On December 21, 2011, we delivered the following letter to Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kathleen Bodie. As of January 15, 2012 the letter is signed by 170 Arlington residents.

If you’d like to add your name to the letter, please fill in the form at the bottom of this post or email info@arlingtoncommunities.org. Thank you.

Dr. Kathleen Bodie
Arlington Public Schools
869 Mass. Ave
Arlington, MA 02476

CC:  Members of the Arlington School Committee and Redistricting Committee

Dear Superintendent Bodie, Members of the Arlington School Committee and Redistricting Committee,

We are a group of residents from across Arlington who have come together with a shared interest of becoming more engaged in the current redistricting effort.

We are eager to work with the Redistricting and School Committees to address the challenges that led the town to undertake this effort. We recognize you have a tough task in leading this initiative and applaud the decision to empower parent representatives to recommend a plan.

We are concerned that the approach to date has created unnecessary confusion. Going forward, we would strongly support an approach to this initiative that more clearly names the problems we’re trying to resolve, and is firmly grounded in core community priorities. Attached are recommendations to improve the redistricting process that we urge you to consider.

We specifically request that you take the following steps:

1)     Share more data and information that can clarify the underlying problem(s) that this effort must address, in particular:

a.       What exactly is the arrangement with MSBA regarding enrollment at Thompson? How close to 380 must enrollment be, and by when?  What exactly is MSBA requiring regarding redistricting in general? We are receiving mixed messages from the state and town on these issues.

b.      Further explanation of where the capacity numbers come from, to identify opportunities for flexibility (i.e., can stand-alone programs be moved or open enrollment changed?  Can staffing move? How will changing birth rates affect the numbers?)

c.       Given that schools will never be exactly at capacity, what is the acceptable deviation from the intended capacity at each school (e.g., +/-10, +/-30,)? What are the tangible implications of deviations from exact capacity levels at each school?

2)     Focus the January Redistricting Committee meeting around an exploration of this additional data and information, as well as a discussion of metrics of success that include core priorities of parents. Our priorities include protecting existing community networks around elementary schools and ensuring kids have a safe route to school.

3)     Consider a range of options to address the challenges of class size and infrastructure use, in addition to any redrawing of districts.

4)     Engage more proactively with parents through meetings held at each school and other means, well before a final draft map might be completed in March.

We would welcome the opportunity to meet with Superintendent Bodie and members of the School Committee to discuss these ideas and explore options for making this initiative lead to wise and publicly supported outcomes. We will continue to have active conversations with our local parent representatives, and have greatly appreciated their work to date.

Respectfully, the Bishop, Brackett, Dallin and Hardy communities:

170 signatures as of January 15, 2012.

Add your name to this letter. Your information will not be displayed on this website.