West Chester Schools Redistricting Maps For 2021-22 Are Ready

WEST CHESTER, PA — With the intensity of the 2020-21 school year launch in the air, a "non-Covid-related" agenda item came up during West Chester Area School District's Aug. 24 meeting.

The WCASB announced the interactive redistricting maps for the 2021-22 school year are now available for viewing on the district's website.

WCASD held its last board meeting before the 2020-21 school year begins, as teachers are doing in-service training and students prepare for the first day of school on Aug. 31.

A presentation of the redistricting plan from May 2020 said that boundary changes were necessary in some places in order to keep schools near attendance capacities.

While the district stated, during the process, that it aimed to move as few students as possible, the redistricting proceeded with the following goals before the school board:

• Schedule secondary buildings to 90 to 95 percent of capacity.
• Schedule elementary buildings at 93 to 98 percent of capacity.
• Maintain MS/HS feeder patterns (FMS to EHS; SMS to RHS; PMS to HHS).
• Schedule buildings with free and reduced lunch rates within 8 points of district average (currently 17.4 percent ).
• Do not split middle schools.
• Allow high school students (9-12) to finish their current feeder pattern.
• Include a transition plan.
• Consider eliminating the split at Fern Hill – currently some students go to PMS and some go to FMS.
• Consider ways to move as few students as possible.

The interactive redistricting maps may be viewed here.