Woodward and Crown boundary timeline talk at BOE

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There was a preliminary discussion at the BOE meeting today about planning for the upcoming boundary studies relating to the opening of new Woodward and Crown high schools, and the significant expansions at Northwood and Damascus. They presented two possible timelines for when all three studies could happen.

The scope for the Woodward study could be determined soon, in February/March 2023, with the board's final boundary decisions coming in March 2025. Or, the scope could be determined later, in February/March 2024, with the final decision in November 2025. The school is set to open in August 2026. (The scope would include things like which schools/clusters would be looked at, whether only high schools or also middle schools, etc.)

The Crown study would be one year later in both scenarios, so Feb/Mar 2024 through March 2026, or Feb/Mar 2025 through November 2026, with an August 2027 opening.

The Damascus study would be February/March 2024 through November 2025, with an August 2026 opening.


They also showed a color-coded map of all the clusters currently connected to these projects, consistent with the CIP:
The Damascus project: the Damascus and Clarksburg clusters.
The Crown project: the Northwest, Quince Orchard, Wootton, Richard Montgomery, and Gaithersburg clusters.
The Woodward and Northwood projects: the Walter Johnson, Wheaton, Einstein, Northwood, Kennedy, and Blair clusters.

But they did make the point that in the process of determining the study scopes, they could end up different than the above. And board members also asked about the feasibility of combining all 13 clusters into one mammoth study. No real discussion of if or how that would work. They said they did not know yet how either of the new schools would be populated, with one, two, or three grades starting there the first year.

Here is the map they showed:




and the chart with the sooner options (top) vs. later (bottom):

As the PP stated a big part of BCC's northern boundary is much closer to Einstein. It's also adjacent to WJ. Looking at this I find it hard to believe BCC is not part of this issue.

As the PP stated above, until all the high schools are torn down and rebuilt at the geographic center of each cluster, there will always be some kids who live closer to a HS in an adjacent cluster.

The town kids get special privileges.

Yes, if you live in an incorporated town in MoCo, your kids do tend to stay together. There's a wide variety of them in the county; feel free to move into one if you like.

I don't think anyone is saying towns should be split up. It's fine for all of the Town of Kensington's residents to be assigned to one school, if in fact there is such an "arrangement" with MCPS. But how did it happen that the whole town was assigned to Walter Johnson and not to Einstein? Has there ever been a time since Einstein opened in 1962 that TOK was assigned there?

It seems divided into WJ, BCC and Einstein. It's all closer to Einstein, but that's so crowded not like there are a lot of options.

The areas assigned to BCC and Einstein are not within the town limits. Parkwood is not within the town limits either, but it is also assigned to WJ.

Sounds like your trying to justify the obvious gerrymandering that went on there.

Having school zones follow existing municipal boundaries would be the opposite of gerrymandering.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There was a preliminary discussion at the BOE meeting today about planning for the upcoming boundary studies relating to the opening of new Woodward and Crown high schools, and the significant expansions at Northwood and Damascus. They presented two possible timelines for when all three studies could happen.

The scope for the Woodward study could be determined soon, in February/March 2023, with the board's final boundary decisions coming in March 2025. Or, the scope could be determined later, in February/March 2024, with the final decision in November 2025. The school is set to open in August 2026. (The scope would include things like which schools/clusters would be looked at, whether only high schools or also middle schools, etc.)

The Crown study would be one year later in both scenarios, so Feb/Mar 2024 through March 2026, or Feb/Mar 2025 through November 2026, with an August 2027 opening.

The Damascus study would be February/March 2024 through November 2025, with an August 2026 opening.


They also showed a color-coded map of all the clusters currently connected to these projects, consistent with the CIP:
The Damascus project: the Damascus and Clarksburg clusters.
The Crown project: the Northwest, Quince Orchard, Wootton, Richard Montgomery, and Gaithersburg clusters.
The Woodward and Northwood projects: the Walter Johnson, Wheaton, Einstein, Northwood, Kennedy, and Blair clusters.

But they did make the point that in the process of determining the study scopes, they could end up different than the above. And board members also asked about the feasibility of combining all 13 clusters into one mammoth study. No real discussion of if or how that would work. They said they did not know yet how either of the new schools would be populated, with one, two, or three grades starting there the first year.

Here is the map they showed:




and the chart with the sooner options (top) vs. later (bottom):

As the PP stated a big part of BCC's northern boundary is much closer to Einstein. It's also adjacent to WJ. Looking at this I find it hard to believe BCC is not part of this issue.

