Board Workshop on Pupil Assignment

1. Board Workshop on Pupil Assignment St. Lucie County School District August 17, 2005

2. Introduction • The UNC Charlotte Urban Institute • Not-for-profit outreach unit of UNC Charlotte • Technology Services and Training • 18 years experience working with school planning issues

3. Roll/Philosophy • UNC Charlotte Urban Institute to facilitate, inform, recommend as an outside entity • Open, Community–Based Process • Use latest technology to provide information to citizens, staff and elected officials • Deal with difficult growth issues head-on • Work to incorporate latest research and thinking in recommendations

4. Our Charge (Tonight’s Agenda) • Summarize and analyze data • Create GIS system files for analysis of student population • Propose options for changes to the student assignment system for discussion in the community in the fall of 2005  • With feedback from the district and survey data also provided by SLCS,

5. Our Charge - Specifics • Develop options that are: • Modifications of current system • Complete revisions to that system • Show potential impacts to assist decision makers

6. Next Steps (After Tonight) • Detailed proposals will be developed as variations of the preferred approach based on the Board’s response to these data and proposals • Public involvement throughout process

7. Final Outcomes • Board makes decision on changes to pupil assignment plan • UNC Charlotte delivers GIS data files to St. Lucie County Schools to allow for creation of their own GIS analysis tools for future use

8. Summary and Analysis of Data

9. Process – Develop Planning Data • Integrate student data with GIS to create visualization and analysis tool • Data Collection Items Reviewed: • Recent survey data from parents • Staff Interviews on Student Assignment Process • St. Lucie County data for residential development • Fishkind and Associates Student projections

10. Parent Survey Summary • SLCS developed a 21 question public survey with multiple sources of input • Results were reviewed in June

11. Survey Results • Response rate • 7,243 paper survey responses • 1,126 internet survey responses • Over 1,900 written comments transcribed (23% of all surveys received had comments) • Total of 8,369 survey responses • Represents38.4% of parents

12. Summary of Survey Results • Parents want to continue to have choices for their children. • Parents want the ability to choose their neighborhood school and get it. • Parents want diversity in their schools. • Academics, location and reputation of school are decision factors.

13. Summary of Survey Results • Strong agreement with parents having choices, duplication of programs, fairness in assignment, siblings in same schools, stability of assignment and proximity preference regardless of other factors. • The biggest problem is long bus rides for children who don’t get their first choice.

14. Data on Growth • Consultant data on projections of student enrollment growth • County Residential Permits • Approved • Pending • Proposed

15. Percent Change in Total Students from 2005-2015 Fishkind Data 2005

16. Residential Growth

17. Growth Analysis Residential Growth by Current Choice Zone Source: SL County Planning

18. Residential Permit Analysis Map

19. Demographic Overview • Current Zone Profiles • North, South (Midway Road) Profiles • Fort Pierce Profile

20. Data Data was assembled from two independent sources (St Lucie County School System, student data and St Lucie County GIS Department, street centerlines). While efforts were made to reconcile differences, some errors may be included in the final dataset. The dataset was assembled to be a tool, which informs the school assignment process and provides a basis for public discussion and input. User discretion should be employed – especially when using for a small scale analysis. Point in time – May 2005.

21. Data • 34,116 students (‘04-’05 St Lucie County School Dataset) • 33,552 students “geocoded” or matched to the street map • 98.3% overall student locations geocoded Data analysis reflects those that were successfully geocoded.

22. Total Population Census 2000: 79% White, 15% African American, 13% Hispanic (of any race) St Lucie County Public School Demographic Profile Racial Socioeconomic

23. 9,839 Students 29% St Lucie County Students 6,945 Students 21% St Lucie County Students 16,768 Students 50% St Lucie County Students

24. 9,839 Students 29% St Lucie County Students 6,945 Students 21% St Lucie County Students 16,768 Students 50% St Lucie County Students

25. Description of Current Demographics • Unique development pattern resulting in high level of racial and economic diversity • Pattern of lower socioeconomics in Ft. Pierce • Expectation of less socioeconomic diversity in areas of new growth unless affordable housing is required

26. Current Choice Zones: Economic Composition Choice Zone 1 Choice Zone 3 Choice Zone 2

27. Summary of Current System • Current zone system divides lower SES population in Ft. Pierce area into three pieces • This helps create zones of more equal socioeconomics that has had many benefits • Creates long, narrow north/south lines that increase distances between many people and their assigned schools and cause long bus rides for many students • Complex pupil assignment system is difficult to understand and tends to be weighted to the advantage of longer term residents

