Redistricting meetings set for new schools opening in 2009
The Fulton County School
System announces redistricting meetings in October, November and
December for new schools opening in August 2009. Existing attendance
zones at other schools will be modified to create the new schools’
attendance boundaries.
South
Fulton
In the South Fulton area,
an elementary school is under construction on West Stubbs Road in
College Park and a high school is being built on Hall Road in
Fairburn. Three meetings will be held at Renaissance Middle School
from 7-9 p.m. to address the redistricting process:
-
Round One
– October 20
-
Round Two – November 10
-
Round Three
– December 8
North
Fulton
In North Fulton, a new
elementary school is under construction on Birmingham Highway in
Milton. Three meetings will be held at Elkins Pointe Middle School
from 7-9 p.m.
About
the redistricting process
Each time a redistricting
effort is under way, the school system holds three rounds of
meetings to gather information needed to draft a redistricting
proposal that best meets the community’s needs. Unlike other school
systems, Fulton uses a process that encourages public discussion
before developing a proposal. This allows the community to have
maximum input in how the proposed attendance lines are created.
Purpose of Round One
·
School system staff outlines redistricting process and establishes
ground rules for facilitated small-group input sessions.
·
Participants move to small-group sessions and input is gathered
related to the redistricting criteria.
·
Staff reviews public comments and applies school board-approved
redistricting criteria to develop alternative attendance zone plans
prior to the next community forum.
Purpose of Round Two
·
Staff presents alternative proposals for 2009-10 attendance zones
that were developed with established criteria and community input
from the first forum.
·
Community members comment on strengths and weaknesses of each plan
in facilitated small-group discussions.
·
Prior to the next community forum, staff condenses the number of
attendance zone alternatives based on public input.
Purpose of Round Three
·
Community members review and provide input on revised attendance
zone alternatives in facilitated small-group discussions.
·
Staff uses comments to develop final attendance zone options for
school board consideration.
Criteria used for developing redistricting proposal
During the meetings,
community members will review the school board’s redistricting
criteria – primary and secondary – and can comment on residential
development, traffic, previous redistricting, special programs and
other issues relevant to the criteria used for redrawing attendance
lines.
Primary Criteria
·
Geographic Proximity –
Distance traveled using available routes of transportation.
·
Instructional Capacity –
Number of students who can be accommodated at the school, taking
into account the number of classrooms and resource rooms needed for
art, music, laboratories, English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL),
special education and Talented and Gifted (TAG) programs.
·
Projected Enrollment –
Number of students assigned to a school taking into account the
future projected enrollment.
Secondary Criteria
When primary criteria indicate
more than one option, the options should be evaluated on the basis
of:
·
Traffic Patterns – Factors impacting accessibility of the school
from all portions of the attendance zone, including travel time,
traffic flow in the area, safe operation of school buses and other
safety considerations.
·
Previous Rezoning – The school system seeks to avoid rezoning
neighborhoods more than once during a three-year period if facility
sizes and geographic distribution of student populations allow.
·
Special Programs – Special programs are those serving children with
special needs that require use of additional space over and above a
regular classroom. Where possible, the school system avoids setting
attendance zones that would place a disproportionate number of
special programs at a school.
·
School Feeder Alignment – Where possible, consideration is given to
the alignment of elementary, middle and high school attendance
boundaries.
The Fulton County Board of
Education is scheduled to vote on the new attendance zones in
February 2009. Changes in attendance zones will go into effect when
the schools open in August 2009.
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