As the PP stated above, until all the high schools are torn down and rebuilt at the geographic center of each cluster, there will always be some kids who live closer to a HS in an adjacent cluster.

The town kids get special privileges.

Yes, if you live in an incorporated town in MoCo, your kids do tend to stay together. There's a wide variety of them in the county; feel free to move into one if you like.

I don't think anyone is saying towns should be split up. It's fine for all of the Town of Kensington's residents to be assigned to one school, if in fact there is such an "arrangement" with MCPS. But how did it happen that the whole town was assigned to Walter Johnson and not to Einstein? Has there ever been a time since Einstein opened in 1962 that TOK was assigned there?

It seems divided into WJ, BCC and Einstein. It's all closer to Einstein, but that's so crowded not like there are a lot of options.

The areas assigned to BCC and Einstein are not within the town limits. Parkwood is not within the town limits either, but it is also assigned to WJ.

Sounds like your trying to justify the obvious gerrymandering that went on there.

Having school zones follow existing municipal boundaries would be the opposite of gerrymandering.

DP - when those homes within a given municipal boundary are deliberately assigned to a wealthier school than the one to which they're walking distance, as with ToK and Einstein, it's really not ideal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There was a preliminary discussion at the BOE meeting today about planning for the upcoming boundary studies relating to the opening of new Woodward and Crown high schools, and the significant expansions at Northwood and Damascus. They presented two possible timelines for when all three studies could happen.

The scope for the Woodward study could be determined soon, in February/March 2023, with the board's final boundary decisions coming in March 2025. Or, the scope could be determined later, in February/March 2024, with the final decision in November 2025. The school is set to open in August 2026. (The scope would include things like which schools/clusters would be looked at, whether only high schools or also middle schools, etc.)

The Crown study would be one year later in both scenarios, so Feb/Mar 2024 through March 2026, or Feb/Mar 2025 through November 2026, with an August 2027 opening.

The Damascus study would be February/March 2024 through November 2025, with an August 2026 opening.


They also showed a color-coded map of all the clusters currently connected to these projects, consistent with the CIP:
The Damascus project: the Damascus and Clarksburg clusters.
The Crown project: the Northwest, Quince Orchard, Wootton, Richard Montgomery, and Gaithersburg clusters.
The Woodward and Northwood projects: the Walter Johnson, Wheaton, Einstein, Northwood, Kennedy, and Blair clusters.

But they did make the point that in the process of determining the study scopes, they could end up different than the above. And board members also asked about the feasibility of combining all 13 clusters into one mammoth study. No real discussion of if or how that would work. They said they did not know yet how either of the new schools would be populated, with one, two, or three grades starting there the first year.

Here is the map they showed:




and the chart with the sooner options (top) vs. later (bottom):

As the PP stated a big part of BCC's northern boundary is much closer to Einstein. It's also adjacent to WJ. Looking at this I find it hard to believe BCC is not part of this issue.

As the PP stated above, until all the high schools are torn down and rebuilt at the geographic center of each cluster, there will always be some kids who live closer to a HS in an adjacent cluster.

The town kids get special privileges.

Yes, if you live in an incorporated town in MoCo, your kids do tend to stay together. There's a wide variety of them in the county; feel free to move into one if you like.

I don't think anyone is saying towns should be split up. It's fine for all of the Town of Kensington's residents to be assigned to one school, if in fact there is such an "arrangement" with MCPS. But how did it happen that the whole town was assigned to Walter Johnson and not to Einstein? Has there ever been a time since Einstein opened in 1962 that TOK was assigned there?

It seems divided into WJ, BCC and Einstein. It's all closer to Einstein, but that's so crowded not like there are a lot of options.

The areas assigned to BCC and Einstein are not within the town limits. Parkwood is not within the town limits either, but it is also assigned to WJ.

Sounds like your trying to justify the obvious gerrymandering that went on there.

Having school zones follow existing municipal boundaries would be the opposite of gerrymandering.

DP - when those homes within a given municipal boundary are deliberately assigned to a wealthier school than the one to which they're walking distance, as with ToK and Einstein, it's really not ideal.

I agree it's not ideal. But have you seen any evidence that they were "deliberately assigned to a wealthier school"? I found a Post article from 1978 indicating that WJ's enrollment was declining at the time and students from Kensington were assigned there to keep it from closing.

