Republic School District

Over the last few years our community has experienced many changes in regards to where people are living within our school district. That said, this has created disparity regarding the number of students in each of our elementary buildings. To best meet the needs of our students and to help us achieve our mission of "preparing each student for a successful future", it is important that each of our elementary buildings have similar numbers of students being served in them. We've been monitoring these changes, and brainstorming ways to address this disparity over the last several months. In doing so, it has been determined that the best solution will be to update the elementary boundaries which will be implemented for the 2019-20 school year.

On the evening of February 21, 2019 the Board of Education approved this new elementary boundary map which can be found below and by clicking HERE. The final boundaries that were created impact 120 of our 2215 elementary students. Impacted families received notification the week of February 25 via mail and email. Over the last several months the district has been collaborating with a demographer and the City of Republic to determine boundaries that will address the following goals:

• Balance elementary enrollments
• Prepare for future growth     
• Considered socioeconomic status of schools
• Maximize transportation efficiency
• Minimize number of students impacted

 

CLICK HERE FOR A LARGER VERSION OF THE BOUNDARY MAP.

 

Below you will find "Answers to Frequently Asked Questions" that we encourage you to review. We did want to call attention to a few of these. The first being elementary student population. Often when we hear of the need for a boundary update it is because the population is growing substantially. In this situation, that is not the case. In fact we have 21 fewer students in kindergarten-5th grade this school year than we did during the 2012-13 school year when we only had four elementary buildings instead of five. The issue we are facing is the disparity of populations at our elementary buildings that needs to be equalized.

 

The other FAQ we want to address is that there is an option for current 4th grade students who are impacted by the boundary change to remain at their current school for 5th grade if the family can provide transportation. However, siblings would need to go ahead and transition to their new home school. Below you can find a link to the needed paperwork that needs to be submitted by May 1.

 

Again, we invite you to review the rest of the "Answers to Frequently Asked Questions" below. Our goal through this process is to assist our impacted students and families in experiencing a smooth transition. Receiving schools will begin communicating with these families and will host students and families at several events coming up this spring. More is below and will be shared in the coming weeks.

 

 

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions:

 

Do the boundaries need to change because the number of elementary students has grown substantially?

The simple answer here is, no. Actually, we have 21 fewer students in kindergarten-5 th  grade now than we did during the 2012-13 school year when we only had four elementary buildings instead of five, as we do now. Simply, the issue is that the population of students in unequally distributed between our five elementary buildings and we need to adjust this to best meet student needs. The graphs below can help illustrate this.

 

School	2018-19 Enrollment	2019-20 Enrollment
Lyon	394	457
McCulloch	499	411
Price	439	440
Schofield	485	424
Sweeny	399	450

 

 

How many current elementary students will be impacted by the boundary change?

Approximately 120 current elementary students will be impacted. We have 2212 total elementary students.

 

When and how will my family be notified if we are impacted by the boundary change?

The week of February 25 all impacted families received a letter in the mail from the Republic School District along with an email notification sent to the email addresses we have on file for your family.  

 

How can my student and my family become acquainted with our new elementary school if we are impacted by this change?

Shortly after impacted families receive notification about their change in elementary boundaries, email communication from your new receiving school will begin. Our goal is to make the transition of schools as smooth as possible for our families. That said, over the course of this spring students will have the opportunity to visit their new school during the school day, and receiving schools will also be hosting Family Welcome Nights so that the entire family has an opportunity to meet staff and tour your  new home elementary building. Below are the dates and times of these events. Impacted families will receive additional details.

March 20: Price Elementary New Student Breakfast, Tour and Q&A 8:45 a.m.

March 21: Price Elementary Family Welcome Night 5:45-6:45 p.m.

March 27: Lyon Elementary New Student Breakfast, Tour and Assembly 8:45 a.m.

March 29: Sweeny Elementary New Student Breakfast, Tour and Assembly 9:00 a.m.

April 15: Sweeny Elementary Family Welcome Night 6:00-7:30 p.m.

April 16: Lyon Elementary Family Welcome Night 6:00-7:30 p.m.

 

What goals did the district set when deciding how to set the new boundaries?

The following goals were set when determining which families would be asked to change elementary boundary areas:

• Balance elementary enrollments
• Prepare for future growth     
• Considered socioeconomic status of schools
• Maximize transportation efficiency
• Minimize number of students impacted

 

If my family is impacted by the boundary change, can my current fourth grade student stay at his or her current elementary building for 5th  grade?

Yes, current fourth grade students have the opportunity to stay at his or her current elementary building for 5th  grade, if the family wishes to do so and can provide transportation as school bus routes cannot accommodate this request. However, younger siblings are asked to go ahead and make the transition to the new elementary. If current 4 th  grade families would like to request to stay at their current elementary building for the 5 th  grade year, THIS FORM will need to be completed and submitted to Federal Programs and Student Support Services (636 N. Main, 735-3715) by May 1.

 

How long do you expect for the new boundaries to last?

Above you will see that "prepare for future growth" was one of our goals in determining these new elementary boundaries. We work very closely with the City of Republic and other entities that help keep us abreast of potential growth. Our community is experiencing a lot of unexpected growth currently, and we have been advised that this growth will continue for the foreseeable future. That said, we have used all possible information and resources available to forecast growth and create boundaries that will last as long as possible. Our goal is for these new boundaries to last at least three years. However, the growth is quite unprecedented and uncertain. We will certainly keep our patrons updated along the way, and we appreciate your understanding in advance.