Trustees received an overview of the proposal Jan. 13 and plan to have an in-depth workshop Jan. 15 discussing the proposal. If approved, the changes will go into effect in the 2025-26 school year.
The details
With the consolidation of Pinkerton Elementary last year, students will be rezoned to Wilson and Austin elementary schools. Last year, trustees also approved moving the elementary International Baccalaureate program from Pinkerton Elementary to Wilson Elementary and consolidating Wilson’s Dual Language Immersion program to Denton Creek Elementary.
As a result of the closures and the program shifts, the district plans to adjust multiple attendance zones to make space at the campuses, according to district documents.
In the proposed plan, Denton Creek attendance zones could be adjusted to Town Center, Cottonwood Creek and Lakeside elementary schools and Austin Elementary attendance zones could be adjusted to Town Center and Lakeside.
Zooming in
The district consolidated the Dual Language Immersion program to help provide space at Wilson for incoming Pinkerton students. In December, families had to decide to continue with the program at Denton Creek or leave the program to remain at Wilson. International Baccalaureate students were faced with a similar decision.
Parents of Wilson students have raised concerns over the decision, including the impact to walkability. There are 122 Dual Language Immersion students at Wilson who may now not live within walking distance to their campus. About 75 of these are emergent bilingual students, which the district is required to provide transportation services, but the others will need to provide their own, according to previous Community Impact reporting.
According to plan documents, elementary zones for Mockingbird, Lee, Canyon Ranch and Valley Ranch elementary schools will remain unchanged. Additionally, neighborhoods being rezoned from Pinkerton to Wilson and from Austin to Town Center would also be rezoned from Coppell Middle School East to Coppell Middle School North, per previous Community Impact reporting.
Also of note
In March 2024, CISD rezoned around 120 elementary students. Spurred by yearly transfer requests, 68 students at The Grant Valley Ranch apartments zoned to Canyon Ranch Elementary will now attend Valley Ranch Elementary, a campus about 150 yards from the complex. Sixty-seven students residing in Cypress Waters apartments at the intersection of Wharf Road and Olympus Boulevard, and one student in The Flats, a section of townhomes down the street, will attend Cottonwood Creek Elementary to alleviate enrollment strain at Richard J. Lee Elementary.
Before you go
Approval is outlined for Feb. 3, but Superintendent Brad Hunt said that the board could take action at the Jan. 15 meeting. According to district documents, Feb. 24 is the final opportunity for board approval. At the Jan. 15 meeting, the district will provide details on how middle school feeder patterns will be affected by the rezoning, Hunt added. Families wishing to remain at their currently zoned schools other than Pinkerton, will be able to do so through the transfer process.
At that meeting, district officials will provide more information on specific neighborhoods and communities that are moving, Chief Financial Officer Diana Sircar said.
