispano, FAC, Civic Federation) − APS families whose primary languages are not English • Internal: APS Staff Central Online, Weekly updates for Principals, TCI, Bilingual Family Resource Assistants, Briefings for staff at schools in proposals www.apsva.us/engage/planning‐for‐2020‐elementary‐school‐boundary‐process 5
Community Input Input from PTAs and Community Members Responses: Community • Comments and questions informed presentations, video Questionnaire #2 sessions, webinars, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), • Top sources of information and more in this process: • Review of community ideas and proposals led to posting APS Engage site: 65% of potential scenarios considered, comparative staff PTA communications: 61% analysis of recommendation and community proposals, School Talk messages: 51% and Jan. 24 webinar • Community input reaffirmed that • Attitudes towards Proposal 1: Like/Strongly Like: 44% Recommendation/Proposal 1 was the better Dislike/Strongly Dislike: 47% configuration to meet APS planning goals • Community input also emphasized: • Attitudes towards Representative Trying to keep sizable cohorts of students together in Boundary Scenario: reassignments during boundary process Like/Strongly Like: 19% Conducting early outreach to familiarize families with Dislike/Strongly Dislike: 67% new schools 6
Alternate Scenario: Developing and Adjusting Boundaries Only, Without Moving Schools Alternative is to conduct a boundary process in Fall 2020 without moving any schools, effective for 2021‐22 Challenges: • To fill schools to manageable capacity, boundaries would require more students to be assigned to schools farther away instead of to schools closer to where they live • Increases demand on transportation resources • Fewer students could walk to neighborhood schools Under this Alternate Scenario: • Neighborhood elementary school students: ― Reassigned to another school: about 4,000+ or 38% (boundaries for discussion purposes only) ― Who live in a walk zone and would be reassigned to a different school, making them eligible for bus transportation: about 29% • No option schools would move 7
Preparing for 2021‐22 Next Steps Phase 2: Spring 2020 Phase 1: Fall 2019 Phase 3: Fall 2020 Prepare planning unit Address imbalance Develop boundaries for projections and conduct between enrollment and neighborhood elementary preliminary planning for moves capacity schools, effective 2021‐22 if action is confirmed SB action Dec. 2020 SB action Feb. 6, 2020 Complete Aug. 2020 Support schools in preparing for Phase 4: Spring 2021 transitions once action is confirmed
School Board Motion February 6, 2020: RECOMMENDATION FOR PHASE 1 OF THE ELEMENTARY PLANNING PROCESS
SCHOOL BOARD MOTION I move that the Board approve the Interim Superintendent’s Recommended “Proposal 1: School Moves” effective for the 2021‐2022 school year. “Proposal 1: School Moves,” concurrent with new elementary school boundaries expected to be established in the fall of 2020, and 725 new elementary school seats at the Reed site, achieves the following: • Moves the majority of McKinley students to the Reed site; • Moves the Arlington Traditional School program to current McKinley site; • Moves the Key Immersion program to the current ATS site; and • Key school site becomes a new neighborhood school. This proposal does not constitute a boundary change under the general APS boundary policy, and in any event is intended to take precedence over that policy as to these specific matters. Rather, boundary adjustments and grandfathering considerations will be included in the Fall 2020 process. 10 2/6/2020
Elementary School Planning School Board Action Item February 6, 2020
Recommend
More recommend
