Trailers Needed at Oakhurst & Winnona Next Year Due to 3rd Grade Waiver Requests
Decatur Metro | | 10:14 amDuring the recent K-3 redistricting discussions, the City Schools of Decatur told parents of current-year 2nd graders, who would be moved to another elementary school under the final redistricting plan, that they would be able to request a “waiver” for the coming school year so their kids could complete their K-3 education at their current school.
According to Superintendent Phyllis Edwards’ note to the School Board for next week’s meeting, 25 parents requested waivers during the specified time-frame, which will require a trailer at both Oakhurst and Winnona Park Elementary Schools to accommodate enrollments in the 2011-2012 school year.
Here are the total enrollments at each of Decatur’s elementary schools next year, according to the Superintendent’s note…
- Clairemont – 316
- Oakhurst – 328
- Winnona Park – 320
- Glennwood – 226
Honoring those requests seems like the appropriate response since it’s just for one transition year.
That’s all fine, but I would expect that it will be the 3rd graders who will be housed in those trailers. It’s completely unfair to put younger kids in them b/c 3rd grader parents want transfers
In the last configuration rising 3rd grade parents were not considered for transfers back to their old schools. They were absolutely fine. Just the parents were anxious.
I’m totally fine with them CSD allowing transfers this time around and happy for the rising 3rd grade families. However, don’t burden younger kids with this. Remember we have a bunch of rising 2nd 1st graders whose parents would like them to stay at their home schools too. I’m happy to transfer for the greater good, but my kid is in a trailer this year already as a first grader. Putting him in a trailer for a second year in a row (and in a new school away from 90% of his friends) next year b/c of a special dispensation for kids lucky enough to be a few months older seems to be piling on.
My kid will be fine, but he will miss his friends and his old school just as much as the rising third grade kids will miss theirs.
Again – no problem with the transfers whatsoever. However, it is only fair that those creating the need for trailers be the ones who have to have kids in them.
The third graders are in the trailers at WP this year and have been for several years. I suspect WP will continue to put 3rd graders in the trailers for next year.
But that doesn’t mean they are honoring the requests, right? It just means enough requests were made to warrant trailers.
Oh, and I am assuming there will be no tuition students in these schools, too, right?
According to the Superintendent’s letter, there will be courtesy tuition students. No mention is made of tuition-paying students.
“25 rising 3rd grade families requested waivers within the specified timeframe. Adding the expected courtesy tuition (courtesy tuition registration occurs February) results in the following projections for the four K-3 schools:
Clairemont 316
Oakhurst 328
Winnona Park 320
Glennwood 226
These 3rd grade requests have resulted in the need for a trailer to stay at Oakhurst and a trailer to stay at Winnona Park.”
Note that the enrollment numbers you’ve given above are still just guesses. No one knows what the kindergarten class next year will really look like.
Last configuration most 3rd graders couldn’t transfer back
to their old school because it no longer existed. And some
Westchester third graders zoned to Clairemont got waivers to attend
Oakhurst. Agree that trailers are best for third graders.
Does this mean the waivers were approved?