Reply to Couldn't you just build a strong proximity preference to get the advantages of choice sets?

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Reply to "Couldn't you just build a strong proximity preference to get the advantages of choice sets?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Let's not forget there is a rezoning going on as well. In the popular school neighborhood of Murch and Janney the school zone borders will change. This concerns a significant group of parents / families. These people are the among the closest to Murch or Janney respectively, like literally 2- 3 blocks away. Their newly assigned school would be Hearst, which is one mile away. Say goodbye to walkability

In the choice set their schools would be: Hearst (at 1 mile), Eaton (at 1.4 miles) and Oyster (at 2.7 miles)!!!! what on earth can this mean in terms of proximity, walkability, neighborhood preference??

Furthermore, these families are a stone's throw away from Deal as middle school. Because of the rezoning to Hearst at one block away, their middle school would be Hardy at 2.7 miles!!

What kind of urban planning disaster is this?[/quote]

[b]In which option is Hearst rezoned for Deal?  Eaton is, but not Hearst.[/b]

Also, I agree this is very upsetting for these families (and the schools whom these families are a part of) and, at least at Janney, the school is not currently overcrowded with the renovation that is happening and the DME paperwork acknowledged that.  That said, there are many, many houses within the Hearst boundary that are very close to Janney, walkable to Janney and much farther away to Hearst.  That is the nature of how the schools were placed.  They are in a cluster with houses moving outward from them.  The families in the middle are closer to all three than the families on the outer edges of the boundaries.  There is, however, no way to move the schools or assign the families farther away to Hearst without having those families pass Janney on their way to Hearst, which is even more ridiculous.  And those families moved to Hearst are no farther than many families within the boundaries.  Given that the DME states in its paperwork that it is trying to further walkability with the changes it needs to acknowledge that it is actually taking walkable homes within boundaries and making them unwalkable.

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Two out of the three proposals create a middle school lottery in which students of the rezoned Murch / Janney to Hearst block would be placed at Hardy or Deal. No guarantee it will be Deal, whereas these kids live 2 to 4 blocks from Deal!!
The choice set for this group for elementary will be Hearst,  Oyster or Eaton - again they now are at walkable, few blocks distance to their original schools.  The re zoning to a different school changes that whole dynamic, and it could have big consequences if especially the far-reaching reforms of the middle school feeder pattern also take place.
Yes, Murch is a crowded school, but it just got a major budget allocation from the city to renovate and upgrade. Improvements will be done next year already, and the big renovation is planned for 2016. That is not taking into account in these plans, just like the latest Janney renovation isn't either. And even despite its crowds, Murch is a very well- functioning and tight-knit school, and it shows again how important parental involvement is.
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