Message from the Superintendent: Proposed Attendance Area Adjustment Plan

September 1st, 2022

The following was included in a message from HCPSS Superintendent Dr. Michael Martirano on Sept. 1, 2022. Additional information, including the Superintendent’s recommendation can be found online.

The process to establish an attendance area for High School #13 began in January with the scope approved by the Board. Please note that we are limiting redistricting to just the reassignments necessary to open the new high school and related adjustments to balance capacity utilization and feeds. My recommendation to the Board relies on the expertise of staff and the consultants from Cooperative Strategies, as well as significant input and feedback by stakeholders over the last several months.

Beginning in the spring, we held Community Input Workshops to receive public input and for those unable to attend, a video with the content from the workshop was provided online in English and Spanish. An online survey, which was also translated into Spanish, was provided as well. This survey generated over 3,000 responses.

In June, the 2022 Feasibility Study presented four redistricting options and another survey was distributed to receive feedback from residents. Additionally, there were three in-person community feedback sessions and 24 one-hour virtual sessions offered for stakeholders to provide their feedback. An in-person session was also offered in Spanish. In total, over 2,000 stakeholders completed the survey and over 200 stakeholders attended the sessions.

The Board will now begin its deliberation of my proposed redistricting plan. Part of this process includes a series of public hearings and work sessions as well as opportunities for residents to provide feedback online or through the mail. Families who will be impacted by the recommended scenario will receive an additional message next week and we will continue to communicate information related to my proposal and the Board’s efforts to the community in both English and Spanish, and work with staff in the Office of Multilingual Family Services and our Multilingual Achievement Liaisons to reach the non-English speakers impacted by the recommendation.

The Board is scheduled to adopt an attendance area plan in mid-November. Following the final decision, we will begin the process of supporting students and families who will be transitioning to a new school in the 2023-2024 school year. The receiving schools will send teams of staff members and students to the sending schools to hold orientations for students and parents and answer questions. In addition, teachers at the sending and receiving schools will also hold articulation meetings with students to discuss instruction, goals, and individualized student needs. Our student services team is also prepared to provide additional support to families and students as necessary throughout this process to ensure each student is prepared for the transition to a new school.

I encourage all stakeholders to remain informed and engaged throughout the next two and a half months of this process. Please note that as they deliberate on my proposal, the Board of Education could consider and make decisions that impact families not included in this original recommendation. We will continue to communicate frequently with the entire community to provide updates and information as the process progresses. Included below are ways to provide testimony and the dates of upcoming public hearing and public work sessions.