Redistricting Maps Shuffles Some Roswell Students

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Roswell, GA -- The Fulton County School System this week revealed a proposed plan designed to redraw the attendance boundaries for some of its north Fulton schools.

The school board reviewed the first reading of the 2016-17 North Fulton Elementary Attendance Zone Redistricting Plan, which was presented at the board’s Jan. 12 work session.

The plan could be approved by the board next month and will go into effect in August. The school system held two community forums in 2015 for the redistricting, which is needed to accommodate the construction of the Esther Jackson replacement facility as well as building a new student body for the new elementary school on Highway 9.

Students at Esther Jackson are temporarily attending classes at the new Highway 9 school while their home facility on Martin Road is being rebuilt. The system had well over 600 participants who attended the two community meetings held in late 2015.

Fulton County received more than 800 comments from residents at the meetings and over 2,400 comments submitted as online feedback.

So, what does all this mean for you? The recommendation impacts the elementary school attendance zones for:

• Barnwell, 9425 Barnwell Road, Johns Creek;
• Creek View, 3995 Webb Bridge Road, Alpharetta;
• Hembree Springs, 815 Hembree Road, Roswell;
• Hillside, 9250 Scott Road, Roswell;
• Esther Jackson, currently housed at the new facility on S.R. 9; being rebuilt at 1400 Martin Road, Roswell;
• Mimosa, 1550 Warsaw Road, Roswell;
• New Prospect, 3055 Kimball Bridge Road, Alpharetta;
• Northwood, 10200 Wooten Road, Roswell;
• Ocee 4375 Kimball Bridge Road, Johns Creek;
• River Eves ES, 9000 Eves Road, Roswell;
• Roswell North, 10525 Woodstock Road, Roswell; and
• Sweet Apple, 12025 Etris Road, Roswell.

Below is a summary of the final plan recommended by school system staff. A map of affected areas can be found here.

Roswell North ES to Highway 9 ES site:

• All the area south of Station Parkway, south of Alpine Drive and east of North Atlanta Street/Canton Street/Crabapple Road including Crown Park, Liberty Townhomes, Opal Drive, Roswell City Walk, Courtyard Terrace, Forrest Commons, Myrtle Street Apartments and Forest Grove Apartments.
• All the area east of Alpine Drive and along East Crossville Road.

Mimosa ES to Highway 9 ES site:

• All areas south of Holcomb Bridge Road including Carriage Station, Grimes Place, Pine Valley Estates, Riverwood Apartments, Rocky Creek Drive, Stonebridge Drive, Crestview Circle, Victory Ridge and Camden Ridge.
• All the area west of Houze Road.

Hembree ES to Highway 9 ES site:

• Areas on the north side Houze Way east of Windsor including that subdivision, Chatham Park, Windsor Forest and New Haven Walk.
• All the area south of Houze Way including Grand Veridian, Westbrook at Crossville Village, Greenway Country Club Estates, Hidden Pond and Brookdale.

Hembree ES to Sweet Apple ES:

• All areas along Houze Road north of Hembree Road including Saddle Creek, Crabapple Creek, Crabapple Woods, Crabapple Walk, Orchard Trace, The Reserve at Crabapple, The Cottages of Crabapple and Barrow Downs.

Esther Jackson ES to Highway 9 ES site:

• Areas along Holcomb Bridge Road and Old Holcomb Bridge Road west of Dogwood Road, including The Crossings at Woodbridge.

Hillside ES to Highway 9

• All areas west of Old Dogwood Road including Wood Creek Apartments.

Hillside ES to Esther Jackson ES:

• All areas west of -- but not including --Terramont and east of Old Dogwood Road including The Oaks at Holcomb Bridge.

River Eves ES to Hillside ES:

• Areas along Nesbitt Ferry Road north of Ashley Crossing including that subdivision, Nesbitt Reserve, Devonshire Drive, Berkshires on Nesbitt Ferry, Ashley Forest, Rivercrest and Arden Place.

Northwood ES to Hillside ES:

• Areas south of Old Alabama Road east of Barrington Drive, including Lake Forest, Wisteria Parkside and Spring Ridge.

Northwood ES to Barnwell ES:

• Areas along the east side of Haynes Bridge Road south of -- and including -- the Bellingrath Commons subdivision.
• Areas along Old Alabama Road east of Haynes Bridge Rd including Anaheim Drive, Feather Sound and Inisfree.
• All areas along Timberstone Road including Haynes Landing.

Creek View ES to New Prospect ES:

• Areas along Old Milton Parkway including Country Place Court, The Pointe at Preston Ridge, Stone Ridge, Camden Pond, Bridge Point and Pennbrook,

Ocee ES to New Prospect ES:

• Areas along Old Milton Parkway west of Park Woods Drive.

At least one group of parents were a little apprehensive when they learned of the system’s plans. Some parents in the Haleys Pond and Roswell Station subdivisions, which are zoned to attend Roswell North Elementary, began to raise concerns about the possibility of their children attending the new S.R. 9 facility.

The neighborhoods are located adjacent to Roswell Area Park, which sits next to Roswell North. This allowed the students to use the trails at the park to walk to school.

Parent Peggy Robinson said she and others in her group are happy with the map that’s been released by the school system. It appears those students will continue to walk to Roswell North Elementary School, which she said is a short one-third of a mile walk through the park from her home.

“Walkability is extremely important to our families and one of the main reasons we purchased homes in this area,” she added. “We can walk to the school, historic Roswell and the park very easily. Changing the school to one we could no longer walk to would impact our quality of life. Additionally, there are numerous benefits associated with walking to school, including lower obesity rates and higher academic performance. Again, we are pleased with the revised map.”

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Images via Peggy Robinson