School redistricting complaints growing
It's June 2. From gated community to grassroots equity group, complaints mount against first pass at W-JCC school redistricting...don't assume your taxes will be on time if you mail by deadline!
From a higher-income gated community to a grassroots group dedicated to equity and diversity in local schools, residents are starting to speak out against the planned redistricting at Williamsburg-James City County schools.
The homeowner’s association at Ford’s Colony -- a sprawling gated community that cuts across three of James City County’s five electoral districts – sent its 2,800 members an email Monday urging them to go to the next school board meeting June 16 to “stand up for the residents of Ford’s Colony and our kids.”
The Village Initiative, a nonprofit focused on racial equity and diversity in local schools, is also criticizing the first pass at proposed redistricting, saying it rolls back school integration and concentrates students with higher needs at certain schools.
Both groups are urging Williamsburg and James City County residents to fill out the schools’ online survey by June 7 to make their concerns known.
The organizers of the Ford’s Colony initiative protest that it will be the only neighborhood split between two elementary schools, eliminating walking and biking options for many students. They also noted that Lafayette High School would retain a higher proportion of high-needs students than Jamestown. And students who currently attend Hornsby Middle School would be split up among three high schools when they advance.
The group set up a website with school contact information and other links that it said would benefit all parents, not just those at Ford’s Colony.
The Village Initiative noted that economically disadvantaged students would comprise more than half of the student population at D. J. Montague, James River and Matthew Whaley elementary schools under the first proposal.
Jamestown High School’s mix would remain basically unchanged at 27% students of color and 22.4% economically disadvantaged, while Lafayette would go up slightly in students of color at 48.9 percent, and 29.7% economically disadvantaged students.
W-JCC School Superintendent Daniel Keever stressed at last month’s school board meeting these maps were not the final recommendations.
He said there would be a second round of maps in August, which the community could comment on, and perhaps a third draft in September before he makes a recommendation to the school board in October.
He told Williamsburg Watch that the steering committee working on redistricting tried not to change any given set of student groups by more than 10 percentage points.
“The draft map succeeds in all but three instances: Diversity at D.J. Montague: 47.6 to 59.1 (+11.5), Economically Disadvantaged at D.J. Montague: 39.2 to 51.3 (+12.1), and Economically Disadvantaged at James Blair: 31.8 to 42.3 (+10.5).”
“The School Board established six guiding principles to direct the redistricting process: utilization, demographics, neighborhood schools, transportation, minimize impact, and feeder patterns,” Keever said. “The principles can sometimes compete with one another. “
The Village Initiative said the schools that were getting larger percentages of disadvantaged students and those who speak English as a second language would have trouble attracting and retaining good teachers.
But Keever said staffing would follow students to ensure their needs are met.
The superintendent urged families and community members to fill out the school survey by June 7.
The redistricting was spurred by the planned opening of two Bright Beginnings preschools next fall, which would move 350 pre-kindergarten children currently housed at the elementary schools.
That change opens up classrooms at different schools and allows the school system to ease overcrowding at some facilities, ending the use of some portable classrooms.
Four of the division’s elementary schools---D.J. Montague, James River, Matthew Whaley, and Stonehouse---are near or above capacity.
The consultant overseeing the redistricting told recent town hall meetings with parents that a school should optimally be at 85% of its capacity.
The school system has been urging community feedback, holding three town halls in May after learning from its consultant last year that more than half of local residents were unaware of the project.
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