November 5, 2007
To:
The Elementary Capacity and Crowding Committee
From:
Todd McCracken, Tuckahoe parent representative
Re:
Proposal for boundary and program changes
While the charge to this Committee singles out Tuckahoe’s crowding as a
problem to be solved, it is clear that the capacity issues facing Arlington
elementary schools is much broader than those issues being faced at Tuckahoe
alone. As current and projected enrollment in Arlington elementary schools
continues to grow—particularly in the northern and western parts of the
county—a basic realignment of school boundaries and program locations is in
order. Attached is a proposal from the Tuckahoe representatives to the ECCC to
achieve such realignment.
Some key points to keep in mind with respect to the changes proposed in the
following pages:
Numbers. While based upon the enrollment, projection, and planning unit
data put forth by APS, these numbers have not yet been vetted by APS staff;
any errors are ours alone. Nevertheless, we thought it was crucial to give you
an idea of how these changes would affect enrollment, using the same models
that APS will use to review this proposal.
Programs. This proposal calls for moving a number of programs out of their
given schools, but does not identify a new home for them. These programs
would add enrollment/reduce capacity by a total of 122 at currently
unidentified schools. We have asked APS staff to identify appropriate
facilities for these programs (many of which have unique needs), and have
chosen to identify homes for none of them, rather than specifically moving
some and not others.
Grandfathering. While there are proposals to grandfather all currently
enrolled students, we do not feel such a move is likely to provide the nearterm relief that some schools (such as ours) require. Nevertheless, the
numbers would suggest that we could likely grandfather rising third-graders
and above (with siblings) and still provide the needed relief as soon as 2008.
This proposal would move planning units in which 469 K-5 students are
currently enrolled in their neighborhood school. Assuming we use the
above-cited grandfathering policy, we estimate that, county-wide, about 100
currently enrolled K-5 students would be required to attend a different
neighborhood school than they are presently attending. These numbers do
not include those potentially affected by program moves.
Middle Schools. The proposal would change the balance of how many
students go—together with their elementary school peers—to a given middle
school. While there is a Board policy against moving children into an
elementary school in which only a “small” number will go on to the same
middle school together, that policy is relatively vague on what constitutes
“small.” Each school community should evaluate this proposal regarding its
potential effect on its future middle school populations.
PreK. As we all know, the Committee’s charge from the Board requires our
final recommendation to allow space for a PreK program at every elementary
school. This proposal does not achieve that goal. If this proposal were
enacted in its entirety, we would still not have PreK programs at McKinley,
Nottingham, or Taylor. We welcome continued thought, comment, and
suggestion to see how we can meet the requirements that the Board has set
before us.
We are quite sure this proposal is not perfect, and we look forward to working
with the other members of the ECCC to change, refine, and improve it.
However, we are also quite sure that Arlington Public Schools has a large and
growing problem with the alignment of its facilities and its school populations. I
hope you agree, and I hope that collectively we will not lose sight of this
fundamental problem and the need to act, even in the face of uncertainty.
2
APS Boundary Change Proposal
11-5-2007
Tuckahoe
Enrollment
Move 1608 and 1609 to Glebe
Move 1601 to Nottingham
New Enrollment
Capacity - 499
McKinley
Current Enrollment
Move 1410 and 1411 to Ashlawn
Move 1409 to Barrett
Move Montessori
New Enrollment
Capacity – 402
Nottingham
Current Enrollment
Add 1601
Move 1708 to Taylor
Move 1706 to Jamestown
Move Interlude
New Enrollment
New Capacity (444 + 25) - 469
Glebe
Current Enrollment
Add 1608 and 1609
Move 1513 to Long Branch
Move 1510 to Taylor and Long Branch
Move Life Skills
Move Special Ed PreK
New Enrollment
New Capacity (377 + 33 +14) – 424
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
573
562
-55
-17
575
-63
-19
575
-71
-22
588
-79
-24
490
115% 98%
493
99%
482
97%
485
97%
410
443
-37
-5
-22
467
-41
-6
-22
478
-46
-6
-22
375
102% 93%
379
94%
398
99%
404
100%
442
467
+17
-19
-33
-8
506
+19
-22
-38
-8
516
+22
-24
-42
-8
536
+24
-27
-47
-8
424
100% 90%
457
97%
464
99%
478
102%
372
391
+55
-4
-22
-12
-8
400
+63
-5
-25
-12
-8
393
+71
-5
-28
-12
-8
398
+79
-6
-31
-12
-8
408
96%
413
97%
411
97%
420
99%
99%
433
-32
-4
-22
Jamestown
Current Enrollment
Add 1706
New Enrollment
Capacity – 572
Taylor
Current Enrollment
Add 1708
Add part of 1510
Move 2319 to Long Branch
New Enrollment
Capacity – 631
Key
Current Enrollment
Add 2414
New Enrollment
Capacity – 626
Ashlawn
Current Enrollment
Add 1410, and 1411
Move 1307, 1308, and 1309 to Barrett
Move 2322 and 2323 to Long Branch
New Enrollment
Capacity – 403
Barrett
Current Enrollment
Add 1409
Add 1307, 1308, and 1309
Move 1201and 1202 to Carlin Springs
Move 1207 to Barcroft
End Cluster and Barcroft Tranfers
New Enrollment
Capacity – 515
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
545
523
+33
535
+38
521
+42
512
+47
553
97%
573
563
100% 98%
559
98%
600
+19
+11
-9
595
+22
+13
-10
609
+24
+14
-12
624
+27
+16
-13
621
98%
620
98%
635
654
100% 104%
561
+8
565
+10
556
+11
546
+12
569
91%
575
92%
567
91%
558
89%
384
+32
-37
-29
399
+37
-42
-34
414
+41
-48
-38
436
+46
-53
-42
350
87%
360
89%
369
92%
387
96%
476
+4
+37
-31
-6
-17
516
+5
+42
-35
-7
-34
557
+5
+48
-40
-8
-51
580
+6
+53
-44
-9
-68
463
90%
487
95%
511
99%
518
101%
95%
593
94%
584
93%
368
91%
445
86%
4
Carlin Springs
Current Enrollment
Add 1201 and 1202
New Enrollment
Capacity – 563
Barcroft
Current Enrollment
Add 1207
New Enrollment
Capacity – 442
Long Branch
Current Enrollment
Add 2322 and 2323
Add 2319
Add 1513
Add part of 1510
Move 4690 and 4691 to Henry
Move 4818 to Oakridge
Move 2414 to Key-Science Focus
New Enrollment
Capacity - 493
Henry
Current Enrollment
Add 4690 and 4691
New Enrollment
Capacity – 409
Oakridge
Current Enrollment
Add 4818
New Enrollment
Capacity – 554
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
477
468
+31
462
+35
467
+40
457
+44
499
89%
497
88%
507
90%
501
89%
328
+6
322
+7
307
+8
304
+9
334
76%
329
83%
315
81%
313
81%
437
+29
+25
+4
+11
-13
-8
-8
437
+34
+29
+5
+12
-14
-10
-10
442
+38
+32
+5
+14
-16
-11
-11
434
+42
+36
+6
+15
-18
-12
-12
477
97%
483
98%
493
491
100% 100%
352
+13
362
+14
363
+16
370
+18
365
89%
376
92%
379
93%
388
95%
453
+8
462
+10
455
+11
457
+12
461
83%
472
85%
466
84%
469
85%
85%
328
74%
417
85%
342
84%
443
80%
5