Tag: 22932

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Update on Redistricting Western Albemarle Schools

via the RealCrozetVA facebook page …

Huge thanks to Kelly for the post. A timeline and meeting dates for the Western Feeder pattern redistricting process is at Albemarle County’s site. Next meeting is 27 November 2012 at Murray Elementary. (bolding that follows is mine)

Good morning, Crozet friends! I’m sorry this update is late in getting posted, but I wanted to provide you with an overview of Tuesday night’s meeting of the Western Feeder Pattern Redistricting Committee.

The committee met at Crozet Elementary school. This is the first meeting where the committee has been able to examine the 10-year enrollment projection figures that have been certified and updated by the State. In a nutshell, growth is expected to continue at both Brownsville and Crozet Elementary Schools. Brownsville is projected to exceed its capacity by the 2014-15 school year; Crozet by 2015-16.

Although Meriwether Lewis school is operating currently above capacity, their enrollments are projected to remain relatively steady, hovering around 440-450. Murray is expected to remain steady at around 270 students. Currently, Murray is operating significantly under capacity, which is why it is a candidate to receive students in a redistricting.

It’s important to note that “overcapacity” is not necessarily the same thing as “overcrowded”. Capacity is a figure derived from a rather complex formula, as well as input from individual schools, and is generally meant to “accurately reflect how buildings are staffed and utilized best to promote student learning”. Capacities are also impacted by a school’s level of “differential staffing” and free and reduced lunch participants, to help that school adequate meet the needs of a diverse student population.

But back to Tuesday’s meeting. The committee has chosen to examine a number of options to attempt to address the overcapacity status at Meriwether Lewis (MLS). I’ll use bullet points to list these options:

-A “holding pattern” option: no students would be redistricted for the 2013-14 school year, but enrollments would continue to be monitored over the next 2 years. A possible redistricting could then be implemented if MLS continues to experience overcapacity. (This is by far the most popular option with MLS families, but as I mentioned above, Brownsville is projected to reach its own capacity problem within 2 years, so there is some thought that this option might amplify any coming issues).

-Movement of a number of children along the Brown’s Gap Turnpike area to Crozet Elementary. (This group of families was affected in the 2007 redistricting from Crozet to MLS).

-Movement of children from the West Leigh neighborhood from MLS to Murray Elementary..

-Movement of children living in the Owensville-Kimbrough area from MLS to Murray.

-Movement of the Glenaire neighborhood from MLS to Murray (this would impact only about 8 students, so would likely be done in combination with one of the above options).

The committee will be analyzing all of these options, and examining issues such as staffing changes at the affected schools, transportation safety and bus ride times, ease of transition for affected students, and much more.

The next meeting of the committee will be on Tuesday, November 27 at Murray elementary at 6:30 p.m. The meeting is open to the public, but public comments will not be taken.

The committee will then hold a public comment meeting at MLS on Tuesday, Dec. 11 at 6:30 p.m. All are invited and encouraged to attend!

If you have any other questions, or concerns that you’d like to share with the committee, please feel free to share them with me.

Sorry for the long post, but this is an important topic for all of us living in the growth area!!

—-

– Post from 2008 about the redistricting then of Brownsville and Crozet.

– Meriwether Lewis has a very informative blog about this process; do any of the other elementary schools have anything similar?

– Update: there is a new Facebook page dedicated to tracking the changes and proposed changes in Western Albemarle schools

– Update 2: Josh Davis will be visiting the Crozet PTO on 4 December … via the Western Albemarle Redistricting Facebook page.

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Walking the Crozet Trails

I spent my Saturday morning with my small one and the Crozet Trails Crew walking the trails from the Westhall neighborhood to behind Foothills Crossing and close to Western Ridge.

This was (lamentably) my first foray onto the Crozet Trails, but I’ll definitely make it a priority to return … more and more of my buyer clients (and existing Crozet residents) want connectivity between neighborhoods and “stuff” – and would rather not have to get in cars.

If you can, I highly recommend walking, hiking, learning, helping with, and proselytizing about the Crozet Trails.

Read more about the Crozet Trails Crew at Charlottesville Tomorrow.

I took a brief video of Dan Mahon talking about the trailhead in Westhall and the plans for future connectivity … if I can make time to edit it, I’ll put it up.

Continue reading “Walking the Crozet Trails”

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Little Things Matter

Thanks to the County for listening to the citizens’ concerns and fixing this long-standing “bump” in the sidewalk … as I said on Facebook* last week:

This might seem like a small thing, and in the grand scheme of things it is. But to those of us who ride bicycles to Crozet elementary, it’s a pretty big deal.

Based on the comments and “likes” I’d say the community is thankful.

thanks, Albemarle County

Continue reading “Little Things Matter”

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Crozet Town Hall Meeting – 8 November 2012

I sense we are at a (new) crossroads for the Crozet community … the town hall will be an opportunity to listen, learn and speak about the forthcoming changes – more new construction, more traffic, school challenges – this will be a great chance for the community.

I think that this is a meeting that is important – one that I think would warrant getting a babysitter to attend.

One thing I have noticed from going to a lot of these meetings is that there are rarely any people under the age of 40 … the future of Crozet depends on the voices of all – and I sincerely think that (no disrespect intended) leaving the conversations and decisions up to those who are more able to attend so many meetings is a disservice to the community.

