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West Linn-Wilsonville Boundary Adjustment Process FAQ’s

Updated December 19, 2011

1.      Why is West Linn – Wilsonville School District building new schools now?

By continuing to build and open the new schools, the district is fulfilling the community’s request through the passage of a building bond measure to relieve overcrowding in schools and to provide adequate space for future growth. The construction of new schools is funded through a voter-approved construction bond passed in 2008. By law, bond funds can only be used for new construction or renovations.

2.      What will be the grade configuration of the new schools?
 
Our current K-5, 6-8, 9-12 models have guided the education program for the district since the 1980s.  All design, construction, planning, and programming for the new schools has been for K-5 primary schools.  The construction of the new schools emerges from a broad community process which included a continuous long range plan, community summits, and school Board deliberation and decision making.  The educational specifications and design of the new schools was informed by the district educational program and a design team including community, district staff, students, architects, and consultants which worked through a three year planning process.  A proposal to reconfigure grades in Wilsonville schools was heard at the December 14th community meeting and has been referred to District staff and the Board for consideration. 
 

3.      Will my child be able to stay at his/her current school once the boundaries have been finalized?

The district currently has a transfer process between schools within the district which will not change as a result of the boundary adjustment process. Currently students are able to attend any school in the district they wish through a transfer process. There are two important aspects to this process. The first is that transportation is not provided. The second is that there needs to be space in the grade level requested in the transfer. This process will continue in the coming year.

4.      Can I attend one of the new schools if I live outside its attendance area?

Yes. The response to question 3 applies to this situation as well.

5.      Can my 4thgrader stay at their current school for their 5thgrade year?

The district will accommodate 5thgraders who want to stay at the school they have been for their primary school years. It is important to note that the district will be unable to provide transportation in these cases.

6.      Will there be all-day Kindergarten at every school?

The district will continue to offer both all-day and half-day kindergarten programs for the coming year. We will have tuition-based full day kindergarten options at each school in 2012-2013.

7.      Where should I register my kindergartner for the 2012-13 school year?

Families will be asked to register their child at their current school. This will help the district to determine numbers for the next school year.

8.      How will the new schools be staffed?

We will not be in a position to hire new staff for the new schools; we will be shifting current staff as we shift students. In January staff will be made aware of the opportunity to transfer to one of the new schools. We will first look at the number of students expected at each grade level in each school and the staff who are interested in launching these new school communities. We will select staff in a way that provides for optimal instructional support at all nine of our primary schools. 

9.      How will middle school boundaries be impacted?

There has been thought and interest in aligning primary schools with middle schools (as is the case with Wood Middle School). The location of Athey Creek and Rosemont relative to where most of our students live makes this more complex in West Linn. As primary school attendance area boundaries are shifted, realignment of middle school boundaries will be considered, but it is very possible that middle school boundaries may remain as they are. Of course the district transfer policies apply to middle schools as well.

District staff and long-range planners are also looking seriously at numbers of students at Wood Middle School and considering short term and long term strategies to address increasing enrollment at that school.

10.  What will be the impact of World Language Programming?

There is a World Language Task Force that is working on this very issue. As a result of this work the district will be proposing to launch world language (foreign language) learning opportunities at each of the new schools in a way that can be scaled to all schools over time. The district will also propose initiating a Spanish dual language class in kindergarten at each of the new schools. The district will begin these programs at the new schools because bond resources can be used to purchase materials and supplies that would otherwise come from general funds. The goal is to grow world language programming to all schools.

11.  What is the time-line for the boundary adjustment process?

The Boundary Task Force held meetings in October and November with additional meetings planned for January and March. There were two community meetings in December, with additional community meetings planned for February. We believe we can bring preliminary recommendations to the School Board in February with the hope of finalizing decisions inMarch. Because of the complexities involved some details may require until early April to work themselves out.

12.  Will there be a chance for community members to give their input into the boundary process?

There have been two community meetings in December that followed some initial preparation by our task force. The task force will reconvene in January and additional community meetings will be held in February. In addition, a survey is available on the district website at www.wlwv.k12.or.us.

13.  Does the task force have broad community representation?

Parents from all primary and middle school are represented on the task force. There is also a member of the Long Range Planning Committee, as well as a representative from First Student Transportation on the task force. District representation includes teachers, principals and district office staff. There is also school board representation on the task force.

14.  How will final decisions be made?

District staff will make recommendations to the School Board with input from the task force and community meetings. It will then be up to the School Board to make the final attendance area and boundary related decisions.