BOE Attendance Boundary Study Item _ 2025.09.09 (2).pdf (8,243 KB)

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Board of Education | September 9, 2025

School Attendance Area Policy JC Study Item

Policy JC School Attendance Areas What is the purpose of attendance area boundaries? ● ● ● ● ● ●

Foster balanced resident population among schools Eﬃcient use of resources (i.e. facilities, transportation, staﬃng) Transportation planning Community and neighborhood cohesion Board policy compliance Long range planning

Total Student Enrollment

BVSD Enrollment Policies Open Enrollment

ADE: Schools of Choice JC: School Attendance Areas

Less predictable student enrollment

JECC & JECC-R: Open Enrollment

Attendance Boundaries

Increases complexity of staﬃng, facilities, and transportation planning

Shares same student population

Schools of Choice dependent

Schools of Choice

Capacity 3

May 20, 2025

Policy JC Worksession What we heard: ●

Reach out to potentially impacted families for feedback on proposed changes in Boulder schools

●

Consider other changes that would have more impact on the student experience

Family Outreach ● Dedicated website Launched July 17, 2025

● Emails to affected families Week of July 21, 2025

● Direct outreach Week of July 28, 2025

● Spot article Aug. 6, 2025

Boulder

Areas of Consideration for Boundary Change View east of Diagonal A Crest Hwy. to Heatherwood Creekside B Non-Contiguous to Whittier west of Broadway C Creekside to Flatirons Bear Creek/Creekside D Dual to Bear Creek west of Broadway E Creekside to Bear Creek

Policy JC

Middle School Feeder System Considerations to Casey/ G Whittier Creekside to Manhattan View joins H Crest Heatherwood & feeds to Platt

Coal Creek/Platt/LMS map clean-up

J Eisenhower/Manhattan/Platt map clean-up Bear Creek/ K Dual Creekside/Manhattan/ Southern Hills map clean-up

Boulder

Crest View east of Diagonal to Heatherwood Student Proﬁle (SY 2024-25)

Neighborhood Considerations

● 52 elementary students ○ 32 (62%) attg. Crest View ○ 5 attending Heatherwood

● Places all of Gunbarrel into Heatherwood

● Grade Breakout (Res./CV) ○ K: 9/3 ○ 3rd: 11/8 ○ 1st: 7/4 ○ 4th: 9/6 ○ 2nd: 6/3 ○ 5th: 10/8 ● Demographic Makeup ○ FRL: 3 (6%) ○ ELL: 5 (10%)

Transportation ● No net gain/loss of bus service ● Shorter bus ride to Heatherwood

Resident Student Impact ● Would add to Heatherwood’s currently lower population (305) ● Although Crest View has a large resident population (684), it also has high OE-out (50%).

Rooftops ● ● ● ●

422: SFD 815: Condo 199: Apts. Average Yield: 108

Feeder Considerations ● Different middle schools (Centennial v. Platt)

Boulder

Crest View east of Diagonal to Heatherwood Primary Objectives: ●

Balance resident population across schools to maintain high-quality learning experiences for students When enrollment is uneven across schools, it impacts funding and the ability to provide essential programs and staff, such as classroom teachers, counselors, and specialists in art, music, P.E., and libraries. Fewer students can mean fewer adults to support them, which affects the overall student experience.

●

Support community connections In our planning, we try to keep neighborhoods together as we deﬁne geographic attendance areas on a map. This supports better transportation planning as well as the sense of community that develops through shared geography. Social connections grow through sharing experiences at the places in one’s community such as grocery stores, parks, restaurants, places of worship, schools, etc.

