The Examiner U-46 News Feed

Boundary change ratified for U-46’s Hawk Hollow

By Seth Hancock
  By a unanimous vote, the School District U-46 Board of Education approved of boundary changes for Bartlett’s Hawk Hollow Elementary School, at its meeting on Monday, May 2.
  The changes are part of a five-year facilities plan which includes converting Hawk Hollow into a middle school as the district plans to expand middle school to sixth through eighth grade instead of the current seventh and eighth. The changes will take effect in 2023-2024.
  The board approved of the facilities study and plan earlier this year.
  A memo from Brian Lindholm, chief of staff, states that Army Trail Road will be the dividing line for determining where current Hawk Hollow elementary families will send their children to elementary school. Families north of the road would go to Prairieview and south of the road will go to Spring Trail for elementary school.
  Current enrollment shows 90 percent going to Prairieview and 10 percent to Spring Trail.
  “We have confirmed that both schools possess the available capacity to absorb these students starting in the 23-24 school year,” Lindholm wrote.
  Additionally, the district will give qualifying families the chance to go to Prairieview or Spring Trail starting in the 2022-2023 school year. Qualifying currently are 43 incoming kindergartners, 21 siblings of incoming kindergartners and three new students to Hawk Hollow.
  “The students will be offered transportation services if the area of residence qualifies for services,” Lindholm wrote. “We will ask these families to decide by May 27, 2022, if they would like to move their student(s) to allow us to assess the impact on class rosters and possibly staffing. If we do not hear back from the family by May 27, 2022, the student(s) will remain enrolled at Hawk Hollow Elementary School for the 2022-2023 school year.”
  Lindholm added: “Approving the new boundaries will provide families of new Hawk Hollow Elementary School students for the 2022-2023 school year the opportunity to move their students a year early to avoid consecutive transitions. It will also allow us to publicly share the new boundaries that would become effective for all students in the current Hawk Hollow Elementary School boundary area for the 2023-2024 school year.”