Should all of these boundary lines be reconsidered when Woodward is populated? Absolutely. But, they already need to rezone hundreds of students out of Einstein just to resolve the overcrowding; they would need to rezone many more if Kensington students were also to be reassigned there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There was a preliminary discussion at the BOE meeting today about planning for the upcoming boundary studies relating to the opening of new Woodward and Crown high schools, and the significant expansions at Northwood and Damascus. They presented two possible timelines for when all three studies could happen.

The scope for the Woodward study could be determined soon, in February/March 2023, with the board's final boundary decisions coming in March 2025. Or, the scope could be determined later, in February/March 2024, with the final decision in November 2025. The school is set to open in August 2026. (The scope would include things like which schools/clusters would be looked at, whether only high schools or also middle schools, etc.)

The Crown study would be one year later in both scenarios, so Feb/Mar 2024 through March 2026, or Feb/Mar 2025 through November 2026, with an August 2027 opening.

The Damascus study would be February/March 2024 through November 2025, with an August 2026 opening.


They also showed a color-coded map of all the clusters currently connected to these projects, consistent with the CIP:
The Damascus project: the Damascus and Clarksburg clusters.
The Crown project: the Northwest, Quince Orchard, Wootton, Richard Montgomery, and Gaithersburg clusters.
The Woodward and Northwood projects: the Walter Johnson, Wheaton, Einstein, Northwood, Kennedy, and Blair clusters.

But they did make the point that in the process of determining the study scopes, they could end up different than the above. And board members also asked about the feasibility of combining all 13 clusters into one mammoth study. No real discussion of if or how that would work. They said they did not know yet how either of the new schools would be populated, with one, two, or three grades starting there the first year.

Here is the map they showed:




and the chart with the sooner options (top) vs. later (bottom):

As the PP stated a big part of BCC's northern boundary is much closer to Einstein. It's also adjacent to WJ. Looking at this I find it hard to believe BCC is not part of this issue.

As the PP stated above, until all the high schools are torn down and rebuilt at the geographic center of each cluster, there will always be some kids who live closer to a HS in an adjacent cluster.

The town kids get special privileges.

Yes, if you live in an incorporated town in MoCo, your kids do tend to stay together. There's a wide variety of them in the county; feel free to move into one if you like.

I don't think anyone is saying towns should be split up. It's fine for all of the Town of Kensington's residents to be assigned to one school, if in fact there is such an "arrangement" with MCPS. But how did it happen that the whole town was assigned to Walter Johnson and not to Einstein? Has there ever been a time since Einstein opened in 1962 that TOK was assigned there?

It seems divided into WJ, BCC and Einstein. It's all closer to Einstein, but that's so crowded not like there are a lot of options.

The areas assigned to BCC and Einstein are not within the town limits. Parkwood is not within the town limits either, but it is also assigned to WJ.

Sounds like your trying to justify the obvious gerrymandering that went on there.

Having school zones follow existing municipal boundaries would be the opposite of gerrymandering.

DP - when those homes within a given municipal boundary are deliberately assigned to a wealthier school than the one to which they're walking distance, as with ToK and Einstein, it's really not ideal.

I agree it's not ideal. But have you seen any evidence that they were "deliberately assigned to a wealthier school"? I found a Post article from 1978 indicating that WJ's enrollment was declining at the time and students from Kensington were assigned there to keep it from closing.

Should all of these boundary lines be reconsidered when Woodward is populated? Absolutely. But, they already need to rezone hundreds of students out of Einstein just to resolve the overcrowding; they would need to rezone many more if Kensington students were also to be reassigned there.

That's fair. The issues I have with ToK - full disclosure, as someone who lives on the other side of that boundary - is how indignant they are when anyone points out their proximity to Einstein and wonders why they go to WJ. "But my property values!" Cry me a river.

Yes, it's unlikely ToK would be split up or even would go to Einstein. Woodward is more likely - and oh, the irony when some DCC elementaries are zoned there.

[Anonymous]

Town of Kensington will not get rezoned to Einstein. There is less than zero space. Kids will be moved westward, not eastward. Much more likely part of Einstein gets rezoned to Woodward. Possibly Kensington, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

There will always be children in-bounds for one cluster who live closer to the other. We're in Bethesda between the WJ and BCC cluster, and DD's middle school, Westland (BCC), is actually further away than North Bethesda MS (WJ).


The BCC parent posting on here should stop whining, because BCC high school is NOT overcrowded and not projected to be anytime soon. Now if they're complaining about academics at BCC - yes, it's not as great as WJ or WW, but what can you do.
It's the IB status that messes everything up in that cluster.

why does that mess it up?