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Cy-Fair ISD's board of trustees made decisions on boundary changes and the 2017-18 academic calendar at the Jan. 23 meeting.[/caption]
The Cy-Fair ISD board of trustees convened Monday, Jan. 23, to decide on new boundary changes for several district schools, effective next year. Academic calendar structure for the 2017-18 year was another highlight of the meeting.
New high school boundaries
Bridgeland High School is on track to open in August for the 2017-18 school year, and many Cypress Ranch High School students and parents have expressed concern over impending boundary changes in recent months. The board presented four options in December to populate the new campus. At Monday night’s board meeting, the administration’s recommendation passed unanimously, which approves a set number of voluntary transfers for current Cy Ranch freshmen who would have been rezoned to Bridgeland to stay at their campus. The district will not provide these students with transportation, and younger siblings of approved students will not be eligible. “We want to make sure that students who have opportunities at [Cypress] Ranch have opportunities at Bridgeland,” Superintendent Mark Henry said at a Jan. 19 work session. “We’re trying to look out for the best of the most students possible.” Administration will determine the number of transfers and method for implementation based on the number of transfer requests and updated enrollment projections, which will be released at the beginning of February. Current projections report Cypress Ranch will have 386 10th graders next year, and Bridgeland would have 542 10th graders.
New elementary and middle school boundaries
The board also unanimously adopted the administration’s recommendation regarding Hoover Elementary, Wells Elementary and Matzke Elementary’s replacement campuses, which have not changed since December’s board meeting. The proposal will affect 3,329 elementary students (6 percent of the total elementary population) and about 40 middle school students, according to Kristi Giron, director of general administration. These recommendations were made based on the need to populate these three new campuses and relieve other campuses that were approaching overcrowding issues. Find a detailed description of the proposed changes here. “I can tell you, in not one instance did we move kids just to move kids,” Giron said Thursday. Elementary students will move from: Andre to Jowell Postma to Andre Rennell to Postma Hancock to Matzke Matzke to Hancock Matzke to Millsap Moore to Hamilton Swenke to Ault Keith to Ault Ault to A. Robison Keith to A. Robison A. Robison to Sampson A. Robison to Farney Owens to Hairgrove Hairgrove to Owens Danish to Bang Lowery to Holmsley Holmsley to Lowery As a result of the Matzke to Millsap change, about 40 Bleyl Middle School students will move to Hamilton Middle School to realign the school feeder patterns, Giron said. Although hundreds of parents have expressed concern over the attendance boundary changes, board members noted that when a child moves to a different campus within the district, they will not receive a lesser education. Many trustees went through boundary changes themselves or have children dealing with the same situation. “These changes, in a loving environment like all of our schools have, can actually…help these students to mature and learn how to deal with things later in life,” Trustee Christine Hartley said. Elementary students affected by the changes who are entering fifth grade in the 2017-18 school year can stay at their current elementary schools if their parents provide transportation. Similarly, incoming eighth graders can stay at their current middle schools next year if their parents provide transportation. In either case, this opportunity will not be available for younger siblings.
Annual grading periods for middle and high schools
In 2009, the board approved moving from six to four annual grading periods in elementary schools across the district. Linda Macias, associate superintendent of curriculum, instruction and accountability, said this has been a positive move, and the curriculum department supports doing the same in middle and high schools starting in the 2017-18 academic year. Secondary principals unanimously requested this change after roundtable discussions in December, and the board unanimously approved the request Monday night. Middle and high schools will end the first semester just before winter break, and the third grading period will end just before spring break. The fourth grading period will be the longest to accommodate for STAAR, EOC, AP and final semester tests. Teachers will continue to report grades every three weeks, but students will have more time to respond to each progress update before grades became final on report cards.
