Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SCES needs to be rezoned end of story and it will. The boundaries make zero aense and are inequitable.

What’s inequitable about it? Don’t know the boundaries.

It is one of the wealthiest schools in the immediate area. It directly borders a title 1 school (ESS) as well as two focus schools (Woodlin and highland view). French immersion definitely keeps farms down at SCES, but the disparity is greater than that. The border is also wonky in shape and not intuitive on its own. Tbh I don’t actually think there needs to be an ES in the current spot — kids who walk to SCES could mostly walk to ESS or HV.

First, Woodlin is not a Focus school. It's FARMS rate as compared to other Silver Spring schools has it only above Rock Creek Forest (which includes Spanish immersion) and below Pine Crest, Rosemary Hills, Piney Branch, and Takoma Park ES. Second, I've had kids in both the French Immersion and "academy" (neighborhood) program and it's absolutely true that the FI program brings the FARMS rate down considerably. Without FI the FARMS rate would likely be a bit higher than Woodlin's.

Not sure why else you think the boundaries make "zero sense" or are "inequitable" although it's true that on the easternmost edge of the catchment, ESS is slightly walkable. Oak View and Highland View are also sort of walkable from certain areas (if you consider a mile to be walkable) but that doesn't necessarily mean the boundaries are nonsensical. It means there are a lot of elementary-aged children concentrated in 20910 and environs. I don't think any of these schools are severely undercapacity.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SCES needs to be rezoned end of story and it will. The boundaries make zero aense and are inequitable.

What’s inequitable about it? Don’t know the boundaries.

It is one of the wealthiest schools in the immediate area. It directly borders a title 1 school (ESS) as well as two focus schools (Woodlin and highland view). French immersion definitely keeps farms down at SCES, but the disparity is greater than that. The border is also wonky in shape and not intuitive on its own. Tbh I don’t actually think there needs to be an ES in the current spot — kids who walk to SCES could mostly walk to ESS or HV.

First, Woodlin is not a Focus school. It's FARMS rate as compared to other Silver Spring schools has it only above Rock Creek Forest (which includes Spanish immersion) and below Pine Crest, Rosemary Hills, Piney Branch, and Takoma Park ES. Second, I've had kids in both the French Immersion and "academy" (neighborhood) program and it's absolutely true that the FI program brings the FARMS rate down considerably. Without FI the FARMS rate would likely be a bit higher than Woodlin's.

Not sure why else you think the boundaries make "zero sense" or are "inequitable" although it's true that on the easternmost edge of the catchment, ESS is slightly walkable. Oak View and Highland View are also sort of walkable from certain areas (if you consider a mile to be walkable) but that doesn't necessarily mean the boundaries are nonsensical. It means there are a lot of elementary-aged children concentrated in 20910 and environs. I don't think any of these schools are severely undercapacity.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SCES needs to be rezoned end of story and it will. The boundaries make zero aense and are inequitable.

What’s inequitable about it? Don’t know the boundaries.

It is one of the wealthiest schools in the immediate area. It directly borders a title 1 school (ESS) as well as two focus schools (Woodlin and highland view). French immersion definitely keeps farms down at SCES, but the disparity is greater than that. The border is also wonky in shape and not intuitive on its own. Tbh I don’t actually think there needs to be an ES in the current spot — kids who walk to SCES could mostly walk to ESS or HV.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SCES needs to be rezoned end of story and it will. The boundaries make zero aense and are inequitable.

I am against the proposals but I do agree with this. It’s a community so it’s sad, but the boundaries should change regardless.

SCES boundaries are a completely different conversation than the proposal to turn the school into a holding school. An elementary boundary study is coming, and likely many boundaries will change, including Sligo Creek's, which no one is arguing with.

What's at stake here is taking the only two schools in the urban core of Silver Spring and turning them into holding schools. That would mean every kid who walks to those schools now would take a bus, and every kid who comes to the site once it's a holding school would also arrive by bus. You are talking about adding 40+ busses per day to an already dense and congested area -- an area that the council and state have invested billions in with the new Purple Line to turn it into a walkable urban community. This is a short-sighted, urban planning nightmare.

I oppose the proposal. I think your argument is much stronger in the case of the middle school, since ESS in particular is so close to SCES but also HV….
Which neighborhoods specifically can walk to SCES but not one of those two?

I agree that the bigger loss for the community is the closure of SSIMS than the relocation of SCES. Losing an entire middle school and making Eastern 1,500 kids is a major loss for the east part of the county. No argument there.

When it comes to the elementary schools, I think MCPS needs to wait to do the boundary study before building a new SCES. Their own data says that the DCC will have 3,000 empty elementary school seats by 2031. Instead of dropping $70.5 million on a new SCES, why not use the boundary study to consolidate kids at existing elementary schools (many of which you point out are close to one another) and create a holding school that way?