I can’t promise the meeting will be anything other than boring policy-talk, but if you don’t make the effort (and yes, maybe a little sacrifice) the community will likely suffer.

via email –
Crozet Town Hall Meeting – Rescheduled for November 8 Supervisor Ann Mallek, along with the Crozet Community Advisory Council and Albemarle County staff, invite residents to attend a Crozet Town Hall Meeting on Thursday, November 8, 2012 beginning at 7:00 p.m. at the Field School (Old Crozet Elementary School).

The meeting will focus on a variety of topics including:

• Updates on infrastructure projects like the new library and the streetscape project
• Police and fire initiatives
• New development projects
• Parks and recreation activities  

There will be opportunity for questions and answers as well as interaction with Supervisor Mallek and County staff members, including Police Chief Steve Sellers and Fire Rescue staff, on topics of particular interest.  

?All interested residents are strongly encouraged to attend.

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Field School Spirit Walk this Friday

via email:

Please join us Friday, October 26th and Saturday, October 27th for our 4th Annual  Crozet Spirit Walk.  On Friday and Saturday evening, our school community stages its history play along the streets of Crozet featuring characters from the area’s past. This year’s characters include Reverend Neve, the Cookie Lady, young Meriwether Lewis, Billy Vest, and many more. Tickets (available at Green House Coffee or at the door) are $10 for adults and $5 for kids or students. Tours start every fifteen minutes from 6:30 to 8:30 in the evening. We hope you can join us for a fun weekend of activities at Field School.

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Crozet Boy Scouts Food Drive – Saturday, 27 October

via email:

In this day and age of bad press for the Boy Scouts of America, there is a small group of amazingly dedicated men who are trying to the right thing for the boys in the Crozet community. I know because my son was a member of this troop for many years. This Saturday, Oct. 27 is their annual Scouting for Food drive and they will be collecting non perishable, no glass or frozen food from houses they have left flyers at. They will also have a table set up at the Great Valu with a voluntary shopping list for those interested.
 
In the past years, the tons of donations were trucked into town to the Blue Ridge Food bank, this year the troop has made arrangements for all donations to go directly to our local food bank at the Crozet United Methodist Church where they serve the needs of our immediate neighbors.
 
My son has moved on but I want to do my part and let people know about this group of big hearted people trying to teach young boys about compassion and service to others. Part of that is knowing that people care. If you would be so kind as to post this information in your own words on your site, I would much appreciate it. If you have any questions please contact Mike Carmagnola the Dad in charge [email protected]

– Sandy Williams

Editor’s note: bad press or not, supporting our neighbors who are helping our neighbors is a very, very good thing.

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Clearing for Haden Place

A recent comment on the RealCrozetVA facebook page spurred a quick drive to Haden Place … a neighborhood I’ve been expecting for a few years to come to fruition … its proximity to downtown Crozet and Old Trail and location within the designated growth area, + the possible impending recovery of the real estate market seems to make this neighborhood a no-brainer.

Road discussions should include what is being done to Haden Lane and Kill Deer Rd between OT and Jarman’s Gap. Now that Jarman’s Gap is updated, Haden and Kill Deer are next. Have you seen the huge fire? ALL THE TREES between these roads have been razed…what’s going on?

…
Another concern is the lack of attention to the sight-line/safety issue on Haden Lane…If this is made a through road to OT from Jarman’s Gap you can’t see what is coming up or down the hill.

So I went and took a look.

And a few minutes at Albemarle County’s excellent County View yields quite a bit of information – this development has been planned since at least 2007:

Permit Reviews of Haden Place
Permit Reviews of Haden Place

I’ll have more on this neighborhood, builder, etc. soon.

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Crozet Avenue Closing Temporarily – 27 August

Prepare accordingly.

CROZET AVENUE LANE CLOSURE SET TO BEGIN AUGUST 27

Due to the progress of the new Crozet Library construction, Crozet residents should be aware of an upcoming traffic interruption beginning Monday, August 27.  Beginning on Monday, August 27, one lane of Crozet Avenue will be closed at a time between Jarman’s Gap Road and Library Avenue to accommodate installation of a water line and stormwater sewer beneath the roadway.  Drivers should expect delays in this area between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.  Water and sewer services should not be impacted.  Preparatory work for the water line construction will begin next week.
This project is expected to take approximately two weeks and should be completed by Monday, September 10, 2012.

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Marcia McGee – People of Crozet

Marcia McGee - Trailside Coffee

Marcia McGee, proprietress of Trailside Coffee in Old Trail, has been in the Crozet area her entire life. While we were talking, she said that told me that she’d shot at a groundhog that was near the grain silo that was where her cash register currently stands.

Q: What do you love about Crozet?
A: (said with a big laugh) … It’s a love-hate relationship; I know everybody and I know everybody.

Q: Best change about Crozet in the past 10 years?
A: You know, Blue Ridge Hardware was a big change from Crozet Hardware … I think that the best thing has been that I don’t have to go into Charlottesville now. Now that we have these things,

Q: What is one thing you’d tell something about Crozet?
A: I was talking to a family coming from Lexington, and my husband told them that Crozet is kind of like an adult playground. You can get to Charlottesville, but polo on Sundays … there’s tons of kids, great schools, families, older families – not just the early 20’s families but mid-30’s families too. Kids and families, but there’s just as much for adults as there are for kids.

I love the mountains – the view from Trailside is tremendous, the coffee is great, and Crozet’s lucky to have Marcia, her family and Trailside.

See the entire People of Crozet series at PeopleofCrozet.com.

I’m still looking for volunteer authors/contributors/anybody who’ll help me with this series; If you’re interested please let me know.