October 2006
Subgroups of 7 to 9 people have begun the process of redrawing boundary lines. Each group is working to create a solution to the district’s over crowding and imbalance of students in various buildings. The subgroups, and the committee as a whole, have spent a considerable amount of time discussing the criteria for the redistricting of students. While each group is working toward a common goal, there are a variety of approaches to the task at hand. Creating new boundaries that allow for neighborhood schools while also providing a balance of socioeconomic factors (race, income, English Language Learners) have been identified as critical guiding principles as they begin to plot maps. In the coming weeks, the groups will refine their maps, then test the feasibilities of their maps with input from the transportation department.
Specifically, the criteria for redrawing the boundaries are:
- Maintain the “neighborhood school” concept, where feasible, keeping neighborhoods together whenever possible. Reassign school attendance areas only when other reasonable and educationally sound choices are not available.
- Transport students in the most efficient and feasible manner, minimizing travel time and transportation costs.
- Attempt to assign children from newly developing neighborhoods to other attendance areas rather than disrupting students from existing neighborhoods also taking in account past redistricting.
- Assign appropriate numbers of students to each area.
- Establish “reasonable” walk zones for each attendance area.
- Provide diverse housing types.
- Allow for future growth – create a solution that lasts.
- Notes
- 3 middle schools feed into 3 high schools
- This year’s 9th-graders who will be 12th-graders in 2009/10 will remain at their current high school (Darby or Davidson)
- This year’s 6th-, 7th- and 8th-graders will be the third high school’s opening 9th-, 10th- and 11th-graders in 2009/10 school year
- This year’s 8th-graders will be the third high school’s first graduating class the 2010/11 school year
Scope of Project:
The scope of the project is to create an “appropriate” attendance
area, due to the addition of a 3rd high school and the 14th elementary
school, for:
- attendance patterns for high school students
- attendance patterns for middle school students
- attendance patterns for elementary (K-5) school students
- review of K-12 populations/buildings/attendance areas to determine Hilliard City School’s redistricting needs
This should be completed with the conception of the assignment criteria listed above providing needed relief for the district as well as envisioning future growth.