Middle School Feeder Considerations

Crest View joins Heatherwood to feed into Platt Student Proﬁle ● 34 Middle school students ○ 24 attending Centennial ○ 2 attending Platt ● Grade Breakout (Res./Centennial) ○ 6th: 7/4 ○ 7th: 17/11 ○ 8th: 10/9 ● Demographic makeup ○ FRL: 8 (24%) ○ ELL: 7 (21%)

Neighborhood Considerations ● Places all of Gunbarrel in Platt

Resident Student Impact ● Would add to Platt’s low resident population (354) ● Small impact to Centennial’s larger resident population (696)

Rooftops

● ● Transportation ● Even trade off: One bus transports to ● Centennial and one would go to Platt ●

SFD: 422 Condo: 815 Apts.: 199 Average Yield: 62 middle students

Feeder Considerations ● Will remain in Boulder High

Middle School Feeder Considerations

Crest View joins Heatherwood to feed into Platt Primary Objectives: ●

Support community connections BVSD believes there is value in supporting neighborhood-based relationships as students move through the school grades. The area that would be reassigned is in Gunbarrel, and the change would have them join the rest of Gunbarrel which is assigned to Heatherwood and Nevin Platt. In our planning, we try to keep neighborhoods together as we deﬁne geographic attendance areas on a map. This supports better transportation planning as well as the sense of community that develops through shared geography. Social connections grow through sharing experiences at the places in one’s community such as grocery stores, parks, restaurants, places of worship, schools, etc.

●

Balance resident population across schools to maintain high-quality learning experiences for students

Family Feedback - Gunbarrel Crest View to Heatherwood/Centennial to Nevin Platt ● ●

103 preschool, elementary and middle school students’ families received emails 27 parents participated in interviews

Themes/Concerns ●

Does this ﬁx the issue? ○ Some families expressed uncertainty about Heatherwood's future. They are concerned about being reassigned there only to have it close later. ○ A few families commented that BVSD should further investigate the reasons families are choosing to enroll out of Heatherwood and address those concerns. (Note: In 2024-25, Heatherwood’s open enrollment out rate was notably lower than Crest View’s) ○ Families are worried about potential impacts on Crest View if boundary changes are implemented.

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The neighborhood is close and there is a concern that this could fracture it. Students have formed relationships with peers at school. 10

Family Feedback - Gunbarrel Themes/Concerns (continued) ●

Working families commented that they beneﬁt from bus transportation which would be lost if they choose to stay at their current schools.

●

We have also heard via email from families in support of the change from Crest View to Heatherwood, speciﬁcally citing the more bike-friendly commute.

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Parents also noted that students are active in north Boulder sports—moving to Platt would make it more diﬃcult to participate.

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We also heard that biking to Platt is not feasible for middle schoolers.

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Some families felt the change from Centennial to Platt does not make sense because of the distance and a more diﬃcult commute. 11

Family Feedback - Gunbarrel Ideas/Suggestions from Families ●

Allow students to ﬁnish at the elementary and middle school where they started—have new enrollees and all students after a certain date go to Heatherwood/Platt

●

Transportation is an issue for working families—have one stop in the neighborhood for families who choose to stay at Crest View and Centennial

●

Allow middle school students at Platt to go to either Fairview or Boulder High (dual attendance area)

Gunbarrel - Options for Board consideration Crest View to Heatherwood and Centennial to Platt A.

Move forward with adjustments at elementary and middle school levels as proposed: ○

Allow current (SY 25-26) 4th and 7th graders and their siblings to stay for the 2026-27 school year; guarantee admission

○

No transportation provided

OR B.

Move forward with proposed adjustments at elementary and middle school levels with the following adjustments: ○

Beginning in the 2026-27 school year, allow currently enrolled students at Crest View and Centennial to stay at those schools; guarantee admission

○

No transportation provided

Boulder

Non-Contiguous Creekside to Whittier Student Proﬁle ● 6 elementary students ○ 2 attending Creekside ○ 0 attending Whittier ● Additional potential future students ● Grade Breakout (Res./Crksd.) ○ 3rd: 1/0 ○ K: 1/0 ○ 4th: 2/1 ○ 1st: 1/1 ○ 5th: 0/0 ○ 2nd: 1/0 ● Demographic makeup ○ FRL: 3 (50%) ○ ELL: 4 (70%)

Transportation ● No net gain/loss of bussing ● Existing bus S. of Arapahoe

Feeder Considerations ● Will remain in same feeder

Neighborhood Considerations ● Will join neighborhood school of surrounding area

Resident Student Impact ● Would add slightly to Whittier’s low resident population (306) ● Potential for more students depending on new construction ● Slight impact to Creekside’s larger resident population (495)

