FAQS: Plan Philosophy

How do you plan to accommodate growth in "stable feeder patterns"?

The controlled choice process handles population growth better than a "base" assignment plan because once a school is full, families moving into a particular part of the county can be offered seats at nearby schools which are not full, thereby eliminating the need to reassign students.

Are the “nodes” going away in this plan?

Nodes will still be used indirectly in this plan in two main ways: 1) to create transportation routes, and 2) to create the choice lists so that everyone in the same node has the same list of schools from which to select in the choice process.

The plan seems to prioritize proximity, choice, and stability over achievement. How does this plan prevent low-achieving schools in high poverty neighborhoods?

The plan has two central mechanisms in place to avoid the clustering of large numbers of low-performing students in a single school: (1) the locations of magnet programs and their seat allocations, and (2) a selection priority for students from historically low-performing neighborhoods who select regional school choices, which include schools with a history of high student achievement growth. However, since the plan is largely driven by the choices that families make, the composition of individual schools will depend to some degree on how those choices are made.

What is the greatest % or number of free and reduced population per school? Is there a maximum?

The plan currently has no thresholds regarding the demographic composition of any school.

How will you know the degree of diversity a school will offer on the front end of your decision making process?

Since the composition of students will depend to a large degree on how families choose, the degree of diversity will not be known until those choices are processed. Once students are seated for the upcoming school year, then information as to the composition of the schools will be known. Since the choice process will largely take place at the Kindergarten level, the degree of diversity in each school will not change appreciably in the first year, assuming most current WCPSS students remain in their current schools as the simulation study would suggest.

How does the proposed plan address academic achievement?

The two main mechanisms in the plan that address student achievement are (a) the maintenance of the magnet program to help prevent concentrations of low-performing students and (b) to provide students from historically lower-performing areas of the county access to high-performing schools.

What does the plan do with low-achieving or under-chosen schools?

The plan envisions a multi-tiered response to low-achieving and/or under-chosen schools. The addition of Global/STEM network programs, possible new magnet programs, and incentive pay structures such as the Renaissance Schools model, all of which currently operate in the county, represent some of the possible responses to this kind of situation.

In terms of stability, does this mean reassignment won't need to be done every 2 or 3 years?

One of the great benefits of a controlled choice plan like this one is that there is no need for mandatory reassignment. Once a student enters a school, they remain in that feeder pattern until graduation unless they choose to change schools. The need for reassignments in the past was a result of using a "base" assignment plan where a particular address ensured families a seat at a specific school even if it was already overcrowded.

What will happen if a school becomes over chosen in the choice selection process? Will it just become overcrowded?

Capacity limits will be defined for each school based on their available seats by grade level. During the choice selection process schools will not accept students beyond their defined capacity limit.

It seems like there is no choice for kids in grades 1-12. Only kindergarteners will be given a choice. Is that true?

The initial rollout of the plan will involve kindergarten students most heavily in the choice process. However, students at other grade levels will also be able to participate if they so choose, based on the availability of seats.

When a parent ranks the schools what will be the primary factor used in assignment?

If there are sufficient seats available at every school for those parents who ask for a seat in the school during the choice selection process, then all students will be seated. In the event that there are more families requesting seats at a school than the school can accommodate, a set of selection priorities will determine the assignments for that school. See the document at http://proposal-archive.wcpss.net/downloads/board-work-session-briefing-101811.pdf for the list of those selection priorities.