The Peoria Public School district is developing a plan to reconfigure district boundaries and restructure grade levels at schools.
The District 150 board began talks Monday night on possible ways to shift student populations. Under the proposed plans, the District says 321 students would be shifted to other schools. This would create a need for new bus routes, Director of Transportation Josh Collins said.
Interim Superintendent Sharon Kherat says the idea is to alleviate overcrowding at some schools and cluster grades together at schools where space is underutilized, like Manual Academy.
"Students need to be grouped in an effective way to better focus on teaching and learning," Kherat said.
The restructuring is a facet of Kherat’s five-year strategic plan that could be approved as early as February.
Several board members called for more conversations with PTO groups, stakeholders and families before finalizing the plan.
District spokesman Chris Copelan says the board is in the "testing the waters" phase. A major component of the restructuring would include a communications plan to inform parents of the changes and school assignments in the spring of next year.
Proposed Changes for K-8 and High School:
OPTION A:
1. Trewyn K-8 would become a K-5 school. The 6th, 7th, & 8th graders would move to Manual.
2. Harrison Primary School would become K-5 school. The 6th, 7th, & 8th graders would move to Manual.
3. Manual Academy would host grades 6-12. Its 9th grade academy would move to the high school. Its 6th, 7th, and 8th grade would move to middle school areas.
OPTION B:
1. Trewyn becomes K-4 and absorbs Harrison students.
2. Harrison becomes 5-8 and absorbs Trewyn students.
3. Manual becomes (9-12) and boundaries would be extended to Averyville neighborhood.
Proposed Boundary Changes:
1. Move Manual boundary North to include CityScape area to redirect students to Manual and neighborhood schools, rather than busing across town
2. Expand Manual boundary to include Averyville area
3. Consider boundary changes in the Annex area such as South River West and Village Green to redirect students to neighborhood schools, rather than busing across town
4. Small piece (by Bradley Park) of Woodrow Wilson attendance area moved to Whittier.