Carmel Clay Schools School Boundary Recommendations

Carmel Clay Schools School Boundary Recommendations

School Boundary Process 2013 Demographic Study Update 2015 College Wood Enrollment Forecast 2014-2015 Enrollment, Capacity, Demographic, Achievement Data Goals Report for 2014-15 Reviewed Archival Documents Conducted Interviews and Focus Groups Board of Education members, Administrators, Teachers, Support Staff, Students, Parents, and Community Leaders 136 Participants Identified and prioritized stakeholder considerations Analyzed enrollment projections and capacity data Developed Recommendations

Strategic Planning Process

Stakeholder Considerations Primary Considerations Over Capacity Geographic Proximity Secondary Considerations Feeder Alignment Long-Term Solution Additional Considerations Grandfathering Transition Process

Recommendations 1 & 2 Recommendation 1: Assign all students who attend Orchard Park Elementary School to attend Carmel Middle School. Orchard Park students currently attend Creekside Middle School. However, Carmel Middle School is the closest middle school for students in the boundary area. Parents of 8 th grade students will be permitted to choose to have their child remain at Creekside Middle School, with CCS transportation provided, for the 2015-2016 school year. Recommendation 2: Assign all students who attend Mohawk Trails Elementary to attend Clay Middle School. Mohawk Trails students are currently split between Clay Middle School and Carmel Middle School. Parents of 8 th grade students will be permitted to choose to have their child remain at Carmel Middle School, with CCS transportation provided, for the 2015-2016 school year.

Map of Recommendation 1 & 2

Previous Recommendation 3 Previous Recommendation 3: If necessary, assign strategically selected classrooms of students attending College Wood Elementary School to empty classrooms at West Clay Elementary School or Creekside Middle School, which are located on the same campus. While Creekside Middle School is currently over capacity, after recommendation one is implemented, Creekside will have space available. College Wood is over capacity, with 824 students enrolled during the 2014-2015 school year, and is projected to continue exceeding capacity through the 2019-2020 school year without boundary changes. If necessary, assigning select classrooms to empty West Clay or Creekside classrooms would allow College Wood students to maintain their status as College Wood students, keep peer groups together, and allow for consistency in bus routes, all while addressing over capacity concerns. This recommendation is particularly appropriate as the current enrollment experienced at College Wood is projected to decline beginning in the 2017-2018 school year, making a longer term strategy unnecessary.

Revised Recommendation 3 Revised Recommendation 3: Redistrict the 70 students currently attending College Wood Elementary School, living in the area indicated by the yellow border on the following slides, to Smoky Row Elementary School. At the same time, redistrict the 38 students currently attending Creekside Middle School, living in the same area, to Carmel Middle School. College Wood is over capacity, with 824 students enrolled during the 2014-2015 school year, and is projected to continue exceeding capacity through the 2019-2020 school year without boundary changes. The proposed redistricting will decrease the number of students at College Wood by approximately 70 students, reducing over capacity. Parents of 5 th grade students will be permitted to choose to have their child remain at College Wood Elementary School, with CCS transportation provided, for the 2015-2016 school year. In addition, parents of 8 th grade students will be permitted to choose to have their child remain at Creekside Middle School, with CCS transportation provided, for the 2015-2016 school year.

Map of Revised Recommendation 3

Detailed Map of Revised Recommendation 3

Additional Recommendation Recommendation 4: Transfer the 19 students living in the three apartment complexes in the Orchard Park boundary area currently going to Woodbrook and attending Creekside for middle school. In the event that Orchard Park is redistricted to Carmel Middle School, it is recommended that the district consider redistricting the abovementioned 19 students to attend Orchard Park Elementary School and then Carmel Middle School. Orchard Park has capacity for over 100 additional students. Parents of 5 th grade students will be permitted to choose to have their child remain at Woodbrook Elementary School, with CCS transportation provided, for the 2015-2016 school year.

Capacity and Enrollment Projections Without Redistricting Capacity 2014-2015 Actual Enrollment 2015-2016 Enrollment Projection 2019-2020 Enrollment Projection Carmel Elementary School 600 522 516 527 Cherry Tree Elementary School 800 747 739 690 College Wood Elementary School 775 824 849 858 Forest Dale Elementary School 835 670 666 642 Mohawk Trails Elementary School 700 538 518 469 Orchard Park Elementary School 850 674 673 687 Prairie Trace Elementary School 765 640 662 623 Smoky Row Elementary School 785 633 590 529 Towne Meadow Elementary School 742 699 687 627 West Clay Elementary School 765 724 716 695 Woodbrook Elementary School 695 528 545 589 Carmel Middle School 1,542 1,162 1,183 1,095 Clay Middle School 1,530 1,231 1,179 1,172 Creekside Middle School 1,588 1,578 1,616 1,623 TOTAL 12,972 11,170 11,139 10,826

Capacity and Enrollment Projections With Redistricting Capacity 2014-2015 Actual Enrollment 2015-2016 Enrollment Projection 2019-2020 Enrollment Projection Carmel Elementary School 600 522 516 527 Cherry Tree Elementary School 800 747 739 690 College Wood Elementary School 775 824 779 788 Forest Dale Elementary School 835 670 666 642 Mohawk Trails Elementary School 700 538 518 469 Orchard Park Elementary School 850 674 673 687 Prairie Trace Elementary School 765 640 662 623 Smoky Row Elementary School 785 633 660 599 Towne Meadow Elementary School 742 699 687 627 West Clay Elementary School 765 724 716 695 Woodbrook Elementary School 695 528 545 589 Carmel Middle School 1,542 1,162 1,415 1,327 Clay Middle School 1,530 1,231 1,319 1,312 Creekside Middle School 1,588 1,578 1,244 1,251 TOTAL 12,972 11,170 11,139 10,826

Social and Emotional Impact Stakeholders expressed the belief that sending all students from Mohawk Trails to a single middle school and preventing overcrowding would provide a high quality learning environment for students and support their social and emotional development. Academic literature and best practices also support keeping peer groups together, except in cases where doing so decreases the quality of the educational environment in other ways. Schiller (1999) found when transitioning between schools, attending the same school as peers supported the continuation of students positive academic trajectories. Kingery, Erdley, and Marshall (2011) found healthy peer relationships from elementary school served as a protective influence to support academic achievement and healthy mental health in the transition to middle school. Aikins, Bierman, and Parker (2005) observed a positive relationship between the maintenance of friendships from elementary school with both middle school adjustment and the quality of friendships post-transition. Crockett, Petersen, Graber, Schulenberg, and Ebata (1989) found frequent school changes had a negative effect on adolescence, particularly when changes occurred at a young age.

Conclusion Recommendations propose redistricting a maximum of 4% of District students. Proposed Boundary Changes Address current and projected over capacity Consider geographic proximity Minimize the effect of redistricting on an educational and social-emotional level Align feeder patterns from elementary to middle Allow grandfathering of 5 th and 8 th grade students affected for the 2015-16 school year