Rebalancing Information

In August of 2026, WWS will transition from six K-4 elementary schools to eight K-5 elementary schools. Rebalancing of the elementary schools will go into effect at that time. Using basic math calculations, a minimum of 33% of elementary school families will need to change schools. In reality, the percentage will be greater. In August of 2027, WWS will transition to two 6-8 middle schools. Rebalancing of the middle schools will go into effect at that time. This will impact approximately 50% of middle school families.

The image below shows the six current elementary schools (yellow circles) and their attendance boundaries, the two new elementary schools (teal circles), and dots representing the locations of all K-5 students. Attendance lines must be rebalanced to have eight K-5 schools. This image shows that many existing students will have to transition to a different school within WWS. The good news is that all of WWS schools are excellent, and their academic programs are well-aligned and consistent.

WWS invited any community members interested in participating to volunteer for the Rebalancing Committee. The committee meetings took place on six straight Wednesday evenings beginning September 3, 2025. WWS has also partnered with its longtime demographer, Dr. Jerry McKibben, who is familiar with WWS and collects data from multiple sources, including government censuses, birth rates, student enrollment, and building permits. He uses statistical models and methods to analyze this data to understand population increases, movement, and structure, ultimately interpreting the findings to provide insights into our enrollment growth and shifts. Additionally, WWS utilizes PowerSchool’s Predictive Enrollment, a tool that leverages student data and historical trends to generate enrollment projections. This enables WWS to forecast future enrollment and visualize the relationship between students' homes and schools on a map. It supports data-driven decision-making for resource allocation, school capacity planning, boundary adjustments, and long-term strategic planning by providing insights into enrollment trends and the potential impact of boundary changes on student populations. With this tool, a data analyst from PowerSchool runs different models based on the considerations the Rebalancing Committee identifies as important. The analyst can provide real-time adjustments and impacts to the student enrollment data.

The committee examined the ten considerations for rebalancing outlined below and reached a consensus on prioritizing demographically balanced schools as the number one driver. This means that WWS boundaries will prioritize ensuring each school population looks as demographically similar as possible. The demographer working with the district shared that federal guidance from the DOJ recommends a range not greater than 15% for SES. It is important that boundaries are not intentionally set in a way that segregates student demographics. The second prioritized consideration is the longevity of boundaries. Boundaries should account for future enrollment projections so that school attendance zones remain intact for as long as possible, considering the future development and growth of the city. Additionally, the committee identified school capacity and feeder schools as important factors in the process. The committee will take all of these considerations into account throughout the process.

• Balanced Enrollment
• Creating Safe Walking Zones
• Demographically Balanced
• Feeder Schools
• Geographic Proximity
• Longevity of Boundaries
• Minimize Impact on Families
• School Capacity
• Specialized Programs
• Transportation & Operations Efficiency
   

There will be no process for families who are rebalanced to another school to either stay at their current school or opt out of the rebalancing process. An option that would allow consideration of grandfathering for current fourth-grade students is anticipated.  This would enable current fourth graders to attend fifth grade at their current school.

Once the new attendance boundaries are finalized, the transportation department will create entirely new bus routes based on the attendance areas for each school. 

No. WWS is committed to smaller class sizes and will continue to use its current class size calculations for its new structure.

WWS partners with parents through the Special Education Parent Advisor Council (SEPAC). This group, along with the WWS special education team, is studying existing programs and working to provide a solution that best meets the needs of students, schools, and the school district. Ideally, each student should be able to attend their home school with the services that support their individual needs. Some programming for pull-out services is expected to be needed in a few schools. Four of our eight elementary schools have suites that can accommodate this special programming. Once the attendance boundaries are completed, decisions on the location of special programming needs can be made. All elementary schools will be able to serve high-ability and multilingual students. 

Probably. However, this is yet to be determined.

The district recognizes that changing schools can create feelings of loss, anxiety, and disorientation. Schools will support students and families in navigating these emotions constructively and will celebrate the new beginnings that accompany these transitions.

If it is determined that grandfathering will be an option for students in grade four, parents will be provided with the opportunity to complete a form to request this option, allowing students to be tracked to ensure class sizes are accurate. More information about this will be communicated once final boundary decisions are made.

Families and community members were given an opportunity to participate directly in the rebalancing process. The Rebalancing Committee sign-up was open to anyone in the district and community who wished to participate. Approximately 100 parents, staff members, and community members responded, dedicating significant time and effort to this work. The Rebalancing Committee has met for a series of extended evening sessions, engaging in presentations, small-group discussions, data analysis, and collaborative conversations to carefully review potential attendance boundary options. Their commitment has been instrumental in guiding this process.