Rooftops Apt.: 466 Condo: 56 Dup/Tri: 11 SFD: 5 Additional new residential construction underway ● Average Yield: 28 elementary ● ● ● ● ●

Boulder

Non-Contiguous Creekside to Whittier Primary Objective: ●

Middle School Feeder Considerations

Whittier to Casey/Creekside to Manhattan Student Proﬁle EXISTING

Neighborhood Considerations

● 19 middle school students ● Will join neighborhood middle ○ 8 attend neighborhood school school of elementary ● Grade Breakout (Res./Attg. Neigh.) Resident Student Impact ○ 6th: 7/2 ● Would add a little to Casey’s ○ 7th: 7/2 resident population (536) ○ 8th: 5/4 ● Small impact to Manhattan’s ● Demographic makeup resident population (495) ○ FRL: 8 (42%) ○ ELL: 7 (37%)

Rooftops

Transportation PROPOSED

● Walk distance for Casey ● Bus eligible for Manhattan

Feeder Considerations ● Places all of Whittier into Casey ● Places all of the northern part of Creekside into Manhattan

● ● ● ● ●

Apt.: 1,858 Condo: 485 Dup/Tri: 17 SFD: 69 Average Yield: 59 M.S. students

Middle School Feeder Considerations

Whittier to Casey/Creekside to Manhattan Primary Objective: EXISTING ●

Support community connections BVSD believes there is value in supporting neighborhood-based relationships as students move through the school grades. Currently, Whittier Elementary feeds into Casey Middle and Manhattan Middle and Creekside Elementary feeds into Casey Middle, Manhattan Middle, and Southern Hills Middle. This change assigns all Whittier students to Casey and reduces the number of middle schools that Creekside is assigned to from three to two.

PROPOSED

In our planning, we try to keep neighborhoods together as we deﬁne geographic attendance areas on a map. This supports better transportation planning as well as the sense of community that develops through shared geography. Social connections grow through sharing experiences at the places in one’s community such as grocery stores, parks, restaurants, places of worship, schools, etc.

Family Feedback - Central Boulder Whittier/Creekside Bubble & Whittier to Casey/ Creekside to Manhattan ●

There are 7 PK-5 students living in the area affected in the Whittier/Creekside proposal—three currently attend Creekside.

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There are 39 PK-8 (22 PK-5, 17 6-8) students that live in the area affected by the Casey/Manhattan proposal—three are Casey students who are in 7th and 8th grade this year, and four are Manhattan students who are in 6th through 8th grade this year.

●

One family signed up for an interview but did not answer when called.

Central Boulder - Options for Board consideration Whittier/Creekside Bubble & Whittier to Casey/Creekside to Manhattan A.

Move forward with changes at elementary and middle school levels as proposed: ○

Allow current (SY 25-26) 4th and 7th graders and their siblings to stay for the 2026-27 school year; guarantee admission

○

No transportation provided

OR B.

Move forward with proposed changes at elementary and middle school levels with the following adjustments: ○

Beginning in the 2026-27 school year, allow currently enrolled students at Creekside, Casey, and Manhattan to stay at those schools; guarantee admission

○

No transportation provided 17

Boulder

Dual Bear Creek/Creekside to Bear Creek Student Proﬁle ● 37 elementary students ○ 23 attg. Bear Creek (62%) ○ 7 attg. Creekside (19%) ○ Historically, most choose BC ● Grade Breakout (Res./Crksd.) ○ K: 7/1 ○ 3rd: 3/0 ○ 1st: 4/0 ○ 4th: 4/0 ○ 2nd: 9/5 ○ 5th: 10/1 ● Demographic Makeup ○ FRL: 3 (8%) ○ ELL: 1 (3%)

Transportation ● Eliminates 1 bus stop to CS ● W/in walking distance for BC ● Pedestrian access to BC somewhat circuitous

Feeder Considerations ● Same middle and high schools

Neighborhood Considerations ● Reinforces Broadway boundary ● Overall, more physically connected to Bear Creek

Resident Student Impact ● BC already getting most of the students ● Impact to Creekside should be slight (7 in 2024)

Rooftops ● Dup/Tri: 2 ● SFD: 324 ● Average Yield: 58 elementary

Boulder

Dual Bear Creek/Creekside to Bear Creek Primary Objectives: ●

Fostering community and neighborhood cohesion BVSD believes there is value in supporting neighborhood-based relationships. Assigning all students in this area to Bear Creek supports neighborhood social connections.

