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City’s Proposal to MDCPS

February 24, 2015

The City Of Coral Gables

What are We Here to Discuss?• The City’s proposal to the MDCPS to discontinue Controlled Choice, is intended to

• Reintroduce the neighborhood school concept• Increase public school enrollment • Improve the quality of our public schools

• The proposal includes boundaries and conditions based on feedback received from the community.

• The following schools would be effected if the City’s proposal is adopted “Controlled Choice” Schools:

- Coral Gables Preparatory Academy- George Washington Carver Elementary- Sunset Elementary (homeschool only; NOT the magnet program)

Henry S. West Laboratory School (“West Lab”)

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What is Controlled Choice?

History• Authorized (but not required) by State Law in 1996. • Was eliminated in recent years by the School Board at the 11 other

schools where it was used.• These 3 Coral Gables schools were the only remaining schools in the

County still subject to Controlled Choice.

How it works• Parents rank the three available schools as their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choices.• A lottery is used to assign students.• Preference is given for living near a school or for having a sibling in a

school.

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Controlled Choice Zone Map

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Coral Gables City Boundary

Miami-Dade School Board Former Controlled Choice Boundary

What Residents Had to Say About Controlled Choice

• Lack of certainty/last minute notice

• Traffic/inconvenience concerns

• Effect on home purchasing decisions

• Effect on sense of community5

What Prompted the City’s Proposal?

• Resident feedback received from • E-mails, letters and phone calls to elected officials • Sunshine Meeting Re: West Lab, held on 10/24• City’s Town Hall Meeting on Education, held on 1/14 (Meeting

was noticed through email blasts, E-news releases, an advertisement in the Miami Herald Neighbor’s Section, flyers at the Farmer’s Market, in the Youth Center and at City Hall, and by asking staff at the affected schools to pass on the information to parents and PTA members)

• Schoolboard’s Community Meetings Re: Controlled Choice, held on 1/27, 1/28 and 1/29

• Schoolboard’s Community Meetings Re: Proposed Boundaries 2/10 (5pm, 6:15pm, 7:30 pm)

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What Prompted the City’s Proposal? (cont’d)

• Concerns from the City Attorney’s Office regarding legal basis for controlled choice

• The City has recently been working with the School Board staff to encourage a change in the policy.

• In December, the School Board’s Attendance Boundary Committee (“ABC”) put these three schools on “targeted status.”

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The City’s Proposal

The City’s request to discontinue Controlled Choice includes six important

conditions.

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The City’s Proposal (cont’d)

1. All currently enrolled students have the right of being grandfathered into their current schools through graduation.

– For Coral Gables Preparatory, this means through 8th Grade.

– The currently enrolled students include those enrolled in Kindergarten or Pre-Kindergarten.

– The currently enrolled students shall remain in their current schools without requirement of any special form or permission.

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The City’s Proposal (cont’d)

2. The siblings of any currently enrolled students are guaranteed the ability to attend the same school that their sibling is currently attending.

– The currently enrolled student may be attending any grade, including Kindergarten or Pre-Kindergarten.

– A form may be required to identify the sibling relationship, but once established, matriculation at the school of the currently enrolled student may not be denied.

– For Coral Gables Preparatory, this means through 8th Grade.

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The City’s Proposal (cont’d)

3. The geographic preference for the Sunset Elementary Magnet Program (“Sunset Magnet”) remains the same. Currently, no less than 25% of the students and no more than 50% of the students come from the boundaries previously referred to as the Coral Gables Area Controlled Choice boundaries; this should remain unchanged as represented in several meetings by School Board staff.

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The City’s Proposal (cont’d)

4. The easternmost boundary for Carver Elementary should be moved east to Douglas Road/SW 37th Avenue, to include the Craft Section.

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Boundary Maps

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Schoolboard’s Boundary MapCity’s Boundary Map

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The City’s Proposal (cont’d)

5. Carver Elementary should become a mini magnet for foreign language; taking some of the pressure off top-performing Sunset and ensuring a neighborhood feeder for Carver Middle. Carver Elementary students deserve a school with an equally consistent performance.

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The City’s Proposal (cont’d)

6. West Lab should adopt a similar geographic preference as Sunset Magnet and other magnets in the district (ranging from 25% to 50%).

- Only 18% of the current enrollment at West Lab is made up of Coral Gables residents, and more than 250 Coral Gables families are on the waiting list.

- Coral Gables will support both a 25% geographic preference and a modest 10% “employment” preference at West Lab.

- Coral Gables encourages re-establishing the “teaching relationship” between West Lab and UM.

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Next Steps

Increasing accessibility to quality, neighborhood schools that offer a first-rate public education is of the upmost importance. Community participation is indispensable to this endeavor. Continue your participation by attending some of the following meetings-

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Thursday, February 26, 2015 at 9:30 a.m. School Board Administration Building1450 N.E. 2nd Avenue, AuditoriumMiami, Florida 33132

ABC reviews recommendations submitted by community/Region Offices.

Thursday, March 5, 2015 at 9:30 a.m. School Board Administration Building1450 N.E. 2nd Avenue, Conference Room 559Miami, Florida 33132

Diversity, Equity, and Excellence AdvisoryCommittee’s (DEEAC) scheduled meeting at which ABC boundary recommendations and alternate attendance boundary proposals are presented.

Wednesday, March 18, 2015 at 9:30 a.m. School Board Administration Building1450 N.E. 2nd Avenue, Conference Room 916Miami, Florida 33132

Region Superintendents present recommendations approved by the ABC to Superintendent of Schools, School Board Attorney, and appropriate staff.

Monday, March 30, 2015

Principals send written communication to affected communities and schedule community informational meetings to inform community of Superintendent’srecommendations and alternate attendance boundary proposals that affect their school.

Upcoming Meetings

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Wednesday, April 15, 2015 School Board Administration Building1450 N.E. 2nd Avenue, AuditoriumMiami, Florida 33132

9:00 a.m. School Board Conference SessionAttendance Zones 2015-2016 11:00 a.m. School Board Meeting - Initial Reading Attendance Zones 2015-2016

Thursday, May 7, 2015 at 9:30 a.m. School Board Administration Building1450 N.E. 2nd Avenue, Conference Room 559Miami, Florida 33132

Review of ABC Process

Wednesday, June 17, 2015 at 11:00 a.m. School Board Administration Building1450 N.E. 2nd Avenue, AuditoriumMiami, Florida 33132

School Board Meeting - Final Reading Attendance Zones 2015-2016

Upcoming Meetings