The Montgomery County Boundary Analysis initiative has begun Phase II, and here is what it means for the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) community.
The district wide analysis was designed to keep up with the increase in Montgomery County residents while continuing to promote a safe, diverse and equitable environment. MCPS aims to involve community members in the decision regarding three lenses: school facility utilization and capacity, student demographics and school proximity.
Utilization is measured by comparing student enrollment to the number of seats available in the school. This is important to understand the effect on class sizes and the growth of enrollment.
Diversity is measured by race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status and English language proficiency. This is important to ensure students are raised in a community with various cultures and perspectives.
Proximity considers the distance students have to travel to reach their school, taking into account those who can walk to school and those who attend the school closest to their home. This is important so students are not wasting important and valuable time with their commute.
Although many MCPS families worry the analysis will displace their children, MCPS emphasizes its goal is simply to uphold its core values.
“The purpose of the boundary analysis is not to redraw school or cluster boundaries, but rather to examine existing conditions,” the MCPS website says.
During Phase I, which was completed prior to COVID-19 in March 2020, the Board of Education (BOE) had held multiple hearings in schools across the county.
Phase II, which took place during fall 2020, focused on community outreach and engagement. The new Interactive Boundary Explorer tool developed by WXY Studio allows community members to see and understand the three lenses and compare it with other school clusters.
The website also includes videos to explain the interactive tool, and there is a tab with key insights found during the analysis.
After exploring the website, visitors are encouraged to complete a survey about their findings to share with the BOE. This information will not be included in the final report anymore, but it is still useful to gain further community feedback.
Once the report has been completed, it will be presented to the BOE members so they can understand the issues the district is facing regarding MCPS schools. The report will not include any recommendations for boundary change.
Students looking to get involved should keep an eye out for student engagement sessions and any upcoming public webinars about the boundary analysis.
For more information,the MCPS Boundary Analysis page includes further details about the importance of the analysis.
“As a community, we have challenges and opportunities in front of us related to our use of facilities,” BOE president Shebra Evans and Superintendent Jack Smith said in a 2019 letter. “These are complex issues that require thoughtful solutions and a fully engaged community. We look forward to working together to craft those solutions.”
Article by Maya Bhattiprolu of Winston Churchill High School
Graphic by Khanh Nguyen of Richard Montgomery High School