|
Post by momto4 on Oct 21, 2008 18:15:49 GMT -5
It would be nice to have this year's enrollment numbers by school for comparison.
|
|
|
Post by WeNeed3 on Oct 21, 2008 18:20:44 GMT -5
It would be nice to have this year's enrollment numbers by school for comparison. Yes, I looked on the district's website but they still have the old enrollment numbers on there.
|
|
|
Post by WeNeed3 on Oct 21, 2008 18:25:26 GMT -5
High School Transition Frequently Asked Questions October 2008How will the high school transition work when the new boundaries start in 2009?The district will follow the exact same transition process it used when Neuqua Valley High School opened. Students who are eighth graders and freshmen in 2008-09 and who live in an attendance area with boundary changes will transition to their new high schools in 2009-10. Students who are sophomores or juniors in 2008-09 will remain at their existing high schools in 2009-10. There will be no "grandfathering" of students who are eighth graders and freshmen in 2008-09 and who live in an attendance area with boundary changes to allow them to stay at their existing high school in 2009-10. If I'm a Junior or Senior in 2009-10, will I move to a new school?Juniors and Seniors will remain at their existing high schools in 2009-10. Why are the students transferred (Neuqua Valley to Waubonsie Valley and Waubonsie Valley to Metea Valley) in grades 9 and 10?Two classes need to be moved to relieve overcrowding. Moving upper classmen is not necessary and, by then, students have often identified strongly with their high school. Why can't younger siblings be allowed to stay in the high school their older sibling attended?We need to move grades 9 and 10 to relieve overcrowding and balance enrollment. If siblings remain, overcrowding may continue. Proactive, timely staffing and scheduling are all impacted negatively. Is this transfer system consistent with how Neuqua Valley opened in 1997?Yes. Neuqua Valley opened with grades 9 and 10. Many had older siblings at Waubonsie Valley High School at that time. The transition was very successful and this practice has been replicated throughout the state in many new high schools over the last ten years. How many grade levels will be at Metea Valley when it opens?Metea Valley will open in August 2009 with freshman and sophomore students. Another class will be added in 2010 and by 2011, Metea Valley will have all four grade levels. If I have children attending two different high schools (i.e. one junior at Waubonsie Valley and one freshman at Metea Valley), will there be conflicts among events?Every effort will be made to reduce event conflict, particularly curriculum nights, parent nights and orientations. The three high school administrations will work together as the schedule is created for 2009-2010 and 2010-2011. What will enrollment** numbers for our three high schools and seven middle schools look like over the next three years?School 09-10 10-11 11-12 Metea 1350 (9th-10th) 2010 (9th-11th) 2650 (9th-12th) Neuqua 3950 3800 3550 Waubonsie 3150 2890 2550 Indian Plains/Frontier 550 550 550 Crone 1222 1220 1168 Fischer 1024 1017 1018 Granger 841 853 921 Gregory 1043 978 958 Hill 844 860 908 Scullen 1030 1005 1059 Still 862 877 877 **Estimated enrollment based on current students only How will athletics be handled at Metea Valley?When the new school opens in 2009 with freshmen and sophomores, there will be no varsity team sports. For varsity sports with individual competitors, the coaching staff will determine level of participants based on skill. A full varsity athletic program will begin in 2010 with the addition of a junior class. Athletic eligibility is maintained for students attending within assigned boundaries. What is the staffing timeline for Metea Valley High School?Jim Schmid was named principal last spring. Interviews for assistant principals are taking place in October, for department chairs in October and November, and internal staff interviews will be completed by winter break. Final determination on additional staff will be completed by spring. What community outreach will be made to new Waubonsie Valley parents and students transferring from Neuqua Valley, as well as Waubonsie Valley parents and students entering Metea Valley?Kristine Marchiando, principal of Waubonsie Valley, has met with students who will be new to the school in 2009. She will continue to do so. Parents new to Waubonsie Valley have had the opportunity to tour the school and meet administrators this fall. Upcoming meetings will continue to be communicated via listserv. Jim Schmid, principal of Metea Valley, has met with students who will be the first to enter Metea in 2009. He has met regularly with parents and is communicating via listserv. *Note: School Board Policy 705.24-R outlines the administrative procedures on high school student transfers. ___________________________________________________________________________________ Indian Prairie School District 204 „X 780 Shoreline Drive, Aurora „X www.ipsd.org
|
|
Arwen
Master Member
Posts: 933
|
Post by Arwen on Oct 21, 2008 19:23:33 GMT -5
I find it interesting that WV's ultimate enrollment is less than MV's by 100 students. I thought we were going to have trouble filling it.
|
|
|
Post by WeNeed3 on Oct 21, 2008 20:52:08 GMT -5
Interesting note at the bottom of this:
*Note: School Board Policy 705.24-R outlines the administrative procedures on high school student transfers.
