Bartlett to announce attendance zones
Principals asked for input on school lines
The new Bartlett City Schools system will unveil its 11 attendance zones Monday evening, a day before a public forum where parents can express their feelings about the boundaries.
Schools leaders are still adjusting the lines and want input from principals before posting the maps on the system’s website Monday. Because of the Good Friday holiday, the meeting with principals will not take place until Monday.
The town hall-style meeting regarding the boundaries is set for Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Bartlett Station Municipal Center. The plan is to have a presentation, plus larger versions of the maps. Those attending can make comments, and the district also will have an email address for comments from those unable to attend the Tuesday session.
“We’ve tweaked these and made changes,” Supt. David Stephen said. “We are trying to be as thoughtful as possible to bring two, three or four different options to the board to consider and to the community to look at.”
Attendance zone shifts can bring emotional reactions from parents worried about adjustment for their students. There already are substantial changes on the horizon as the sub- urb begins a new municipal school system. While changes in school policies and personnel have an impact, it becomes more personal if it affects your child. And Jeff Norris, chairman of the Bartlett City Board of Education, said as the number of students affected by changing schools increases, so does the potential for adverse reaction.
“This is the point where it becomes extremely important for any parent in Bartlett,” Norris said. “... If you move one child, odds are somebody is going to be upset.”
Some ideas about the zones were presented to the board in an initial proposal last month. There were options such as converting Shadowlawn Middle School to a ninth-grade academy if the suburb needed to relieve enrollment pressures at Bartlett High. If all of the estimated 2,800 high school age students inside the city decide to attend the high school “there’s no room in the inn,” Stephens said.
Other alternatives included considering K-6 or K-8 configurations or enrollment shifts for elemen- tary districts. Stephens was vague about specifics regarding the number of students impacted or whether the ninth-grade academy concept was still a consideration.
“We’re looking at all options, and we’re not leaving any off,” the superintendent said. “We’ve looked at K-8s, we’ve looked at K-6s, we’ve looked at seven, eight, nines, we’ve looked at academies. We’ve looked at all different things. I want to let the principals look at it and let them weigh in on it. Then I want to take it to the public and let them weigh in on it.”