By Susie Dickson
Staff Writer
One hundred Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools middle school students could be moved to different schools under a proposed redistricting plan that will be considered by the school board in a work session tonight (Thursday).
The proposed redistricting plan includes changes that would shift the Chinese-English dual-language program to McDougle Middle School, reduce enrollment at Culbreth Middle School and move orphan segments that were created during elementary redistricting last year. An orphan segment is a small group of students that is the only group from an elementary school to attend a particular middle school.
According to district projections, Culbreth Middle School would be more than 80 students over capacity during the 2008-09 school year under current middle school assignments, while the other three middle schools would be under capacity, with McDougle more than 130 students under capacity.
To relieve overcrowding at Culbreth, the plan proposes moving several segments from Culbreth to McDougle. These segments include Chambers Ridge Apartments, Westbrook, Canterbury, Willow Terrace, Sunstone Apartments, Camelot Apartments, 250 South Estes Condos (the University Mall area), Carolina Apartments and Wildwood Springs. The proposed change would move nearly 40 students to McDougle from Culbreth.
According to school officials, moving the Chinese-English dual-language program from Culbreth to McDougle would also help relieve overcapacity at Culbreth while increasing enrollment at McDougle. Moving the dual-language program would increase enrollment at McDougle by 14 students.
The proposed plan also includes changes that would move 28 students in orphan segments from Culbreth to McDougle. The orphan segments include South Greensboro Street from Main Street to Rocky Brook Mobile Home Park, Old Pittsboro Road, Roberson Place, Maple Avenue and Royal Park Apartments.
Students in the segment that includes Damascus Church Road from Jones Ferry to Meacham, Ridgewood Springhill Forest, Wolf’s Pond and Preston would be moved to Culbreth from McDougle, because the segment was orphaned during elementary redistricting.
In addition, the segment that includes Foxcroft Apartments would be moved from Culbreth to Phillips Middle School because of transportation issues. Elementary school students from Foxcroft Apartments attend Glenwood Elementary, which is a significant distance from Culbreth. The proposed change would move eight students from Culbreth to Phillips.
The proposed changes only include rising sixth- and seventh-grade students, because rising eighth-grade students would be allowed to choose to remain at their current middle school.
Because the board will consider redistricting during a work session, no vote will be taken, and board members will make decisions regarding the proposed plan at subsequent meetings.