Don't have my handy book of SB admin policies to know what 705.24-R states.
Does this mean they would be in violation of the Policy if they made exceptions? If so, why don't they come out and just say that in the article? Would they have to change the policy in order to make exceptions? I don't know the correct etiquette when it comes to having to follow a policy but maybe this is why they have been consistent with the no exceptions thing.
|
|
|
Post by gatormom on Oct 21, 2008 20:56:48 GMT -5
Indian Prairie Community Unit School District 204 705.24High School Student Transfer Policy District 204 students will attend the high school designated for the attendance area in which they reside. Any request for an attendance-area exception will be granted only under extraordinary circumstances, such as family move; request from an outside agency; family hardship; psychological, emotional, health, or social needs; or administrative placement per board policies and procedures. Transfers will be in effect for the remainder of the high-school enrollment. The decision of the Administration is final. District approval of a high-school transfer request does not guarantee Illinois High School Association eligibility. Adopted: 7/16/01 board.ipsd.org/Uploads/Policies/705_24.pdf
|
|
|
Post by warriorpride on Oct 21, 2008 20:58:27 GMT -5
... I really think if there is room at Neuqua, they should leave that group of students there. It is not the same as opening a new school. I don't believe that group of kids is being treated fairly by our district. gatormom, I do see your point. I think its more than "is there room". I think it would be a school adminstrative nightmare. If "nightmare" is too strong a word, surely it would be a complexity that is above and beyond what is in the plans now. One concern is: WV graduating classes would oscillate from approx 1000 for class of '11, all the way down to 500 for '12, than back up to 700 for '13. Can courses and staffing assignments be efficiently done at WV in those circumstances? Would curriculum and organization suffer at WV? I dont know (I am not a school administrator) but I would like to hear a professional comment on how viable this would be. A second conern: (maybe a lessor point) MV is to be mostly filled with existing staff from WV and NV in proporation to the students leaving. With gatormom's suggestion, NV blue would not be any smaller at all for the first year of MV and therefore, not eligible to move any staff. Is that a good idea? No its not ideal to have siblings split, a small number of team-sport athletes not have a varsity team first year, and students moving from a HS that they already have started at, etc. But with all those topics.... fixing one problem can make other problems worse. I would not rule out gatormom's suggestions. On the surface, i would say its great if such a plan could be worked out. But consider me a skeptic. The additionl slippery slope is that people may continue to fight for additional "grandfathering" in future years, based on siblingg potentially being split. If you allow for special circumstances in '09, why not in '10?
|
|
|
Post by title1parent on Oct 22, 2008 4:59:59 GMT -5
www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/news/1235067,2_1_AU22_204BRD_S1.article Metea boundaries may mean split allegiancesOctober 22, 2008 By TIM WALDORF twaldorf@scn1.com AURORA -- The Indian Prairie School Board has drawn the line. Now one board member wants to know if it can cross it. When Metea Valley High School opens next fall, many families will find their allegiances split, with a freshman or sophomore child attending the new school while a sibling who's an upperclassman stays at either Waubonsie Valley or Neuqua Valley high school. But board member Curt Bradshaw argued Monday that it doesn't have to be this way if families can present compelling cases for keeping their kids together. Bradshaw cited the example of a family that will have one freshman and two twin juniors in the district. The students, he said, would ultimately end up on two different schools' swim teams instead of being teammates. "They thought it would be a better situation for the family ... to next year have all of the family able to compete together and be at one school for 5 a.m. swim practice instead of two," Bradshaw said. But Deputy Superintendent Kathy Birkett said, "I don't know that we want to be in the business of picking and choosing who gets to stay with their older sibling and who does not." She recommended sticking to the board's policy regarding transfers, which states, "District 204 students will attend the high school designated for the attendance area in which they reside. Any request for an attendance area exception will be granted only under extraordinary circumstances ... " Bradshaw said he understands providing for exceptions to this policy creates a "slippery slope," but said he would still like to explore ways in which the district can be a bit more flexible. But board President Mark Metzger said the district can't afford to be flexible when it comes to matters of convenience. The board must recognize the litigious nature of the community it serves, he said. Birkett noted that a similar situation existed in 1997 when Neuqua Valley opened. Then, like now, a handful of parents request that their kids be kept together. "I could count on two hands the number of kids who really struggled with that transition once they were there, and it wasn't because they missed their siblings," she said. "It was typically because they missed a boyfriend or girlfriend."
|
|
|
Post by asmodeus on Oct 22, 2008 6:39:24 GMT -5
Nice to see he is clearly holding a grudge -- what a prick.
