The committee began by developing and agreeing upon the following assumptions, which served to guide its work:

1. Recommendations of this committee will be in alignment with the District’s Strategic Plan

2. Provide the best possible learning opportunities for all students

3. Ensure that all schools will be utilized to the greatest extent possible in order to maximize all resources at each facility

4. Be financially responsible to its community

5. Ensure that appropriate classroom spaces are available for specialized programs such as dual language, ELL, bilingual, and special education

6. Make certain that cultural programs such as music and art have space in each building

7. Keep neighborhoods together to the greatest extent possible

8. Strive to maintain manageable class sizes

9. Strive to maintain equity in middle school enrollment

10. Strive to maintain class size equity across all elementary schools to the greatest extent possible

11. Minimize the length of time students are on the bus to the greatest extent possible

12. Provide equitable number of rooms at each school for specialists to the greatest extent possible

13. Strive to keep diversity in programming within the six elementary schools to the greatest extent possible

14. Strive to minimize any reduction in work staff

15. Strive to provide boundary recommendations that will be successful for the next 5-6 year

Please review the following for key background information that led to the committee’s recommendations.

Through the committee’s work, the following became clear:

• While enrollment projections are not a perfect science, forecasted enrollment and demographic trends for CCSD93 performed by nationally recognized demographer John Kasarda predict relatively stable future enrollment throughout CCSD93 and its schools.

• Despite similar capacities, Stratford has a higher enrollment than Jay Stream, and without action taken on boundaries, the disparity is projected to increase. While not an area for immediate action, this should be a consideration for any feeder elementary boundary updates.

• Cloverdale elementary school is operating with a significantly higher enrollment than the next closest elementary school. While CCSD93’s elementary schools vary in capacity, Cloverdale’s enrollment is disproportionately higher than any other building and is the single largest concern in terms of equitable access to resources. 

• Individual class sizes across CCSD93’s schools are relatively consistent and generally within what the district considers appropriate.

• Rather than examining individual class sizes, specifically examining school building classroom utilization within each elementary school would be the best lens for comparing and addressing inequities across CCSD93’s schools. 

Within this context, the following are among the most useful pieces of information to know and understand when comparing elementary school classroom utilization:

• Total School Classrooms - The number of total classrooms available within a school building, excluding office spaces, gyms, lunchrooms and multipurpose rooms.

• Classrooms Used for School Classes & Programming - The number of classrooms in use at the school building for core grade level classes (including Dual Language classes), art, music and specialists. These classrooms should generally be considered set and unable to be moved to other schools.

• Classrooms Used for Special District Programming - The total number of classrooms in use at a school building for special district programs (e.g. special education, bilingual education, gifted education, reading support, etc.). While CCSD93 would prefer to keep these classrooms at their current schools, they can be considered for relocation by district administrators in the event that future enrollment demands flexibility.

• Total Classrooms Occupied - Classrooms of any kind currently in use at a school building, determined by adding Classrooms Used for School Classes & Programming and Classrooms Used for Special District Programming.  

• Unoccupied Classrooms - Classrooms not currently in use at a school building, determined by subtracting the Total Classrooms Occupied from the Total School Classrooms. These are spaces that would be available for potential enrollment influxes or addition/relocation of special district programming. 

• Percent Classrooms Occupied - Represents the percentage of available classrooms at a school building currently in use. This is determined by dividing the Total Classrooms Occupied by the Total School Classrooms. 

As indicated in the current 2023-24 school year classroom utilization chart below, the Percent Classrooms Occupied varies among elementary schools. It ranges from Heritage Lakes and Western Trails with lower than 90% occupancy, to Cloverdale, which is above 100% occupancy because it is currently providing services for some students in hallways and therefore is operating with a need of one additional classroom. The other three elementary schools fall within what the district considers within the acceptable classroom occupancy range of 90-100%. 

The proposed updates will result in the projected classroom utilization indicated in the following image for 2024-25, with a more even distribution of percent of classrooms occupied, all within the acceptable occupancy range. 

Five of the six elementary schools would have at least one unoccupied classroom, and many will have additional flexibility, should it become necessary, based on hosting special district programming.

Carol Stream School’s total classrooms occupied will decrease by one with a larger than average 5th grade class graduating, and we project that an additional classroom may become available based on potential new special district programming for which we anticipate several students qualifying. 

