Bowling Road ES Public Engagement Session - May 11, 2023

Below is a summary list of responses, in no particular order, captured from participants to the question: ”What are the most important things that district leadership should be aware of, and take into consideration, when managing enrollment growth and school crowding?”

• Be mindful that families may experience a calendar change because of reassignment (example: currently at a traditional school and reassigned to a year round school and vice versa)

• Will the infrastructure at new schools support the reality of carpooling and transportation as it works today (vs. how it worked when more students rode buses)?

• Concerns about safety in school zones when drivers don’t know when school is in session - consider adding blinking lights to signs around schools to alert drivers when school is in session

Bowling Road Elementary impact area map

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Felton Grove HS Public Engagement Session - May 4, 2023

Below is a summary list of responses, in no particular order, captured from participants to the question: ”What are the most important things that district leadership should be aware of, and take into consideration, when managing enrollment growth and school crowding?”

• Recommend that students be allowed to start and finish at the same school

• What academics, extracurricular activities, AP courses, athletics, CTE academies, etc. will be available at the new high school?

• Be thoughtful about sharing the timeline of events and decision points that will lead up to the opening of the new high school

• Concerns about safety in getting to and from the school for student drivers - noted that major highways are between many neighborhoods and the school site

• Concerns about ensuring that high quality teachers will be available at the new school

• Consider the continuity of cohorts of students - is it possible to create dedicated feeder patterns into the new school?

• Be thoughtful about proximity and infrastructure concerns, such as transportation

• Consider traffic patterns and the flow of traffic

• Consider stability and keeping siblings together

• What will be the start and end time of the new school, is there a potential for change?

• Consider bus routes and times (pick up and drop off times, route length, etc.)

• Be thoughtful in the design of the new school with respect to safety and parking

• Will the infrastructure around the school be sufficient to support the new traffic, etc.?

• What impact will continued nearby roadway construction projects have on the opening of the new school? (example: Stephenson Road, Ten-Ten Rd, etc.)

• Concerns about staffing for buses and reliability of bus transportation

• Will Early Colleges be considered in the future for this area/ region?

• Consider the possibility of allowing school counselors to ‘grow with kids’ and remain assigned to them throughout high school

• Be mindful of the impact of mental health on student success

• Desire for a community feeling/ sense of community at school

• Look back to lessons learned from previous years

  • Consider accelerating timelines to get information to families sooner

  • Consider building larger schools to get ahead of growth

• Consider approving plans more than one year in advance of the opening of a new school

• Concerns about rising 10th grade students that start at one school and are reassigned to the new school

• Concerns about current teacher shortage - what is WCPSS going to change to recruit additional teachers for new schools?

Felton Grove High impact area map

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Below is a summary list of responses, in no particular order, captured from participants to the question: ”What are the most important things that district leadership should be aware of, and take into consideration when managing enrollment growth and school crowding?”

• Recommend considering K-8 calendar alignment

• Consider the timing of the decision for the calendar for the new school

• Consider maintaining some form of calendar choice/ application

• Be thoughtful about the stability rules to allow as much stability for families as possible

• Be thoughtful about the resources that will be available for special education students and the availability of regional programs for students

• Be mindful of the support needed for students that will transition to the new school

• Provide clarity on the impact of future reassignments on existing calendar application students and transfer students

• Recommend prioritizing NOT changing areas that can walk to their current school

• Be thoughtful about growth related to the ongoing 540 project with particular emphasis on areas near Old Stage Rd/Vance Elementary

• Are there plans for a new middle school in southeastern wake?

• Consider the impact of reassignments on the ability of students to be selected for magnet seats

• Ensure schools have equitable access to quality resources at both new and existing schools

• Be thoughtful about the availability of before and after-school care at new schools in comparison to existing schools

• Consider the impact of the bell schedule for the new school

Hilltop Needmore Road Elementary impact area map

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Parkside MS Public Engagement Session - March 30, 2023

Below is a summary list of responses, in no particular order, captured from participants to the question: ”What are the most important things that district leadership should be aware of, and take into consideration, when managing enrollment growth and school crowding?”

• Suggest ranking of pillars in Board Policy 4150 as follows:

  • 1 - community

  • 2 - stability

  • 3 - operational efficiency

  • 4 - student achievement

• Recommend gathering feedback from communities regarding pillar rankings in reference to Board Policy 4150

• What is the curriculum or focus for the new high school projected to open in 2027-28? Will magnets or IB programs be considered?

