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Utica Community Schools launches review of attendance boundaries and K–5/6–8 grade configuration
Summary
Superintendent Robert Monroe told the board Nov. 17 that the district will review attendance boundaries and consider moving to K–5 elementary and 6–8 middle schools to address decades-old enrollment patterns, capacity imbalances and renovated buildings funded by bond projects.
Superintendent Robert Monroe told the Utica Community Schools Board of Education on Nov. 17 that the district will begin a review of long-standing attendance boundaries and consider changing grade configurations to K–5 elementary, 6–8 middle and 9–12 high schools to respond to shifting enrollment patterns.
Monroe said the district’s attendance boundaries have been largely unchanged for about 50 years and that bond-funded renovations and potential new construction present an opportunity to better align student access with school capacity. “Given the changes in enrollment and community, it is obvious there is a strong need to update and correct them,” Monroe said during his report to the board.
District materials presented to the board highlight several problems the review aims to address: neighborhoods that are geographically disconnected from the schools that serve them, feeder patterns that require families to travel through multiple attendance areas, and elementary schools operating well below capacity. The presentation named specific areas under review, including attendance areas feeding Henry Ford II High School (Harvey Elementary and Dresden Elementary) and a set of schools that feed Stevenson High School (Burr, Collins, DeKeyser, Oakbrook, Plumbrook, Schwarzkoff and Schuchard).
Mark Dziatczak, assistant superintendent for teaching and learning, said administrators are studying whether a K–5/6–8/9–12 configuration would better serve student needs alongside projected enrollment trends. The district will use enrollment projections and facility utilization analyses prepared with input from the Enrollment Distribution Advisory Committee (EDAC), a group of community representatives from each school that will review potential amendments and provide feedback.
The superintendent’s presentation noted considerations that will factor into any boundary or configuration changes, including safety, school age and facility condition. Monroe directed the board and community to additional information on the district website and thanked board members and staff before wishing the community a safe Thanksgiving break.
Next steps: the district will continue its review this fall, engage EDAC and post materials online; no boundary or configuration changes were voted on at the Nov. 17 meeting.