The proposed updates would reduce its number of Classrooms Used for School Classes & Programming by four. The district projects to potentially introduce two additional special program classes in 2024-25. The district’s goal is to distribute special program classes as evenly as reasonably possible among schools while keeping similar programs together at a single school in order to best serve students. With the newly open space, two classrooms have been earmarked for special programming. Adding these program classes at Cloverdale was not the goal of the boundary updates but a byproduct.

The Dual Language program at Cloverdale consists of six classrooms. To meet district standards for effective and efficient use of program resources and staff collaboration, all of Cloverdale’s classrooms would need to move to a single school. This means that moving the program entirely from Cloverdale would require a single building with six available classrooms. The only option that meets these spacing requirements is Heritage Lakes, however this is not viable because it would place Heritage Lakes at 100% capacity, without any room for growth. The other seven Heritage Lakes classrooms devoted to special district programming are unable to be moved because they would need to stay together at a single school and space does not exist to place seven classrooms at any other schools.

Dear Community Consolidated School District 93 Community,

This message is to provide you with information regarding proposed updates to CCSD93’s school boundaries beginning in the 2024-25 school year. 

Please carefully review this message in its entirety to understand the proposed updates, additional important information, the timeline of events for potential implementation, key background information and links to more resources, especially if your home is within the impacted areas. As indicated below, before the proposed updates are to be voted upon by the Board of Education on March 7, CCSD93 families will be invited to a Community Information Session on February 20 to learn more. 

Proposed Updates:

As previously shared, throughout the past decade, CCSD93 has experienced changes in enrollment that have created notable disparities between many of our schools in terms of the number of students attending compared to maximum capacity. This has resulted in inequities, especially in relation to unoccupied classrooms and student access to specialists among our schools. 

In order to explore addressing these concerns, CCSD93 convened a Superintendent’s Boundary Committee to analyze data related to enrollment and school boundaries with the ultimate goal of ensuring that CCSD93 is most equitably serving the students and families of our community. The committee was designed to incorporate the perspectives of a variety of key stakeholders throughout this process. Two parents from each CCSD93 elementary and middle school were selected by their school’s PTA Presidents to serve as members, and they were joined by teachers, support staff, administrators and CCSD93 Board of Education members. 

Between September and December of 2023, the committee’s members met on six separate occasions to establish agreed-upon assumptions to guide their work, review data on forecasted enrollment and demographic trends, analyze scenarios and ultimately achieve consensus on proposed boundary updates.

Based on the committee’s work, the following updates to CCSD93’s boundaries are being proposed for the 2024-25 school year:

• Area 1 - Homes located within the area west of Kuhn Road, north of Lies Road, east of County Farm Road and south of Army Trail Road would transition from Cloverdale to Heritage Lakes.
• Area 2 - Apartment complex at the southeast corner of Lies Road and Kuhn Road would transition from Cloverdale to Western Trails.

The areas are highlighted in blue within this full map of CCSD93’s boundaries:

For a closer look, the impacted areas are shown here, color coded with their new school’s boundaries:

Important Information For Potentially Impacted Families:

If the proposed boundary updates are approved, it raises a number of questions for families who live within the impacted area. The following information addresses the district’s plan for various scenarios that arise as a result.   

• Current Cloverdale students in traditional monolingual classrooms in the impacted area, including current 5th graders, would attend middle school at Jay Stream, which would align with school boundaries beginning in 2024-25.
• Current 6th and 7th grade students would remain at Stratford Middle School. Current 5th grade siblings of current 6th and 7th grade students would have the opportunity to attend Stratford Middle School as well, however the parent would be responsible for providing transportation after the older sibling graduates from Stratford. 
• Current 4th grade students would have the option to remain at Cloverdale, provided families transport students to and from school. Siblings of current 4th grade students who are also currently enrolled at the school would have the option to remain at Cloverdale, provided families transport students to and from school. 
• Students currently enrolled in the Dual Language program at Cloverdale will remain at Cloverdale, and would attend Stratford Middle School if they remain in the program as it is held there on a middle school level.

Timeline of Events:

It is critical to note that these proposed updates have not yet been adopted. The graphic below indicates the timeline of events for the boundary update process, with check marks indicating what has occurred to this point. The following is the timeline from here until potential implementation.