And I think traffic congestion, safety, surrounding neighborhood, and access to public transit should all be taken into consideration when deciding which school should become a holding school. It simply does not make sense (and is downright dangerous) to add that many busses to downtown Silver Spring every day. This shouldn't be something MCPS is unilaterally allowed to do. I'm hoping the Council steps in to vote this down as 1) fiscally irresponsible and 2) in direct conflict with their own investments into smart growth.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One of the boundary maps has ESS split articulated, with the area closest to SCES/SSIMS going to SSIMS instead of TPMS. I think another has all or part of ESS going to Northwood instead of Blair. Unclear what will happen with the final round of boundary maps.

Yes definitely. I assume ESS will stay with TPMS if SSIMS is off the table, but….!

Anonymous wrote:One of the boundary maps has ESS split articulated, with the area closest to SCES/SSIMS going to SSIMS instead of TPMS. I think another has all or part of ESS going to Northwood instead of Blair. Unclear what will happen with the final round of boundary maps.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SCES needs to be rezoned end of story and it will. The boundaries make zero aense and are inequitable.

I am against the proposals but I do agree with this. It’s a community so it’s sad, but the boundaries should change regardless.

SCES boundaries are a completely different conversation than the proposal to turn the school into a holding school. An elementary boundary study is coming, and likely many boundaries will change, including Sligo Creek's, which no one is arguing with.

What's at stake here is taking the only two schools in the urban core of Silver Spring and turning them into holding schools. That would mean every kid who walks to those schools now would take a bus, and every kid who comes to the site once it's a holding school would also arrive by bus. You are talking about adding 40+ busses per day to an already dense and congested area -- an area that the council and state have invested billions in with the new Purple Line to turn it into a walkable urban community. This is a short-sighted, urban planning nightmare.

I oppose the proposal. I think your argument is much stronger in the case of the middle school, since ESS in particular is so close to SCES but also HV….
Which neighborhoods specifically can walk to SCES but not one of those two?

Assuming the final MS boundary maps look somewhat like the current ones, they can't send SCES kids to ESS without there being split articulation to MS and HS. ESS kids go to TPMS and then Blair; if the boundary maps pass, kids in the SCES area will be locked into going to Eastern or Sligo and then Northwood, regardless of whether their elementary school assignment changes.

(This is why it's dumb to do the MS/HS boundaries at a separate time than the ES boundary study, but that's a different issue...)

I totally agree with you but is MCPS actually “locked in” as you say or can they not reevaluate that aspect? Are there legal considerations?

They are 'locked in" if the boundary study is defined as an elementary school boundary study-- that would only change ES boundaries and the addressea assigned to each MS/HS could and would not change. But yes, they could decide to make it a "countywide elementary boundary study plus also changes to MS/HS assignments in DTSS even though we just changed them a year ago" study

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SCES needs to be rezoned end of story and it will. The boundaries make zero aense and are inequitable.

I am against the proposals but I do agree with this. It’s a community so it’s sad, but the boundaries should change regardless.

SCES boundaries are a completely different conversation than the proposal to turn the school into a holding school. An elementary boundary study is coming, and likely many boundaries will change, including Sligo Creek's, which no one is arguing with.

What's at stake here is taking the only two schools in the urban core of Silver Spring and turning them into holding schools. That would mean every kid who walks to those schools now would take a bus, and every kid who comes to the site once it's a holding school would also arrive by bus. You are talking about adding 40+ busses per day to an already dense and congested area -- an area that the council and state have invested billions in with the new Purple Line to turn it into a walkable urban community. This is a short-sighted, urban planning nightmare.

I oppose the proposal. I think your argument is much stronger in the case of the middle school, since ESS in particular is so close to SCES but also HV….
Which neighborhoods specifically can walk to SCES but not one of those two?

Assuming the final MS boundary maps look somewhat like the current ones, they can't send SCES kids to ESS without there being split articulation to MS and HS. ESS kids go to TPMS and then Blair; if the boundary maps pass, kids in the SCES area will be locked into going to Eastern or Sligo and then Northwood, regardless of whether their elementary school assignment changes.

(This is why it's dumb to do the MS/HS boundaries at a separate time than the ES boundary study, but that's a different issue...)

I totally agree with you but is MCPS actually “locked in” as you say or can they not reevaluate that aspect? Are there legal considerations?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SCES needs to be rezoned end of story and it will. The boundaries make zero aense and are inequitable.

I am against the proposals but I do agree with this. It’s a community so it’s sad, but the boundaries should change regardless.

SCES boundaries are a completely different conversation than the proposal to turn the school into a holding school. An elementary boundary study is coming, and likely many boundaries will change, including Sligo Creek's, which no one is arguing with.

What's at stake here is taking the only two schools in the urban core of Silver Spring and turning them into holding schools. That would mean every kid who walks to those schools now would take a bus, and every kid who comes to the site once it's a holding school would also arrive by bus. You are talking about adding 40+ busses per day to an already dense and congested area -- an area that the council and state have invested billions in with the new Purple Line to turn it into a walkable urban community. This is a short-sighted, urban planning nightmare.

I oppose the proposal. I think your argument is much stronger in the case of the middle school, since ESS in particular is so close to SCES but also HV….
Which neighborhoods specifically can walk to SCES but not one of those two?

