The Roanoke School Board unveiled proposed attendance zone changes in March.

After comparing the proposals, what do you think?

How might any of these changes affect your family or your children?

What might this mean, if anything, for your neighborhood? The city?

 It's hard to say yet based on the lack of detail in the maps provided by the city: it would be really helpful if the web wizards at the RT could produce a map that showed more streets and could be layered with the school attendance zones. It would be GREAT to be able to type in an address and see where your kids would go to school, or at least zoom in on each zone for each school to see the streets whose kids would go to that school.

Take a look at the maps on the RCPS web site 

http://www.rcps.info/education/components/scrapbook/default.php?sectiondetailid=25061

My son will end up at one of 3 school;I think the city needs to do it all at once so plan 2 and 3 makes the most sense. I still dont understand the lines drawn and the cut offs in some areas; under one of the plans my son will be sent to a school over 3 miles away when 3 others are right around 2 miles.

 option 2 seems to make the most sense and allows for the most logical changes

I think that option 2 makes the most sense. If the goal is to cut down on busing these kids across town, then we need to go ahead and make the necessary changes.  I realize change is difficult; however, this needs to be done all at once!  Let's address the issue at hand!  If option 1  is chosen, then what has really been accomplished? Nothing!  With this option, children will continue to be on buses for long periods of timei n order to get across town!  We need to make changes and make them now!

How might they effect the family/children?  They currently go to a city school.  This has negative connotations...because, I believe, of the lop-sidedness of the skin color issue.  It would be less so if the ratio was less lop-sided.

As for the neighborhood...and the city...ditto that above - in time.

Now, I don't recall all the numbers you thru out (how many kids would move and to what school, and what racial percentage that would yield), but, I would think that the maximizing of the available, remaining facilities is more pertinent than individual concerns over their racial makeup.  Or, maybe that's all water under the dam, and you've already addressed them.

People will get aclimated to the environment whatever it be...Tightening the belt to save money is never fun...Just ask the unemployed.

 You can zoom in on individual streets as well as homes.It's very interactive.

The Board tried to incorporate the natural boundaries as well as the train tracks,etc..2 and 3 seem like the only options. 

 I agree,1 does absolutely nothing.2 and 3 are the only options in my view.3 seems to do the most to accomplish the goal.

Afer looking at enlarged maps of the redistricting, it is still clear that 2 and 3 are the only options in order to accomplish the goal.  Three actually makes the most sense, as option 2 calls for some changes that will have children who won't attend a school that is located ont he street in which they live. THree has very clear zones in which students will attend teh school closest to their home.  Isn't this the goal we are trying to accomplish?

 The changes will not affect our family as our daughter will be graduating in a few years. I am concerned; however, that Roanoke will be stepping back into the 1950's by not encouraging the same levels of racial integration that we have practiced for half a century. My opinion has always been that Roanoke has a sort of underlying "racist" edge. I sincerely hope this is not a thinly veiled attempt to act on those feelings by segregating our children.

What happens when children grow up without contact with other races? They usually fear what they do not know. I remember growing up in the early 60's and there were certain areas of town that a white person just didn't venture into. Why this was I can only imagine. My suspicion is that fear of what we didn't know kept us separate. It wasn't until mandatory bussing allowed children of all races to sit beside one another in the classroom, forming friendships and learning about each other's culture, that things began to change. 

We are still a long, long way from a true color-blind community and my fear is that by allowing this redistricting to happen, our children will grow up in their own white or black worlds, taking us further away from that blended society. I think this is a step in the wrong direction and a huge mistake.

@turtle344  Under Option 3 my son would have to be bused across town. Yet 4 schools are closer with 3 of the zones just blocks away. Move one block to the west He would go to Grandin, move one block south or east he would go to Fishburn, 1-2 Blocks North he ends up at VA Hights. Like everyone else I think Option 1 is just a quick fix and will do nothing, but option 2 seems to do the most for keeping kids near there home and diversity because the zones seem to be in tracks not spots. Under the 3rd option you keeps most kids at the schools closest to their home, but will hurt the NW schools. If you look on the RCPS site it gives you a look at the numbers under all 3 and under number 3 Fairview, Lincoln, and RAMS become the most crowded; with Grandin, Fishburn, and C Springs the smallest. I guess in my mind 2 is the better option it seems to have the best mix of keeping kids in the same schools, and diversity.

After reviewing the proposals, I would recommend Homeshooling.  The federal government schools are failing and the local leadership is void of efficiency, vision, and value.  Why subject my children to that???  Children have the opportunity for a more comprehensive education in a homeschool environment. 

Meanwhile they want "$3.7M in additional funding to avoid laying off 81 employees"???  Where are they going to get that money? 

It looks like the government will need to learn how to manage their finances a little better.

 1) Homeschooling is not a viable option in our area for the majority of our citizenry. It requires too much money and time, and presupposes a two-parent household with enough income for one spouse to spend all day at home. Might be an option for 6-figure income religiously motivated families in Fairfax, but not here for the majority of our people. Deal with realities, not ideology.

2) I am unaware of any 'federal government schools" in the Roanoke valley. Our public schools are funded and governed by the state legislature and local governmental bodies.

3)  If by "comprehensive" you mean inculcating a narrow world-view and the exclusion of any fact deemed heretical by the parent, then sure, home schooling is "comprehensive". C'mon....

4) Governmental bodies do, I agree, have to do a better job of allocating dwindling resources. They will most likely not get the money, and urban schools will continue to lose valuable new blood from their teaching ranks and eliminate important programs, thereby continuing the decline of our public schools. Then, home-school and charter school advocates rejoice, you've finally starved out the last hope of our economically-disadvantaged urban populations in the service of your myopic, parochial, theocratic ideology.

@GoTerriersGo   Here Here, I love the idea that anyone can just say OK I'm done and homeschooling. Also private school is not a possibility for my child because 1)I want him to have a fact based secular education not available here in the valley, and 2) I am already saving for college for him,  I can't image trying to pay for private school right now.

 

Also this libertarian idea that the government should not deal with our education is a terrible idea. Urban schools would fail, and what would happen then? The Commonwealth and the City has failed our children with SOLS, and short sidedness. Even when I was in school we would have good young teachers who would leave after 4-5 years to get a better job in Salem, Roanoke County or other better paying less stressed environments. SO everyone who wants to blame the big spending politicians take a hard look and ask do you really charter schools that don't work and vouchers that only a handful get? Not me I would rather see equal opportunity across the board. Unfortunately that calls for tough decisions in the budget, and money so we can get good teachers and equipment. Far too many feel that this generation will be lost one so they don't care about it.