• January 25 - Boundary Committee Report & Proposed Scenario Presentation - The Board of Education will be provided with details about the proposed boundary updates at its meeting at 7:00 p.m. at Western Trails Elementary School. This will be informational only and the Board will not yet take any action.
• February 20 - Community Information Session - All members of the community will be invited to visit Cloverdale at 6:30 p.m.to learn more about the committee’s work, the proposal and ask questions. The presentation will be similar to the information provided to the Board on January 25, and it will also be live streamed online at www.ccsd93.com/live. Email and text message invitations will be shared with our community closer to the event.
• March 7 - Board of Education Vote - The Board of Education will vote on the approval of the proposed boundary updates for 2024-25 at the Board of Education meeting at 7:00 p.m. at CCSD93’s District Office.
• Spring/Summer 2024 - New School Welcome Nights - If the proposed boundary updates are approved, CCSD93 would prioritize providing opportunities to make impacted families feel welcome at their new schools. Those impacted would be invited to visit their new 2024-25 schools to meet school administrators, tour the building.
• 2024-25 School Year - Implementation - If approved by the Board of Education, CCSD93 would implement the boundary updates.

Ongoing - Review & Evaluation of CCSD93 Enrollment - While the district is hopeful that this recommendation would resolve future enrollment and equity of access issues, it will continue to review and evaluate enrollment across all eight elementary and middle schools to ensure equitable access to district facilities and resources for all students throughout our community.

Key Background Information Informing the Recommendations:

Please review the following for key background information that led to the committee’s recommendations.

Through the committee’s work, the following became clear:

• While enrollment projections are not a perfect science, forecasted enrollment and demographic trends for CCSD93 performed by nationally recognized demographer John Kasarda predict relatively stable future enrollment throughout CCSD93 and its schools.
• Despite similar capacities, Stratford has a higher enrollment than Jay Stream, and without action taken on boundaries, the disparity is projected to increase. While not an area for immediate action, this should be a consideration for any feeder elementary boundary updates.
• Cloverdale elementary school is operating with a significantly higher enrollment than the next closest elementary school. While CCSD93’s elementary schools vary in capacity, Cloverdale’s enrollment is disproportionately higher than any other building and is the single largest concern in terms of equitable access to resources. 
• Individual class sizes across CCSD93’s schools are relatively consistent and generally within what the district considers appropriate.
• Rather than examining individual class sizes, specifically examining school building classroom utilization within each elementary school would be the best lens for comparing and addressing inequities across CCSD93’s schools. 

Within this context, the following are among the most useful pieces of information to know and understand when comparing elementary school classroom utilization:

• Total School Classrooms - The number of total classrooms available within a school building, excluding office spaces, gyms, lunchrooms and multipurpose rooms.
• Classrooms Used for School Classes & Programming - The number of classrooms in use at the school building for core grade level classes (including Dual Language classes), art, music and specialists. These classrooms should generally be considered set and unable to be moved to other schools.
• Classrooms Used for Special District Programming - The total number of classrooms in use at a school building for special district programs (e.g. special education, bilingual education, gifted education, reading support, etc.). While CCSD93 would prefer to keep these classrooms at their current schools, they can be considered for relocation by district administrators in the event that future enrollment demands flexibility.
• Total Classrooms Occupied - Classrooms of any kind currently in use at a school building, determined by adding Classrooms Used for School Classes & Programming and Classrooms Used for Special District Programming.  
• Unoccupied Classrooms - Classrooms not currently in use at a school building, determined by subtracting the Total Classrooms Occupied from the Total School Classrooms. These are spaces that would be available for potential enrollment influxes or addition/relocation of special district programming. 
• Percent Classrooms Occupied - Represents the percentage of available classrooms at a school building currently in use. This is determined by dividing the Total Classrooms Occupied by the Total School Classrooms. 

As indicated in the current 2023-24 school year classroom utilization chart below, the Percent Classrooms Occupied varies among elementary schools. It ranges from Heritage Lakes and Western Trails with lower than 90% occupancy, to Cloverdale, which is above 100% occupancy because it is currently providing services for some students in hallways and therefore is operating with a need of one additional classroom. The other three elementary schools fall within what the district considers within the acceptable classroom occupancy range of 90-100%. 

The proposed updates will result in the projected classroom utilization indicated in the following image for 2024-25, with a more even distribution of percent of classrooms occupied, all within the acceptable occupancy range.

Five of the six elementary schools would have at least one unoccupied classroom, and many will have additional flexibility, should it become necessary, based on hosting special district programming.  

