More than 130 families from the MacArthur Elementary School community delivered a letter to the School Board this week opposing redistricting changes heading to the School Board for a final decision next month.
Keep Students Together, a new group dedicated to the issue, said that the proposals to “split the elementary school community” are speculative and rushed, and will disrupt kids who started their elementary school experiences during the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“To split these children apart now—just as they enter middle school, one of the most socially and emotionally sensitive periods of their lives—would not only be deeply disruptive, it would also undo years of work by our educators to build connection, stability, and trust,” the letter says. “Middle school is already a challenging period of transition. Our students deserve stability, support, and a sense of continuity. They deserve to move forward with the peers and community they’ve grown up with.”
The group is asking the Board to:
- Keep the ACPS elementary community together during this redistricting process
- Pause any boundary changes that rely on evolving or incomplete plans
- Increase transparency and family engagement before final decisions are made
The School Board will receive the final ACPS redistricting proposal on May 29, followed by a public hearing on June 5, and a final decision on June 12. The new boundaries will go into effect in August 2026.
It’s been six years since the last shift of elementary school boundaries impacted approximately 1,351 students, according to ACPS. That 2018 redistricting was the result of a year-long process. Law requires ACPS to conduct a boundary analysis every five years or if a school opens. The analysis was sparked by the 2023 opening of the rebuilt Douglas MacArthur Elementary School, which now has 540 students and a 840-student capacity (65% utilization).
A 2023 ACPS boundary analysis showed over-utilization in the city’s West End schools, with Patrick Henry K8 School at 152% utilization, Samuel W. Tucker Elementary School at 122%, Charles Barrett Elementary School at 109%, and both Ferdinand T. Day Elementary School at 106% utilization.
ACPS has proposed the square, circle and triangle maps (see gallery above) with various options for the School Board.
According to Marcia Jackson, the ACPS Chief of Student Services and Equity:
The square map addresses existing capacity issues at schools that are beyond their resident utilizations. The circle map plan addresses a combination of minimizing the transportation impact and utilization imbalances where possible. The triangle map plan addresses utilization imbalances across the division, while attempting to reassign study areas to the nearest school with available capacity to minimize the transportation impact. The triangle map plan two provides more demographic balance between Charles Barrett Elementary School and George Mason Middle School (George Mason) and attempts to right size for the swing space. The triangle map plan three attempts to provide more demographic balance and increase utilization of the George Mason expansion…
The current elementary maps being considered by the School Board include the square, circle and three iterations of the triangle map plans. All maps can be viewed on the ACPS School Boundary Redistricting webpage. Each map has a corresponding middle school map that addresses elements of the five guiding principles in different ways.
The circle and triangle plans two and three will be presented to the School Board at the May 29, 2025, School Board meeting. There will be a Public Hearing on the maps on June 5, 2025. The School Board is scheduled to make a decision on the maps and policies at the June 12, 2025, School Board meeting. I encourage the community to stay engaged as we continue to move forward in the process.
