Right Size FAQs

District and school leadership is committed to making this transition as smooth as possible for our students and families. A variety of academic, social, and emotional supports will include: 

• Student open house days and transition nights for students and parents to ask questions and learn expectations.
• Virtual tours to view building-level spaces.
• Consistent instructional practices across grade levels.
• Support systems for students who may need additional help adjusting.
• Surveys and feedback opportunities.
• Access to a Parent Resource hub on the district's website with FAQs, talking points, timeline updates, and direct channels to ask questions confidentially if needed. 

We also recognize that some students may feel anxious about changes to their routines or schools. Those feelings are valid, and we encourage open conversations with your child and building leadership.

Building a strong collaborative culture at every school will be a focus.  The SEL curriculum that is recommended for Board approval in April will help with school and district conversations about positive learning environments and school cultures.

When enrollment is balanced with building capacity, students gain access to the spaces and schedules they need to thrive, and that directly reduces the pressure educators face every day. 

Students eating lunch in the gym instead of classrooms means classrooms are cleaner, quieter, and ready for learning without the disruption of managing midday meals in an academic space. 

More flexible scheduling means fewer conflicts over shared spaces and more opportunities for students to interact with a broader peer group, which supports social-emotional development and reduces some behavioral challenges stemming from under-stimulation or social isolation. 

A well-balanced building is simply a better environment for everyone in it, including you.

In addition, bringing grade levels together in one school will create more opportunities to reduce virtual instruction by making the most of staff certifications and resources available on-site.

Enrollment shifts over time have created uneven grade-level populations and staffing imbalances across schools. Right-sizing enrollment ensures equitable distribution of students, resources, and programming. When buildings operate with the student populations they were designed to serve, everyone benefits; students have access to better spaces and schedules, staff have more manageable workloads, and the district can deliver consistent programming across all buildings. This initiative is about getting our schools into the right alignment for the long term.

No. This initiative is about alignment and long-term stability, not cost-cutting. Balanced enrollment supports consistent staffing models and sustainable programming across all buildings. While any well-run organization pays attention to efficiency, the driving force behind this change is equity and quality of experience for students and staff. 

No. Staffing will not be reduced or eliminated. The district remains committed to maintaining appropriate staffing levels based on student enrollment and research-based guidelines for effective class sizes, ensuring all students are well supported. Families and staff should feel confident that decisions in this process are guided by what is best for our school community, not by a budget-reduction agenda.

The goal is to create more consistent and equitable class sizes across the district, reducing the extremes that currently exist at both ends of the spectrum. In buildings where enrollment has exceeded capacity, some classes are significantly larger than they should be. In buildings with lower enrollment, some classes may be underenrolled. Rebalancing works toward a middle ground that is more manageable for educators and more educationally sound for students. Specific class size projections will be shared with staff as building-level plans are finalized.

Our parent/community voice is important. While the overall direction of the initiative has been determined at the district level based on enrollment and capacity data, the considerations of implementation are something that families can meaningfully shape.  Parent and guardian input is essential to our decision-making. When families share concerns and ideas, we carefully consider them as we plan programs, supports, and resources, ensuring solutions that meet the needs of our students and community.

School start and end times will not be affected by the Right Size Enrollment Realignment initiative.

School boundaries will not be impacted by the Right Size Enrollment Realignment initiative.

School boundaries will no longer apply to Pre-K programming and students in grades 5 - 8. Each of these grade levels will attend a separate school and will no longer be split across buildings.
 

The Dual Language program will remain unchanged and continue to operate as normal.

Dual-language programming will be offered at Lakeview (Pre-K only), East, West, Shiloh Park, and Zion Central Middle School.

Shiloh Park school will shift from a middle school model to an intermediate model. 5th-grade instruction will be provided via a block schedule. ELA/Social Studies will be taught by 1 teacher, Math/Science by 1 teacher, and additional curriculum subjects by independent subject-matter teachers.

6th-grade instruction will be provided by individual subject teachers with period transitions.

Transportation will continue to be provided for students who live 0.3 miles or more from their assigned school, consistent with current district practice.

The district will collaborate with our transportation services to develop efficient and effective bus routes for the 2026–2027 school year, ensuring timely and safe travel for all students.

At this time, we do not anticipate changes to busing needs or services for families.