More Info:

Visit www.ccsd93.com/bc for all of this information, the previous updates shared with our community, a full list of the Boundary Committee’s working assumptions, a copy of the demographic report, answers to frequently asked questions and more.

While we strived to keep neighborhood communities together and impact the fewest families possible throughout this process, I know that the resulting proposed boundary updates may cause concern for the families who are impacted. It is never the district’s intention to upset anyone within our community, and we do not take the decision to propose these updates lightly. However, the district’s first duty must be to provide equitable access to its resources as we seek to achieve our mission of maximizing the academic, social and emotional potential of each student.

Sincerely,

David H. Hill, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
Community Consolidated School District 93

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Estimada comunidad del Distrito Escolar Consolidado 93,

Este mensaje es para brindarle información sobre las actualizaciones propuestas a los límites escolares del CCSD93 a partir del año escolar 2024-25.

Revise cuidadosamente este mensaje en su totalidad para comprender las actualizaciones propuestas, información adicional importante, el cronograma de eventos para una posible implementación, información general clave y enlaces a más recursos, especialmente si su hogar se encuentra dentro de las áreas impactadas. Como se indica a continuación, antes de que la Junta de Educación vote las actualizaciones propuestas el 7 de marzo, las familias del CCSD93 serán invitadas a una sesión de información comunitaria el 20 de febrero para obtener más información.

Actualizaciones propuestas:

Como se compartió anteriormente, a lo largo de la última década, CCSD93 ha experimentado cambios en la inscripción que han creado disparidades notables entre muchas de nuestras escuelas en términos de la cantidad de estudiantes que asisten en comparación con la capacidad máxima. Esto ha resultado en desigualdades, especialmente en relación con las aulas desocupadas y el acceso de los estudiantes a especialistas en nuestras escuelas.

Para explorar cómo abordar estas preocupaciones, CCSD93 convocó un Comité de Límites del Superintendente para analizar datos relacionados con la inscripción y los límites escolares con el objetivo final de garantizar que CCSD93 esté sirviendo de manera más equitativa a los estudiantes y familias de nuestra comunidad. El comité fue diseñado para incorporar las perspectivas de una variedad de partes interesadas clave a lo largo de este proceso. Los presidentes de la PTA de su escuela seleccionaron a dos padres de cada escuela primaria y secundaria de CCSD93 para que sirvieran como miembros, y a ellos se unieron maestros, personal de apoyo, administradores y miembros de la Junta de Educación de CCSD93.

Entre septiembre y diciembre de 2023, los miembros del comité se reunieron en seis ocasiones distintas para establecer supuestos acordados para guiar su trabajo, revisar datos sobre la inscripción prevista y las tendencias demográficas, analizar escenarios y, en última instancia, lograr un consenso sobre las actualizaciones de límites propuestas.

Según el trabajo del comité, se proponen las siguientes actualizaciones de los límites del CCSD93 para el año escolar 2024-25:

• Área 1 -Las casas ubicadas dentro del área al oeste de Kuhn Road, al norte de Lies Road, al este de County Farm Road y al sur de Army Trail Road pasarían de Cloverdale a Heritage Lakes.
• Área 2: el complejo de apartamentos en la esquina sureste de Lies Road y Kuhn Road haría la transición de Cloverdale a Western Trails.

Las áreas están resal tadas en azul dentro de este mapa completo de los límites del CCSD93:

Para verlo más de cerca, las áreas impactadas se muestran aquí, codificadas por colores con los límites de su nueva escuela:

Información importante para familias potencialmente afectadas:

Si se aprueban las actualizaciones de límites propuestas, surgirán una serie de preguntas para las familias que viven dentro del área afectada. La siguiente información aborda el plan del distrito para varios escenarios que surgen como resultado.

• Los estudiantes actuales de Cloverdale en aulas monolingües tradicionales en el área afectada, incluidos los estudiantes actuales de quinto grado, asistirían a la escuela intermedia en Jay Stream, lo que se alinearía con los límites escolares a partir de 2024-25.
• Los estudiantes actuales de sexto y séptimo grado permanecerían enEscuela secundaria de Stratford. Los hermanos actuales de quinto grado de estudiantes actuales de sexto y séptimo grado también tendrían la oportunidad de asistir a Stratford Middle School; sin embargo, los padres serían responsables de proporcionar transporte después de que el hermano mayor se gradúe de Stratford.
• Los estudiantes actuales de 4to grado tendrían la opción de permanecer en Cloverdale, siempre que las familias transporten a los estudiantes hacia y desde la escuela. Los hermanos de estudiantes actuales de 4to grado que también están matriculados actualmente en la escuela tendrían la opción de permanecer en Cloverdale, siempre que las familias transporten a los estudiantes hacia y desde la escuela.
• Los estudiantes actualmente inscritos en el programa de Lenguaje Dual en Cloverdale permanecerán en Cloverdale y asistirían a la Escuela Intermedia Stratford si permanecen en el programa tal como se lleva a cabo allí a nivel de escuela intermedia.