Furthermore, the slippery slope argument is extremely weak. Granting an exception for siblings who are currently enrolled (I don't think one would be given if a sibling already graduated, for example) is not unreasonable. And I think if a family were able to get the transfer under this exception, they should be responsible for transportation.
|
|
|
Post by warriorpride on Oct 22, 2008 6:59:03 GMT -5
Nice to see he is clearly holding a grudge -- what a prick. Furthermore, the slippery slope argument is extremely weak. Granting an exception for siblings who are currently enrolled (I don't think one would be given if a sibling already graduated, for example) is not unreasonable. And I think if a family were able to get the transfer under this exception, they should be responsible for transportation. What grudge? There were threats of lawsuits when the initial BB boundaries were finalized, and there was an actual lawsuit from good old nFUD. Seems like a statement of fact. I don't personally care if some kids are grandfathered in at NV or WV, but I can see how this could cause some administrative challenges for the Admin, as well as seriously opening a can of worms that will be difficult to close. For example, if a 9th grader that would otherwise have to be split from a sibling is allowed an exception, why shouldn't an 8th grader be allowed the same thing? And then why shouldn't the younger siblings of all of these 8th and 9th graders be allowed the same thing? If the SB/Admin (whoever wants to grant the "hardships") wants to approve these things one by one, that's fine, but the line at the door might get long, and this may just cause more bad feelings, due to perceived inequities. Do the swimmers get more sympathy because they practice in the AM? Most kids that I know that will split between WV and MV (including mine) will all be participcating in after school sports and activities. Dealing with the logistics of that will be just as hard.
|
|
|
Post by WeNeed3 on Oct 22, 2008 7:17:37 GMT -5
Good point, WP. I think the fact is that maybe way back when our district was smaller, something like this could have been done. I don't know how many potential families this would affect but like you said, the line at the door could get very long. We are one of the largest districts in the state. And the lawsuit thing is a fact. It's not about a certain area, its the fact that lawsuits could occur from anywhere in the district. If you give an exception to someone and then someone else is rejected, to me that is a lawsuit waiting to happen. How do you define what is a hardship and couldn't someone else argue their hardship is worse, yet the SB didn't grant them an exception?
IMO this split thing will be harder for the parents than the kids. I don't envy anyone that has to deal with two separate high schools as it isn't fun to have to deal with one in HS and one in MS either. But given how many in this district are already upset, I think granting an exception to certain people would make things worse. It would be another blow for those already feeling like they were ignored. I'm sure a lot of people wouldn't ask for the exception because their kids would not be able to ever play sports or their kids would want to be with their friends. Maybe it would pay the district to find out how many would want it and then decide if it would be too much work. I would think they would have to come up with certain criteria to determine what a hardship would be.
|
|
|
Post by gatormom on Oct 22, 2008 8:05:33 GMT -5
To be honest, I am trying to figure out why the mere mention of a (the) lawsuit proves that the district or M2 is carrying a grudge against anyone. The reality is the emotional nature of boundaries and the new school has led to one lawsuit already, fact.
Really it is getting a bit tiresome to hear how the district abuses, disrespects, or punishes a certain group of people because of the NSFOC lawsuit.
Truth is, the potential for lawsuits is a very good reason not to open that door even a crack. Make an exception for one and everyone else is going to want in.
|
|
|
Post by WeNeed3 on Oct 22, 2008 8:34:10 GMT -5
I think when you open this up to individual exceptions, there is even more chance of a lawsuit, IMO, from individual people who feel they were discriminated against.
BTW, can anyone clarify something for me? In the article, it talks about someone wanting an exception because of sports (ie: swimming). I thought I read that if you are granted a boundary change by the school, that doesn't mean your child would be able to play sports at that school due to an Illinois Athletic Rule. Can anyone clarify? Would parents really want their child to not be eligible to play just so all the siblings can be together?
|
|
|
Post by eb204 on Oct 22, 2008 8:46:52 GMT -5
Nice to see he is clearly holding a grudge -- what a prick. Furthermore, the slippery slope argument is extremely weak. Granting an exception for siblings who are currently enrolled (I don't think one would be given if a sibling already graduated, for example) is not unreasonable. And I think if a family were able to get the transfer under this exception, they should be responsible for transportation. Nice words....Sounds like something the neighorhood kids say. It's not a grudge, it's a lesson learned. Some people in this area are very quick to go to litigation or to threaten litigation that he's looking out for the interest of the ENTIRE district by not making exceptions for a few. But because of the hatred people have for MM, this is now seen as a grudge. How juvenile... Maybe this is another example of some entitlement (yes, I said it) that some people think they deserve. "We got screwed on the location of the school, so I deserve this". No, sorry, you don't. This would become a very slippery slope indeed.
|
|
|
Post by asmodeus on Oct 22, 2008 9:23:25 GMT -5
THERE IS NO SLIPPERY SLOPE. That is simply a scare tactic. I am talking about a very strict, limited exception. Why is it so hard to accept that people shouldn't have to be forced to have kids at different public high schools?
And I stand by my words about Metzger. He created this monster.
|
|