Updated February 19, 2013: The survey period closed on February 12. Thank you to everyone who completed the survey and shared thoughts or suggestions on the proposed plan. District and school leaders have since reviewed all the comments and, based on your feedback and another review of the demographic projections, the proposal has been revised slightly. The new plan permanently rezones a smaller area now bordered by Baze Road to the west, Kathleen Lane to the east, Glade Road to the north and Augustine Drive to the south. The plan also allows for up to 20 voluntary transfers from BCES families.
Specific questions from the parent meetings and survey will be addressed in a Q&A document coming soon.
Posted January 29, 2013:
Parents at Bear Creek Elementary and Grapevine Elementary were invited to meetings at their respective schools to learn about a plan to adjust attendance zones for these two schools. The plan being considered would alleviate crowding at Bear Creek Elementary. While the district continually monitors enrollment and school capacities, no other attendance zone adjustments in the district are being planned for the coming year.
To ensure we have considered all the factors in the development of this plan, we are asking for information from parents in the Bear Creek Elementary and Grapevine Elementary communities. We want parents to review the plan to see if there are any facts or circumstances we may have missed. The district also is surveying parents to determine the number of current BCES families who would be interested in a voluntary transfer to GES.
Please click here to complete the short online survey.
Under the proposed plan, approximately 50 students who currently attend BCES would attend GES beginning with the 2013-2014 school year. BCES students who will be in the fifth grade next year may choose to stay at BCES for the year, and their siblings also could remain for the year. After next year, those siblings would move to GES beginning with the 2014-2015 school year, bringing the total number of BCES students who will move to GES over the next two years to 75. Middle school and high school attendance zones for students attending either BCES or GES would not change under the plan being considered.
Many factors have been considered when determining where to adjust the attendance zones. These include the impact on families in these school communities, the number of students in each geographical area, proximity to the closest school, building capacities, grade-level impacts and possible staffing adjustments.
The survey will remain active until 4 p.m. on Tuesday, February 12. District and campus leaders then will review the information received to determine a course of action and if adjustments to the proposed plan are needed. The goal is to present a recommendation to the Board of Trustees during the regularly scheduled meeting on February 25. If the recommendation includes accepting voluntary transfers, the district also will announce the period in which families may submit their application and the process for making application.