Cronología de eventos:

Es fundamental señalar que estas actualizaciones propuestas aún no se han adoptado. El siguiente gráfico indica la línea de tiempo de los eventos para el proceso de actualización de límites, con marcas de verificación que indican lo que ha ocurrido hasta este punto. El siguiente es el cronograma desde aquí hasta la posible implementación.

• 25 de enero - Informe del Comité de Límites y Presentación del Escenario Propuesto -tLa Junta de Educación recibirá detalles sobre las actualizaciones de límites propuestas en su reunión a las 7:00 p.m. en la escuela primaria Western Trails. Esto será sólo informativo y la Juntato davía no hemos tomado ninguna medida.
• 20 de febrero - Sesión informativa comunitaria - Se invitará a todos los miembros de la comunidad a visitar Cloverdale a las 6:30 p. m. para conocer más sobre el trabajo del comité, la propuesta y hacer preguntas. La presentación será similar a la información proporcionada a la Junta el 25 de enero y también se transmitirá en vivo en línea enwww.ccsd93.com/live. Las invitaciones por correo electrónico y mensajes de texto se compartirán con nuestra comunidad cuando se acerque el evento.
• 7 de marzo - Votación de la Junta de Educación -ElLa Junta de Educación votará sobre la aprobación de las actualizaciones de límites propuestas para 2024-25 en la reunión de la Junta de Educación a las 7:00 p.m. en la oficina del distrito de CCSD93.
• Primavera/Verano 2024 - Noches de bienvenida a la nueva escuela -Si se aprueban las actualizaciones de límites propuestas, CCSD93 daría prioridad a brindar oportunidades para que las familias afectadas se sientan bienvenidas en sus nuevas escuelas. Los afectados serían invitados a visitar sus nuevas escuelas 2024-25 para conocer a los administradores escolares y recorrer el edificio.
• Año escolar 2024-25 - Implementación -Si lo aprueba la Junta de Educación, CCSD93 seríaimple mentar las actualizaciones de límites.

En curso: revisión y evaluación de la inscripción al CCSD93- Si bien el distrito tiene la esperanza de que esta recomendación resuelva los problemas futuros de inscripción y equidad de acceso, continuará revisando y evaluando la inscripción en las ocho escuelas primarias y secundarias para garantizar un acceso equitativo a las instalaciones y recursos del distrito para todos los estudiantes de nuestra comunidad.

Información básica clave que fundamenta las recomendaciones:

Revise lo siguiente para obtener información general clave que condujo a las recomendaciones del comité.

A través del trabajo del comité, quedó claro lo siguiente:

• Si bien las proyecciones de inscripción no son una ciencia perfecta, las tendencias demográficas y de inscripción previstas para CCSD93 realizadas por el demógrafo John Kasarda, reconocido a nivel nacional, predicen una inscripción futura relativamente estable en todo CCSD93 y sus escuelas.
• A pesar de capacidades similares, Stratford tiene una matrícula más alta que Jay Stream y, si no se toman medidas sobre los límites, se prevé que la disparidad aumentará. Si bien no es un área para acción inmediata, esto debe ser considerado para cualquier actualización de los límites de las primarias secundarias.
• La escuela primaria Cloverdale está operando con una matrícula significativamente mayor que la siguiente escuela primaria más cercana. Si bien las escuelas primarias del CCSD93 varían en capacidad, la inscripción de Cloverdale es desproporcionadamente más alta que la de cualquier otro edificio y es la mayor preocupación en términos de acceso equitativo a los recursos.
• El tamaño de las clases individuales en las escuelas del CCSD93 es relativamente consistente y generalmente está dentro de lo que el distrito considera apropiado.
• En lugar de examinar el tamaño de las clases individuales, examinar específicamente la utilización de las aulas en los edificios escolares dentro de cada escuela primaria sería la mejor lente para comparar y abordar las desigualdades en las escuelas del CCSD93.

