Erie's Public Schools | Optimization Plan

FAQs updated to include additional clarification on student assignments based on revised attendance areas
The FAQ document has been updated to include clarifying information related to students assignments based on revised attendance areas:

What students will be reassigned to their "home" schools?
Next year’s 6th, 7th and 8th grade students (this year’s current 5th, 6th and 7th grade students) will be permitted to remain in their current school (with the exception of Grover Cleveland, Jefferson, and Perry Schools which will be restructured to K-5 schools and will no longer enroll 6th, 7th and 8th grade students). 

All other students in grades K-5 will be enrolled at their home schools as defined by the attendance areas/boundaries.  For example:

• If your child will be in grades 6-8 next school year, your child’s school assignment will not change (unless they attend Grover Cleveland, Jefferson, and Perry Schools which will be restructured to K-5 schools and will no longer enroll 6th, 7th and 8th grade students).
• If your child will be in grades 1-5 next school year and you live within that school’s attendance area, your child’s school assignment will not change.
• Students who will be entering grades 1-5 next year who do not live within their current school’s attendance area will be returned to their home school as part of the district’s restructuring.  While this will only impact a relatively small number of families who live outside of their current school’s attendance area, this improvement will help the district balance class sizes and school populations and accommodate the school restructuring announced this spring.  In addition, honors instruction will be available at every school in the district.

Why not allow all Harding and Connell "honors academy" students to continue in their schools?
One benefit of this restructuring is that advanced/honors instruction will be available at each school in the district.  This phase of the optimization plan is also an attempt to balance the 2012-2013 budget.  In order to achieve the level of financial savings the district needs to remain solvent and maintain reasonable class sizes and balanced student populations, it is important that students enroll in their home schools.  The district studied the feasibility of “grandfathering” various grade levels at each school and honors students at Harding and Connell.  Unfortunately, each of these options would require additional staff and the possible addition of modular classrooms to accommodate the students.