City school system to hold talks on facilities, grades

By: From staff reports | The Daily Progress
Published: June 08, 2009

The Charlottesville public school system will hold several meetings in the coming months to discuss the division’s use of facilities and whether its grades should be reconfigured.

In January, the schools received an efficiency report that said it should shutter an elementary school to become more efficient in its use of facilities as enrollment declines. No decision has been made and no changes would take place next year.

Currently, the Charlottesville schools have six elementary schools containing pre-kindergarten through fourth grade; one upper elementary school with fifth and sixth grades; one middle school with seventh and eighth grades; and one high school with ninth through 12th grades.

The possible new options have been pinned at: leave the division as is; close one elementary school; have six elementary schools, two middle schools and one high school; or have six elementary schools, one middle school and one high school.

The four options for reconfiguration will be discussed with various groups on the following days:

— Today: Friendship Court residents at the Friendship Court Community Center, 6:30 p.m.

— Wednesday: South First Street residents at the South First Street Community Center, 4:30 p.m.; Westhaven residents at the Westhaven Community Center, 6:30 p.m.

— Friday: City Council and the School Board at City Hall, noon.

— June 18: Teachers, at Charlottesville High School, 2 p.m.

— This month: The University of Virginia’s Curry School of Education at UVa, time to be determined.

— July 22: School facilities and grade configuration panel, time and place to be determined.

— Aug. 11: Principals, at Burnley-Moran Elementary School, 8:30 a.m.

The grade options will be narrowed down at the following meetings:

— Sept. 1: School facilities and grade configuration panel discussion at Charlottesville High School, 6 p.m.

— Sept. 1 to 30: Breakfast meetings with teachers, 8 a.m.

— Oct. 1: The Charlottesville School Board’s meeting at CHS, 6 p.m.

The School Board, at its meeting on Oct. 19, will then consider the options again. If needed, additional meetings will be scheduled.