• Keep cohorts within tracks together as they move to middle school for track continuity (noted traditional calendar cohorts should be kept together, as well)

• Consider stability guidelines specific to middle school reassignments

• Consider middle school to high school feeder patterns

• Concerns about ability to recruit and retain staff for new schools

• Recommendation that middle schools and high schools have an integrated philosophy/ communication plan for students as they transition from middle to high school

Parkside Middle area impact map

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Pleasant Plains ES Public Engagement Session - April 13, 2023

Below is a summary list of responses, in no particular order, captured from participants to the question: ”What are the most important things that district leadership should be aware of, and take into consideration, when managing enrollment growth and school crowding?”

• Work to match calendars for feeders (K-8)

• Work to keep feeders/ cohorts together as they move into middle school and high school

• Share information about changes to feeder patterns as early as possible to give families lead time

• Consider walk zones for stability, keep these areas assigned to their ‘walkable’ schools

• Consider increasing safe routes to schools to increase walkability and reduce need for buses

• Avoid splitting neighborhoods

• Be thoughtful about the need for more and high quality teachers as enrollment grows

Pleasant Plains Elementary impact area map

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Rex Road ES Public Engagement Session - April 3, 2023

Below is a summary list of responses, in no particular order, captured from participants to the question: ”What are the most important things that district leadership should be aware of, and take into consideration, when managing enrollment growth and school crowding?”

• Keep families on the same campus when there are multiple levels on one site

• Work toward calendar alignment across feeder patterns

• Work toward data transparency and consider prioritization of factors for assignment

• Continue to offer stability transfers for families impacted by reassignment

• Limit multiple reassignments of neighborhoods/ addresses - consider whole family impact, not just grade span impacts

• Balance of quantity of year-round and traditional calendar schools in an area/ region

• Concerns about the number of students attending a school that don’t live in the area near the school

• Are there any plans to build middle and high schools on the same campus?

• Consideration of the needs of special education students/ students with IEPs

• Consider traffic patterns and the location of major highways

Rex Road Elementary area impact map

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Woods Creek ES Public Engagement Session - April 27, 2023

Below is a summary list of responses, in no particular order, captured from participants to the question: ”What are the most important things that district leadership should be aware of, and take into consideration, when managing enrollment growth and school crowding?”

• Avoiding splitting cohorts of students as they move into middle school

• Work to keep neighborhoods together in one school

• Share the calendar (traditional, multi-track year round, etc.) with the community as early as possible

• As new schools open, know that parents are concerned about the unknowns - work to communicate information and decisions as early as possible

• Be thoughtful about the stability rules that will be in place for families impacted by reassignments

• Work to maintain calendar choices when possible

• Be thoughtful about and make plans for safety concerns related to the use of trailers on crowded campuses

Woods Creek Elementary impact area map

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Per Board Policy 4150: To the extent practicable, a student who is reassigned will be provided an opportunity to stay at the current school for one additional year if it is the terminal grade for an elementary or middle school (grades 5 and 8), and the student’s siblings will be provided an opportunity to attend the same school for the one year period. The student and siblings must apply for these transfers at the designated time. Also, to the extent practicable, any student currently in high school who is reassigned from an existing school to an existing school will be provided an opportunity to stay at the current school until the terminal grade (grade 12). In addition, opportunities to remain at the current school, including for siblings, may be included in the annual student enrollment plan. More information regarding the recommendations for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years will be provided once the stability rules for these plans have been established.

Several factors are considered when making calendar recommendations for new schools. Factors impacting the new school's community such as the proposed base attendance area for the new school, capacity needs, options for calendar alignment across grades K-8, and transportation patterns are reviewed. Recommendations for the calendar will be presented along with the proposed attendance area, generally in the fall at least one year prior to the school opening.

Track assignments are completed by the school. Principals work together to keep families on the same track.

Board Policy 4150 guides the development of annual enrollment plans. This policy includes 4 pillars: student achievement, stability,  proximity, and operational efficiency. Assignment areas are developed by balancing, to the extent reasonable, the goals and factors outlined in the 4 pillars. Watch a video explaining the process. 

There are several reasons why reassignments may be needed. Due to growth in certain parts of the county, new schools are needed. When new schools are built, reassignments are necessary to fill these schools. Reassignments are also needed to address crowding when no new schools are opening in an area.