For those who were unable to volunteer for the committee, there will still be an opportunity to provide feedback. Once updated attendance boundary options are finalized, WWSt anticipates sending out a quick feedback form to all families. Parent and community feedback collected through this process will be shared with the Board of School Trustees prior to a final decision being made.
 

WWS has created this Rebalancing Information page on the district website. All information from the Rebalancing Committee can be found here.  WWS will also communicate with families after the Board of School Trustees adopts the new attendance areas.

Some neighborhoods will need to be divided along main roads and natural boundaries. Redrawing attendance boundaries is a complex and detailed process, as every adjustment has a ripple effect on other areas. Neighborhoods within the district are not evenly balanced in size or student population, which adds to the challenge of creating fair and sustainable boundaries.

Committee members were selected via a sign-up form shared in the Shamrock Blast and school newsletters. All members of the Westfield community were invited to participate on this committee.  Since the number of respondents was manageable, everyone who expressed interest was invited to join the committee. To ensure continuity and meaningful engagement, committee members were asked to commit to attending all six scheduled meetings. Each session builds upon the previous one, and consistent participation is essential for informed discussion and decision-making.

Members of the Rebalancing Committee have been asked to commit not only to representing their own perspective but also to representing the community members who were unable to participate. The ultimate goal is to create an outcome where the community feels that this important work was done alongside them. 

The final recommendation will be shared with the Westfield Washington Board of School Trustees for approval during its regular school board meeting on November 11, 2025.

When school boundaries are adjusted, families often hope their child will attend the school closest to home. While proximity is an important consideration, it’s just one part of a much bigger picture.

To create a fair and effective learning environment for all students, WWS must consider many factors:

• Building capacity: Some schools may be too full or too empty. The district aims to balance enrollment so every school can operate smoothly and safely.
• Student demographics: It’s essential to ensure that all schools accurately reflect the diversity of our community and provide equitable opportunities for each student.
• Access to programs and resources: Some schools offer specialized services or programs tailored to their students' needs. Rebalancing helps ensure students across the district can benefit from these.
• Transportation efficiency: Bus routes must be manageable and cost-effective, which sometimes means assigning students to schools that aren’t the absolute closest.
• Long-term sustainability: Planning for the future while being focused on keeping schools balanced as neighborhoods evolve and change over time.WWS will make every effort to keep students close to home whenever possible, but the top priority is to create a school system that works well for everyone—now and in the years to come.

WWS will make every effort to keep students close to home whenever possible, but the top priority is to create a school system that works well for everyone—now and in the years to come.

School boundaries often look irregular and disjointed rather than neat, straight lines for several practical reasons:

• Neighborhood Layouts: Cities and towns aren’t built in perfect grids. Boundaries follow roads, subdivisions, and natural features like rivers or parks, which creates jagged edges.
• Population Distribution: To balance enrollment across schools, districts may include or exclude specific neighborhoods—even if that means drawing unusual shapes.
• Capacity and Resources: Boundaries are established to match school capacities, ensuring that no school is overcrowded or underutilized.
• Equity Considerations: Districts may adjust boundaries to promote socioeconomic diversity or equal access to programs, which can result in non-linear boundaries.
• Avoiding Major Disruptions: Sometimes boundaries are drawn to minimize the number of students who need to switch schools, even if that means creating odd shapes.

Creating boundaries is a bit like solving a puzzle: it’s about aligning enrollment, safe walking zones, demographics, feeder patterns, geography, long-term stability, minimizing family disruption, school capacity, specialized programs, and transportation efficiency.

All current K-4 elementary schools will be impacted by the rebalancing, as well as Westfield Intermediate, which will be renamed Westfield Elementary School in August 2026.

Yes. As part of the rebalancing process, some teachers will need to be reassigned to different schools. WWS will implement a system to enable teachers to express their preferences for school, grade level, or teaching partners, and these preferences will be taken into account when assignments are made. At the same time, each school must have a balance of newer and more experienced teachers. For this reason, some teachers will change buildings to ensure that a mix of experience and expertise is available to support every school community. Once the new school boundaries are established, the process of assigning teachers to schools will begin. WWS will notify teachers of their school and grade assignment by January 2026.

All currently enrolled BAC families will be given one week to enroll before enrollment is opened up to the community. As long as currently enrolled families enroll during the early enrollment period, they will be guaranteed a BAC spot at the new school. Should the family miss the early enrollment period, they would be placed in a cue with all other families and would not be guaranteed a spot.

For the 2026-2027 school year, sixth graders will be able to attend BAC at Westfield Elementary school. Sixth graders in the BAC program there will spend most of their time away from the younger children. For the 2027-2028 school year and beyond, BAC will only be offered to children in kindergarten through fifth grade.