HCPSS 2022 Feasibility Study Survey Presentation

Welcome

Hello, I am Scott Leopold with Cooperative Strategies. We were contracted by the Howard County Public School System to assist in the boundary review process associated with the opening of High School 13, which will open in the Fall of 2023. You may pause or rewind this video at any time to view the scenarios in detail or refer back to any of the data presented.

Introduction

At this point in the process, we are collecting feedback on a set of 4 boundary scenarios related to the opening of High School #13. These scenarios were developed as part of the HCPSS 2022 Feasibility Study. Each of the 4 scenarios are complete and independent packages and do not need to be combined.

All feedback will be reviewed and will help to inform the recommendation made by the Superintendent to the School Board in September 2022. It is possible that the Superintendent’s Recommendations will be one of these four scenarios or one of these scenarios with modifications based on community feedback.

There will be multiple public hearings in the fall to provide feedback on the Superintendent’s Recommendation.

To view the 2022 Feasibility Study report, please visit the HCPSS homepage and click on the redistricting banner which will be prominently displayed while this survey is open.

While there, you will also find a school locator to determine whether or not you are impacted by any of the 4 scenarios.

Policy Alignment

This chart provides a comparison of key metrics for each of the scenarios relative to policy considerations outlined in Policy 6010 – School Attendance Areas. Metrics that align more closely with policy considerations are shaded in blue, and metrics that align less closely are shaded in red.

Considerations in Policy 6010 are not weighted or prioritized and each of the scenarios aligns to different aspects of the policy in different ways.

Scenario A

We will quickly review the major themes of each of the four scenarios over the next several sides. We will spend a little more time orienting to the slide data on scenario A.

On the maps, the shaded background colors represent the proposed high school boundaries, and the thick purple lines represent the current high school boundaries.

Scenario A creates a boundary for high school 13 that extends toward the south and the west, directly relieving Hammond, Atholton, and Reservoir high schools.

The available capacity at Hammond High School is used to receive students from Oakland Mills High School, with Oakland Mills then receiving students from Long Reach High School.

This frees up capacity at Long Reach High School to receive students from Howard High School.

This reassigns approximately 2,800 projected high school students with less than 100 students reassigned at middle school.

This slide shows the Direct Certification percentage, which is the socio-economic indicator we are using in this process, and the projected enrollment and utilization numbers for each high school under Scenario A.

Also shown are the sending school, receiving school, planning unit numbers, and approximate number of students in each area proposed to be reassigned.

In the 2023-24 school year, high school utilization ranges from a low of 82 percent to a high of almost 118 percent. By the 2028-29 school year, high school utilization ranges from a low of almost 78 percent to a high of 126 percent. High School 13 would open with a Direct Certification percentage of 13.2.

Scenario B

Scenario B creates a boundary for high school 13 that extends from highway 32 all the way north to the county line, directly relieving Hammond, Oakland Mills, Long Reach, and Howard high schools. There is not enough capacity at high school 13 for ALL STUDENTS east of I-95 and north of 32 to attend High School 13, so an area does remain at Oakland Mills.

The available capacity at Hammond High School is used to receive students from Reservoir High School. Oakland Mills High School receives students from Hammond High School and Long Reach receives students from Oakland Mills High School. Additionally, Long Reach High School and Howard High School exchange some areas to align feeds. The available capacity at Howard High School is used to receive students from Mt. Hebron High School.

This reassigns approximately 3,100 projected high school students, with less than 100 middle school students effected.

In the 2023-24 school year, high school utilization ranges from a low of almost 83 percent to a high of 105 percent. This scenario does relieve Mt. Hebron where scenario A does not. This is because the High School 13 boundary goes towards the north. By the 2028-29 school year, high school utilization ranges from a low of almost 78 percent to a high of 112 percent. High School 13 would open with a Direct Certification percentage of 16.6.

Scenario C

Scenario C creates a boundary for High School 13 that aligns with the Thomas Viaduct Middle School boundary on the east side of I-95 and then extends west capturing the detached Atholton High School zone. This directly relieves Hammond, Atholton, Oakland Mills, and Long Reach high schools.

The available capacity at Hammond High School is used to receive students from Reservoir High School. Atholton High School receives students from Reservoir High School. Oakland Mills High School receives students from Hammond and Long Reach high schools.

The available capacity at Long Reach High School is used to receive some of the students from Howard High School.

This scenario reassigns approximately 2,800 projected high school students, with less than 100 students reassigned at middle school.

In the 2023-24 school year, high school utilization ranges from a low of almost 84 percent to a high of almost 119 percent. By the 2028-29 school year, high school utilization ranges from a low of almost 78 percent to a high of 126 percent. High School 13 would open with a Direct Certification percentage of 20.7.

Scenario D

Scenario D has a focus of minimal impact and avoids some of the areas reassigned in 2019. Scenario D creates a boundary for High School 13 that extends north to the county line in a non-contiguous manner, directly relieving Hammond, Long Reach, and Howard high schools.

The available capacity at Hammond High School is used to receive students from Reservoir High School.

Long Reach High School receives students from Howard High School. The available capacity at Howard High School is used to receive students from Mt. Hebron High School.

This scenario reassigns approximately 2,500 projected high school students, with less than 100 students reassigned at middle school.

In the 2023-24 school year, high school utilization ranges from a low of almost 91 percent to a high of 106 percent. This scenario provides the most relief for Mt. Hebron. By the 2028-29 school year, high school utilization ranges from a low of almost 78 percent to a high of almost 109 percent. High School 13 would open with a Direct Certification of 16.2 percent.

High School 13 – 4 Scenarios

For review, the maps on this slide show the proposed boundaries for High School 13 in each of the 4 scenarios. Feel free to pause to get a closer look or refer to the feasibility study documents.

Policy Alignment (Revisited)

Again, here is the policy alignment for each of the four scenarios, feel free to pause to get a closer look.

Thank You

Thank you for taking the time to view this presentation. For more detail, please refer to the Feasibility Study and supporting documents as well as the video from the HCPSS Board of Education meeting on June 9th where the Feasibility Study was presented to the Board. We look forward to your feedback.