En este contexto, la siguiente información se encuentra entre los datos más útiles que se deben conocer y comprender al comparar la utilización de las aulas de la escuela primaria:

• Total de aulas escolares -El número total de aulas disponibles dentro de un edificio escolar, excluyendo espacios de oficinas, gimnasios, comedores y salones de usos múltiples.
• Aulas utilizadas para clases y programación escolares -La cantidad de salones de clases en uso en el edificio escolar para clases básicas de nivel de grado (incluidas las clases de lenguaje dual), arte y música. y especialistas. Por lo general, estas aulas deben considerarse fijas y no pueden trasladarse a otras escuelas.
• Aulas utilizadas para la programación del distrito especial - El número total de aulas en uso en un edificio escolar para programas especiales del distrito (por ejemplo, educación especial, educación bilingüe, educación para superdotados)., soporte de lectura, etc.). Si bien CCSD93 preferiría mantener estas aulas en sus escuelas actuales, los administradores del distrito pueden considerar su reubicación en caso de que la inscripción futura exija flexibilidad.
• Total de aulas ocupadas -Aulas de cualquier tipo actualmente en uso en un edificio escolar, determinadas sumando las Aulas utilizadas para las clases y programación escolares y las Aulas utilizadas para la programación especial del distrito.
• Aulas desocupadas - Aulas que no están actualmente en uso en un edificio escolar, determinadas restando el total de aulas ocupadas del total de aulas escolares. Estos son espacios que estarían disponibles para posibles afluencias de inscripción o para la adición/reubicación de programación especial del distrito.
• Porcentaje de aulas ocupadas - Representa el porcentaje de aulas disponibles en un edificio escolar actualmente en uso. Esto se determina dividiendo el Total de Aulas Ocupadas por el Total de Aulas Escolares.

Como se indica en el cuadro de utilización de aulas del año escolar 2023-24 actual a continuación, el porcentaje de aulas ocupadas varía entre las escuelas primarias. Va desde Heritage Lakes y Western Trails con menos del 90% de ocupación, hasta Cloverdale, que está por encima del 100% de ocupación porque actualmente ofrece servicios para algunos estudiantes en los pasillos y por lo tanto está funcionando con la necesidad de un aula adicional metro. Las otras tres escuelas primarias se encuentran dentro de lo que el distrito considera dentro del rango aceptable de ocupación de aulas de 90-100%.

Las actualizaciones propuestas darán como resultado la utilización proyectada de las aulas indicada en la siguiente imagen para 2024-25, con una distribución más uniforme del porcentaje de aulas.ocupado, todo dentro del rango de ocupación aceptable.

Cinco de las seis escuelas primarias tendrían al menos un salón de clases desocupado, y muchas tendrán flexibilidad adicional, en caso de ser necesario, basada en la programación especial del distrito.

Más información:

Visita www.ccsd93.com/bc para toda esta información, las actualizaciones anteriores compartidas con nuestra comunidad, una lista completa de los supuestos de trabajo del Comité de Límites, una copia del informe demográfico, respuestas a preguntas frecuentes y más.

Si bien nos esforzamos por mantener unidas a las comunidades vecinales e impactar a la menor cantidad de familias posible durante este proceso, sé que las actualizaciones de límites propuestas resultantes pueden causar preocupación a las familias afectadas. Nunca es la intención del distrito molestar a nadie dentro de nuestra comunidad y no tomamos la decisión de proponer estas actualizaciones a la ligera. Sin embargo, el primer deber del distrito debe ser brindar acceso equitativo a sus recursos mientras buscamos lograr nuestra misión de maximizar el potencial académico, social y emocional de cada estudiante.

Atentamente,

David H. Hill, Ed.D.
Superintendente de Escuelas
Community Consolidated School District 93

Boundary Committee Update Mailed to Community in Newsletter

Click here for the full Community Connections Fall 2023 edition.

As I shared with you in August, CCSD93 has experienced changes in enrollment that have created notable disparities among many of our schools in regards to their operating enrollment compared to maximum capacity. This has resulted in inequities in class sizes, unoccupied classrooms, and student access to specialists among our schools. In order to explore addressing these concerns, the Board of Education has empowered me to convene a Superintendent’s Boundary Committee to analyze data related to enrollment and school boundaries with the ultimate goal of ensuring that we are most equitably serving the students and families of our community.

