Redistricting

Dear Peirce and Stratton Parents/Guardians,

As you are aware, the joint school parent forum on redistricting is cancelled for this evening (Wednesday, March 21) because of a conflict with the memorial service for Mrs. DeMella, a Teaching Assistant at Peirce who died tragically over the weekend.

Because we would like to hear from parents regarding the new working draft map #4 (http://www.arlington.k12.ma.us/administration/redistricting/pdfs/redistrictingdraft4map03-06-12.pdf) before the Redistricting Advisory Committee meeting on Tuesday, March 27, we are rescheduling the parent forum to Tuesday, March 27 from 5:30 – 6:30 pm in the School Committee room (6th fl.) at the high school.

The current working draft model for redistricting assumes that families who are enrolled in the Arlington Public Schools during the 2012-2013 school year will be “grandfathered” into their school with a few exceptions. In draft map #4, there are five small areas where it is proposed that families would be redistricted not “grandfathered”. Other than the Simms project area (in Stratton district), none of these areas lie in the Peirce or Stratton districts.

In draft map #4 there are designated “buffer zones” between school districts. Families who move into a buffer zone or have children starting school for the first time in September 2013 may be assigned to one of the two schools based on enrollment. The advantage of this proposal is that we would have a mechanism to achieve the first goal of redistricting, which is to better balance enrollments among schools. Should this or a version of this model for redistricting be recommended to the School Committee, details about the process for assignment will be developed and included in the plan.

The Redistricting Advisory Committee seeks your feedback on this proposal. If you are unable to attend the Tuesday meeting, you may contact your representative with your comments/questions or contact the entire Committee through the drop box (redistricting@arlington.k12.ma.us) The drop box is primarily for comments. You should not expect a response to questions sent through the drop box.

Peirce representative: Charlie Radoslovich (charlie@radurbanfarmers.com)
Stratton representative: Chuck Hannon (chuckh@amtimail.com)

Best regards,

Kathleen Bodie, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
kbodie@arlington.k12.ma.us
781-316-3501