28. Develop Proposals

29. Our Charge - Specifics • Develop options that are: • Modifications of current system • Complete revisions to that system • Show potential impacts to assist decision makers

30. What People Want • Everything • Choice • Neighborhood schools • Diversity • Short bus rides • Access to popular magnets • Seats in their closest school • Academically successful schools • Some “wants” • may mean different things to different people • may be in conflict with each other

31. Community Consensus • Requires an open, impartial process that involves public input and the understanding that there is not a right answer • Situation that naturally leads to tense public debate and a “minefield” for school and elected officials • The greater community must come together to agree on a solution that deals with the unique situation in St. Lucie County

32. How Other Districts Have Responded • Omaha, Nebraska • Use socioeconomic (FRL) factors rather than race, provided voluntary options designed to promote desired diversity • Prince George County, Maryland • Use neighborhood schools with magnets • Currently curtailing magnets

33. Experience of Other Districts • Austin, Texas • Use neighborhood model with voluntary options • Charlotte, NC • Combined district and sub-district magnet programs with transportation within zones (if seats are available) • Use public input process to help with determining new assignment zones

34. Florida Districts • Miami-Dade • Use Attendance Boundary Committees (ABC), in setting new lines • Very successful, but takes longer and involves more staff to get through process • Strong structured process that guides them through necessary steps • Palm Beach County • Use ABC since 1995 that serves in advisory capacity to Superintendent • Method involves coordinated planning and growth data, 5 year capital outlay plan, adequate public facilities review process • Guidelines are followed when making boundary changes

35. Florida Districts • Hillsborough County • Use ABC for last few years • Broward County • Employed magnet schools, starburst assignment, research and development schools, limited open enrollment assignments • Other Places – Offer guidance, but SLC has its own unique situation Hillsborough County Variables • ethnic diversity • socioeconomic diversity • student proximity • safety • growth • community issues • natural boundaries • existing feeder patterns • choice plan • exceptional student needs

36. SLCS Major Issues • Growth – PSL fastest growing town in US last year • This has been a catalyst for a range of issues • Capacity has become critical issue • Socioeconomics – Current systems of zones has helped balance socioeconomic profile of zones • Fort Pierce student population has lower income than rest of the district www.census.gov

37. SLCS Major Issues • Pupil Assignment process • Complex and unpopular with many parents • Seen as critical to others • Transportation – long rides and high costs, growth/congestion making things worse rapidly

38. How to Proceed 1. Decide Basic Approach 2. Develop Specific Scenarios

39. Advantages • Breaks issues down into more manageable pieces for the Board, public • Allows for difficult decisions to be taken in logical sequence that is better suited to an open process • Gives direction…. Needed for short timeline to do a good job

40. Process Requested • Develop options that are: • Modifications of current system • Complete revisions to that system • Show potential impacts to assist decision makers

41. Developing Approaches – Criteria Derived from Parent Survey • Choice – continuing to have choices • Close to home – getting school assignments closer to home • Stability – assignment stability • Bus rides – reduces bus rides • Diversity – promotes diversity in schools • Capacity – Works with school facilities/grade configurations

42. Developing Approaches • Reviewed • Data and current methods • Parent survey • Literature and methods used around the country and Florida • Examined a range of approaches at HS level • Used new GIS tool to develop preliminary idea of impacts • Rejected some based on negatives

43. Rejected Approaches • No Change • Growth pressures • High level of dissatisfaction with current system • Overlays (overlapping zones) • Added Complexity • Long bus rides could be longer • Transportation Zones • Not significantly different from current plan • Similar to other approaches considered • All Choice • Very high expense • Longer bus rides

44. 4 Approaches Examined More Closely Modifications and Complete Revisions Show Immediate Impact User Criteria to Review

45. Approach 1-Small Zone Modification • Small change

46. Assumptions • Capacity per zone and facility not addressed • High schools per zone assigned based on zone lines • Logical breaking points • Major roads • Canals • Current choice zones 1 and 2 change physical boundaries • Since some overlays are already done, students in all zones are impacted

47. HS Student Impact • Impact: • North Zone (1) • 2,090 HS students in new zone • 807 HS students impacted • West Zone (2) • 3,718 HS students in new zone • 343 HS students impacted • East Zone (3) • 2,601HS students in new zone • 947 HS students impacted • Estimated Impact- 2,100 HS students

48. Diversity

49. Benefits • Choice – continues to allow choice • Stability - least disruptive to assignment • Diversity - socioeconomic and numerical impact of zones

50. Issues • Close to home – more students will be further from home • Bus rides - longer • Capacity - facilities don’t match well with the change • Schools in north are overcrowded