CentralElementary School

ASD Selects Name and Boundary Lines for New Elementary School

ASD Selects Name and Boundary Lines for New Elementary School
Posted on 06/29/2020

The Allentown School District is excited to announce the official name and new boundaries for the new elementary school, located at 12th & Gordon. The Board of Directors unanimously voted in favor of both during the June 25 board meeting. The school will be named after William Allen HS alumnus Brigadier General Anna Mae Hays. 

“ASD is committed to celebrating all aspects of our diverse community and is proud to honor the legacy of Brigadier General Hays,” said Thomas Parker, Allentown School District Superintendent. “This is officially the first and currently the only building in ASD to be named after a woman.”

 

Brigadier General Anna Mae Hays was an advocate for the equal treatment of women in the armed services and serves as a reminder of the district’s commitment to the celebration of our diverse community, and continued effort to ensure equitable access for all.

 

ASD has been working on developing boundaries for the new school since the winter. Community feedback was critical in the development of these boundaries. A district-wide survey and community events were held in early February, in addition to school-level feedback meetings. Guiding principles that helped shape the process included making sure that students walk the safest route to school, optimize programming, and help balance enrollment in surrounding elementary schools. 

 The new catchment area will maintain continuous enrollment for 100% of Cleveland and McKinley students. It also provides enrollment relief to Ramos and Central Elementary schools. 

The new school will also have dedicated space for our special education population, allowing for some students who live in the Cleveland / McKinley neighborhoods to attend school closer to where they live. Right now, these students are bused to other elementary schools. Families who are impacted in these moves will be contacted directly by their child’s home school over the summer months. 

New Boundaries

The above map shows the new proposed boundaries for Central, Ramos and the new school (red) in addition to the current boundaries (shaded colors) for Central, Cleveland, McKinley and Ramos.

To balance enrollment at other schools, it was also recommended that Kindergarten students who live in the Sheridan boundary zone and currently attend Ritter Elementary move to the Jackson Early Childhood Center. Sheridan is currently at capacity and does not have Kindergarten in the building. This will lower class size and alleviate some overcrowding concerns at Ritter. Families impacted by these moves will be individually contacted over the coming weeks.

If you live in Allentown and are ever unsure of what your assigned school is, you can enter your address here. Please note, at this time, this boundary map has NOT been updated to reflect the new proposed boundaries: https://allentownsd.org/parents___students/parent_resources/school_boundaries