This week, the committee met for the third time, and this message is to provide you with an update on our progress.

The committee is composed of two parents from each elementary and middle school who were recommended by their school’s PTA, two members from our teaching and support staff associations, CCSD93 Board of Education Members Jay Bastian and Jessica Zolmierski, CCSD93 Assistant Superintendent for Business Services John Benedetti and me. 

We began by developing and agreeing upon the following assumptions, which is guiding our work:

1. Recommendations of this committee will be in alignment with the District’s Strategic Plan

2. Provide the best possible learning opportunities for all students

3. Ensure that all schools will be utilized to the greatest extent possible in order to maximize all resources at each facility

4. Be financially responsible to its community

5. Ensure that appropriate classroom spaces are available for specialized programs such as dual language, ELL, bilingual, and special education

6. Make certain that cultural programs such as music and art have space in each building

7. Keep neighborhoods together to the greatest extent possible

8. Strive to maintain manageable class sizes

9. Strive to maintain equity in middle school enrollment

10. Strive to maintain class size equity across all elementary schools to the greatest extent possible

11. Minimize the length of time students are on the bus to the greatest extent possible

12. Provide equitable number of rooms at each school for specialists to the greatest extent possible

13. Strive to keep diversity in programming within the six elementary schools to the greatest extent possible

14. Strive to minimize any reduction in work staff

15. Strive to provide boundary recommendations that will be successful for the next 5-6 year

Together we have analyzed CCSD93’s demographic trends and enrollment projections and begun processing through scenarios for potential updates to the school boundaries within CCSD93 that meet these guiding assumptions while addressing the concerns outlined above. 

While we have not yet reached a consensus to share any concrete proposals, what has become clear is that the committee will most likely make a recommendation to the Board of Education that CCSD93’s school boundaries be adjusted to some degree. At least a portion of these adjustments would most likely be recommended to be put in place for the 2024-25 school year. 

At this time, we have five more committee meetings scheduled between now and February. Once the committee is ready to share proposed recommendations, the community and staff members will be invited to informational sessions to learn more, ask questions and provide feedback. 

While we understand the far ranging impact that any changes to school boundaries can have for our community, we also know that together we have an obligation to provide greater equity of educational resources to our community.

Sincerely,

Dr. David H. Hill, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
CCSD93

On Saturday, CCSD93’s Board members met for a Board Retreat to review important district trends, procedures, practices and protocols. One such trend that was discussed was student enrollment. As you may be aware, CCSD93’s enrollment has slowly but steadily declined throughout the past several years, as depicted here.

During this time, some areas within our community have experienced greater enrollment decline than others. As a result, notable disparities exist among many of our schools in regards to their operating enrollment compared to maximum capacity. This leads to some schools having a greater percentage of unoccupied classrooms, lower class sizes and greater access to specialists like speech pathologists and reading specialists than others. This inherently creates educational inequities, which run counter to our mission of maximizing the academic, social and emotional potential of each student and our Strategic Plan priority of student success.

Every five years, CCSD93 commissions a professional demographer to forecast enrollment and demographic trends for the next half-decade to help our district keep an eye toward the future. The most recently completed report performed by John D. Kasarda, Ph.D., whose projections we have found consistently reliable, suggests that CCSD93’s enrollment will likely remain relatively steady or dip slightly throughout the next five years. This means the aforementioned disparities are not likely to improve. 

With this in mind, the Board of Education has authorized CCSD93 to create a Superintendent’s Boundary Committee to analyze data related to enrollment and school boundaries with the ultimate goal of ensuring that we are most equitably serving the students and families of our community. Working collaboratively with school administrators and PTAs, we are in the process of securing parent committee members from each CCSD93 elementary and middle school and will also have representation from the Board of Education and our educators. The committee’s work could result in a recommendation to the Board of Education for updates to CCSD93’s boundaries starting in future school years. 

I will keep you apprised of the committee’s progress. It will meet numerous times between now and the winter months, and no recommendations will be made to the Board of Education until after the committee’s work is complete. If from the committee’s work it becomes clear that updates to our boundaries will be recommended, I will then share with you a schedule that includes informational session dates that community and staff members will be invited to attend and the potential timeline of implementation.

We understand the far ranging impact that any changes to school boundaries can have for our community, and we will not take the forthcoming conversations and analysis related to them lightly.

Sincerely,

Dr. David H. Hill, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
CCSD93