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Aligning with geographic features such as major roads Broadway is a logical boundary and this change eliminates the necessity to cross Broadway to access Creekside.

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Maximization of pedestrian access to schools, and efficient use of transportation The entire area is within walking distance of Bear Creek and eliminates a bus stop for Creekside.

Family Feedback - Bear Creek/Creekside ●

32 elementary students’ families received emails

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Six of those students attend Creekside and would be affected by the change

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Five parents participated in interviews

Themes/Concerns ●

Some families questioned if this ﬁxes the issue of low enrollment at Bear Creek and suggested BVSD should close a school and combine enrollment instead.

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Students have made strong connections with peers at school.

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Families felt that the walk/ride to Bear Creek is more diﬃcult than to Creekside.

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Some parents expressed concern for the longer term well-being of Creekside with students being moved to Bear Creek and Whittier.

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We heard strong appreciation for Creekside’s international community.

Bear Creek/Creekside - Options for Board Consideration A.

Move forward with the change as proposed: ○

Allow current (SY 25-26) 4th graders and their siblings to stay at Creekside for the 2026-27 school year; guarantee admission

○

No transportation provided

OR B.

Move forward with the proposed change with the following adjustments: ○

Beginning in the 2026-27 school year, allow currently enrolled students at Creekside to stay; guarantee admission

○

No transportation provided 20

Middle School Feeder Considerations

Map clean-up; No students impacted EXISTING

EXISTING: The Coal Creek attendance area is

I assigned to Platt and LMS.

PROPOSED: Move the Platt/LMS boundary to align with the Coal Creek boundary.

PROPOSED

There are no students currently living in the area (although there are 9 houses). At this time, this move would only clean up the map. This change also better aligns with high school feeders.

Middle School Feeder Considerations

Map clean-up; No students impacted EXISTING

J EXISTING: Eisenhower is assigned to Manhattan and Platt.

PROPOSED: Move a portion of the Manhattan/Platt boundary to align with the Eisenhower boundary This move will clean-up the map to reinforce Manhattan as Eisenhower's primary middle school, except where students are in close proximity to Platt. There are no students currently living in the area and only one house. This move would currently only clean-up the map and would also better align with high school feeders.

PROPOSED 22

Middle School Feeder Considerations

Map clean-up; No students impacted Bear Creek/ Creekside dual area

EXISTING

EXISTING: Dual Bear Creek/Creekside area is assigned to Manhattan and Southern Hills and Boulder High. PROPOSED: Assign small west section of dual Bear Creek/Creekside to Southern Hills and Fairview

PROPOSED

There are no students living in the area, nor are there any houses. This move would only clean up the map and also better align with high school feeders.

Summary Options for Board consideration: ● Crest View to Heatherwood/Centennial to Platt A. Adopt the changes as proposed (SY 25-26 4th and 7th grade + siblings remain for 2026-27; no transportation) B. Adopt the changes w/modiﬁcations (currently enrolled students remain through 5th/8th grade; no transportation) ● Whittier/Creekside Bubble & Whittier to Casey/Creekside to Manhattan A. Adopt the changes as proposed (SY 25-26 4th and 7th grade + siblings remain for 2026-27; no transportation) B. Adopt the changes w/modiﬁcations (currently enrolled students remain through 5th/8th grade.; no transportation) ● Bear Creek/Creekside Dual Enrollment A. Adopt the changes as proposed (SY 25-26 4th grade + siblings remain for 2026-27; no transportation) B. Adopt the changes w/modiﬁcations (currently enrolled students remain through 5th grade; no transportation) ● ● ●

Coal Creek/Nevin Platt/LMS map clean up Eisenhower/Manhattan/Nevin Platt map clean up Dual Bear Creek/Creekside/Manhattan/Southern Hills map clean-up

Questions?