School redistricting on Wed. board agenda

The School Board will consider three high-profile topics at its Wednesday meeting at 7 p.m. at the Lindholm Building, 222 W. Maple Ave.

It will examine administration’s recommendations to change feeder patterns for middle schools beinning in the 2010-2011 school year. It will consider the open-choice period for the new STEM School beginning in January, and it will consider changing the health insurance provider for emplyees, which they were notified of late Friday.

The feeder issue is linked to the controversial proposal to close three elementary school, including the largely Hispanic White Rock.

Here are parts of  the explanatory letter from Superintendent Todd Gray:

The primary reason for this plan is to provide an improved educational structure for all students. A secondary reason is to proactively plan for operating efficiencies and budget constraints in the coming years.

The district has held community input sessions to provide additional information, answer questions, and provide an opportunity to offer feedback to the Board of Education prior to their final decision. A number of parent recommendations will be implemented in this plan.
Building Repurpose:
Randall will close as an attendance area school and become a Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) school. Students within the Randall attendance area will go to neighboring attendance areas.
Saratoga will close as an attendance area school and become a grade 6-8 STEM annex. Students within the Saratoga attendance area will go to Whittier or Rose Glen.
White Rock will close as an attendance area school. The site will be used for alternative education programs, iQ Academy and administration. Many of the White Rock attendance area students will go to their neighborhood schools. Students receiving ESL/Bilingual services may receive services in their attendance area school or another school dependent on type of service needed.
La Casa de Esperanza, Waukesha’s Hispanic community agency disapproves of the proposed changes for White Rock.

Pleasant Hill will close as an attendance area school and may or may not remain vacant for one year while a district team explores possible use as a future charter school site. Pleasant Hill attendance area will go to Hillcrest.

The Lindholm Office will close as a district building. Administration will be moved to White Rock building during the 2011-2012 school year.
Dual Language programs provide instruction in Spanish to both English and Spanish speaking students. This allows students to learn a second language. The program will continue at Banting and is proposed to begin at Bethesda in 2010.
Developmental Bilingual Programs provide instruction for students that speak Spanish as their primary language. The program will continue at Blair and begin at Heyer. The program at Banting and Whittier may be phased out over time.
Intensive ESL Programs provide instruction for students that speak a primary language other than English. The program will continue at Hadfield and may begin at Hawthorne.