- Henry Elementary
- Homepage
Middle school boundaries in the South and West areas
5/3/2021 -- You can watch the recording of the April 27 webinar with parents and staff here.
4/22/2021 -- Last week, we continued sharing information about enrollment, space and capacity issues that are impacting students in our West and South area middle schools.
You can watch the recording of the April 20 Zoom webinar with parents and staff. We continue to welcome questions or thoughts from parents and staff on this form here.
Tuesday, April 27 from 5:30-7 pm we will continue our discussion at another Zoom webinar. You can register to attend the meeting here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. If you can’t make it, you can still register and will receive a recording of the meeting to watch back later.
This meeting will include:
- More information based on the questions and feedback we are receiving
- Time to answer questions from parents and staff during the meeting
- More discussion of the high school impact of any boundary change
Again, if we move forward with a proposal in the future, it would include a gradual phased-in approach over many years and it would not begin right away. The earliest we would expect the board to make a decision would be the fall 2021 so we have time to continue our discussions and develop a final proposal
4/15/2021 -- The below letter was sent to families at West Middle, South Middle, Southwest Middle, and Pierremont and Hanna Woods Elementary schools.
April 15, 2021
Dear Parkway families and staff,
Last night at our board meeting, we continued discussions of enrollment, space and capacity issues that are impacting students in our middle schools. You can watch the recording of the meeting and discussion here.
We outlined the following key challenges and potential solutions.
- Student enrollment at West Middle School has exceeded the school and classroom capacity. There are significantly more students at West Middle compared to all other Parkway middle schools. West Middle has over 1,000 students enrolled, while our middle schools in the adjacent South area have 500-600 students.
- Our middle school boundaries in the South and West areas are not aligned with our board guidelines for ideal attendance areas to support all students. Enrollments are unbalanced and some students live closer to another middle school than the one they currently attend. Our enrollment projections into the next five years indicate this issue will continue to create inequities among middle school students and impact their learning experiences.
- A proposed solution, which was discussed with the board last night, is to adjust attendance boundaries. Pierremont students could attend South Middle instead of West Middle, and Hanna Woods students could attend Southwest Middle instead of South Middle. It’s important to know capacity and enrollment is not a concern at our high schools. So for Pierremont, this does not necessarily mean Pierremont students would go on to South High. They could attend West High. This decision needs more discussion and feedback.
We know the solutions we develop as a community can have an impact on current and future students and families. We also know our families have chosen to live in Parkway for a reason and you may have specifically chosen a home based on where your children attend elementary, middle and high school. Which is why the board is not taking any action or making any decisions right now.
It’s important to know:
- If we move forward with a proposal in the future, it would include a gradual phased-in approach over many years and it would not begin right away.
- The earliest we would expect the board to make a decision would be the fall 2021 and the earliest a change would impact middle school student attendance would be the 2022-23 school year.
- We want to minimize the impact on current students and families as much as possible if we move forward. This means any proposal would include special assignment options and families would be kept together.
How you can learn more, ask questions and share thoughts:
- Join us for a parent and staff webinar on Zoom - Tuesday, April 20 at 5:30 pm. You can register to attend the webinar here. If you aren’t sure you can make it, you can go ahead and register and we will share a link to the recording after the event.
- If you have questions or thoughts now, you can submit them here. We will share answers to frequently asked questions at the April 20 event.
Thank you for your support and participation as we address these challenges together. We will continue to stay in touch with updates and work together on solutions in the best interest of all.
Sincerely,
Keith Marty
Superintendent
Parkway Schools