[RP TownTalk] PGCPS Boundary Panel - New Hyattsville Area Elementary School

[Bart Lawrence]

The Prince George's County Public School System's Office of Pupil Accounting and Student Boundaries (OPASB) has convened a Boundary Panel to help inform the boundary setting process for the new Hyattsville-area elementary school, which will be located on Editors Park Drive (near the 410 Giant) and is expected to have a capacity of 792 students. In addition to OPASB staff, the panel is made up of the principals and two school community members from six schools adjacent to the new school: Hyattsville Elementary, University Park Elementary, Carole Highlands Elementary, Cesar Chavez Elementary, Rosa L Parks Elementary, and Lewisdale Elementary. The boundaries of some if not all of these six school will be affected by the new school's boundary. The Panel has been asked to solicit community input to help inform the process. With that in mind, please find the following notes from the Panel's first meeting. There will be two meetings in April. I believe the first of these meetings will primarily be an information-sharing session, with the second meeting moving into the recommendation phase. These meetings will be followed by two more meetings in May. The Panel meetings are not open to the public, but you can share your thoughts with your school's representatives. I don't know the names of all the panelists, so the best place to start might be your school's principal. OPASB also said there might be a public forum on the matter.This issue will be the primary item on the Hyattsville Elementary School PTA's next meeting agenda (scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on April 9 at 5311 43rd Ave.).Hope this helps.Bart LawrenceHyattsville, MD 

Notes—New Hyattsville Area Boundary Panel Meeting—March
11, 2013

3 PGCPS staff members and 7 school staff/parents were in
attendance. 

The purpose of this meeting was to provide (1) meeting
logistics, (2) background Information concerning the new Hyattsville Area
School boundary process, (3) charge for the team, and (4) next steps.

The principal and two others were invited from six schools
adjacent to the new school: Hyattsville Elementary, UP Elementary, Carole
Highlands Elementary, Cesar Chavez Elementary, Rosa L Parks Elementary, and
Lewisdale Elementary.

PGCPS expects panel members to be spokespeople for the
community, solicit ideas/opinions, and make recommendations. It is likely there
will be one Public Hearing.

The recommendation/findings of the Panel are not binding (i.e.,
PGCPS does not need to act on them).

Factors that weigh in PGCPS boundary decisions: finances,
walkability, neighborhood cohesion, ability to accommodate pre-K (they lean
toward neighborhood schools).

A school attendance area is broken down into street
segments/numbers and organized into “blocks.”

Panel members requested information on past and projected
enrollment of area schools. PGCPS directed Panel members to the “Educational
Facility Master Plan” and the data downloads at MDreportcard.org. In a
follow-up e-mail, I requested census data of the potentially affected areas. 

It’s unlikely that the new school will be a TAG center.
Questions about curriculum remain. 

PGCPS made an interesting point about the K-8 structure.
Though this might be the ideal grade structure in certain circumstances, it
poses limitations in many of the PGCPS settings. In the same building, a 6-8
structure might see 6 classes in each grade. The same building with a K-8
structure might see 3 classrooms per grade, thereby limiting offerings.

The panel is scheduled to meet twice in April and Twice in
May.

 		 	   		  
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