Public forums are being held over the next two
weeks at the schools where many families would be impacted if the changes are
implemented. Hallsville, Weston and Wilson elementary schools have been added
to schedule of dates on April 3 and 5.
The Manchester Board of School Committee voted
last November to approve several parameters to guide Dr. Vargas in the
redistricting process:
● Use a phased-in approach that starts with a feeder pattern;
● Be mindful of budget implications; and
● Consider external and internal community engagement
The proposal includes a revised feeder pattern
among Manchester’s schools, determining which middle and high schools a student
will attend based on his or her elementary school. While the current feeder
pattern splits groups of students from some single elementary schools between
multiple secondary schools, the proposed changes streamline neighborhood school
assignments so that all graduating students from one elementary school move on
to the same middle and high schools.
The proposed changes impact the highest numbers
of students at Bakersville, Hallsville, Weston and Wilson elementary schools.
Other elementary schools, including Gossler Park, Northwest, and Parker-Varney
on the West side, Green Acres,
Highland-Goffe’s Falls, Jewett Street, Smyth Road, and Webster, would see very
little or no change in their students’ subsequent middle and high schools.
“An established, clear feeder pattern system
fosters better continuity of programs and supports as students proceed from one
grade level to the next,” said Dr. Vargas. “It also provides more
predictability, based on school instead of street address, for families as
their children move through the district.”
The exception to the single feeder school system
in the proposal is Beech Street School, where half the students will attend
Southside Middle School and the other half McLaughlin, as they do now. Under
the new proposal, all former Beech Street students from both of those middle
schools will reunite at Central High School.
Another proposed change affects a small group of
students who currently attend McDonough Elementary School but live on and
around the north end of Mammoth Road closer to Smyth Road Elementary
School. Assigning those children to
Smyth Road will eliminate a bus route and allow class sizes to be more evenly
distributed.
The public forums will provide feedback and input
in advance of a final proposal that will be recommended to the full Board of
School Committee for approval. Any plan that is approved will be implemented in
September 2017. The full, updated
schedule of the public forums is available online at mansd.org.
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