Assuming the final MS boundary maps look somewhat like the current ones, they can't send SCES kids to ESS without there being split articulation to MS and HS. ESS kids go to TPMS and then Blair; if the boundary maps pass, kids in the SCES area will be locked into going to Eastern or Sligo and then Northwood, regardless of whether their elementary school assignment changes.

(This is why it's dumb to do the MS/HS boundaries at a separate time than the ES boundary study, but that's a different issue...)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SCES needs to be rezoned end of story and it will. The boundaries make zero aense and are inequitable.

I am against the proposals but I do agree with this. It’s a community so it’s sad, but the boundaries should change regardless.

SCES boundaries are a completely different conversation than the proposal to turn the school into a holding school. An elementary boundary study is coming, and likely many boundaries will change, including Sligo Creek's, which no one is arguing with.

What's at stake here is taking the only two schools in the urban core of Silver Spring and turning them into holding schools. That would mean every kid who walks to those schools now would take a bus, and every kid who comes to the site once it's a holding school would also arrive by bus. You are talking about adding 40+ busses per day to an already dense and congested area -- an area that the council and state have invested billions in with the new Purple Line to turn it into a walkable urban community. This is a short-sighted, urban planning nightmare.

I oppose the proposal. I think your argument is much stronger in the case of the middle school, since ESS in particular is so close to SCES but also HV….
Which neighborhoods specifically can walk to SCES but not one of those two?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SCES needs to be rezoned end of story and it will. The boundaries make zero aense and are inequitable.

I am against the proposals but I do agree with this. It’s a community so it’s sad, but the boundaries should change regardless.

SCES boundaries are a completely different conversation than the proposal to turn the school into a holding school. An elementary boundary study is coming, and likely many boundaries will change, including Sligo Creek's, which no one is arguing with.

What's at stake here is taking the only two schools in the urban core of Silver Spring and turning them into holding schools. That would mean every kid who walks to those schools now would take a bus, and every kid who comes to the site once it's a holding school would also arrive by bus. You are talking about adding 40+ busses per day to an already dense and congested area -- an area that the council and state have invested billions in with the new Purple Line to turn it into a walkable urban community. This is a short-sighted, urban planning nightmare.

I oppose the proposal. I think your argument is much stronger in the case of the middle school, since ESS in particular is so close to SCES but also HV….
Which neighborhoods specifically can walk to SCES but not one of those two?

I agree that the bigger loss for the community is the closure of SSIMS than the relocation of SCES. Losing an entire middle school and making Eastern 1,500 kids is a major loss for the east part of the county. No argument there.

When it comes to the elementary schools, I think MCPS needs to wait to do the boundary study before building a new SCES. Their own data says that the DCC will have 3,000 empty elementary school seats by 2031. Instead of dropping $70.5 million on a new SCES, why not use the boundary study to consolidate kids at existing elementary schools (many of which you point out are close to one another) and create a holding school that way?

And I think traffic congestion, safety, surrounding neighborhood, and access to public transit should all be taken into consideration when deciding which school should become a holding school. It simply does not make sense (and is downright dangerous) to add that many busses to downtown Silver Spring every day. This shouldn't be something MCPS is unilaterally allowed to do. I'm hoping the Council steps in to vote this down as 1) fiscally irresponsible and 2) in direct conflict with their own investments into smart growth.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SCES needs to be rezoned end of story and it will. The boundaries make zero aense and are inequitable.

I am against the proposals but I do agree with this. It’s a community so it’s sad, but the boundaries should change regardless.

SCES boundaries are a completely different conversation than the proposal to turn the school into a holding school. An elementary boundary study is coming, and likely many boundaries will change, including Sligo Creek's, which no one is arguing with.

What's at stake here is taking the only two schools in the urban core of Silver Spring and turning them into holding schools. That would mean every kid who walks to those schools now would take a bus, and every kid who comes to the site once it's a holding school would also arrive by bus. You are talking about adding 40+ busses per day to an already dense and congested area -- an area that the council and state have invested billions in with the new Purple Line to turn it into a walkable urban community. This is a short-sighted, urban planning nightmare.

I oppose the proposal. I think your argument is much stronger in the case of the middle school, since ESS in particular is so close to SCES but also HV….
Which neighborhoods specifically can walk to SCES but not one of those two?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SCES needs to be rezoned end of story and it will. The boundaries make zero aense and are inequitable.

I am against the proposals but I do agree with this. It’s a community so it’s sad, but the boundaries should change regardless.

SCES boundaries are a completely different conversation than the proposal to turn the school into a holding school. An elementary boundary study is coming, and likely many boundaries will change, including Sligo Creek's, which no one is arguing with.

What's at stake here is taking the only two schools in the urban core of Silver Spring and turning them into holding schools. That would mean every kid who walks to those schools now would take a bus, and every kid who comes to the site once it's a holding school would also arrive by bus. You are talking about adding 40+ busses per day to an already dense and congested area -- an area that the council and state have invested billions in with the new Purple Line to turn it into a walkable urban community. This is a short-sighted, urban planning nightmare.