Frequently Asked Questions

What are the current elementary school attendance zones in Charlottesville?

Click here to see a PDF map of the current zones. These zones have received only minor updates over the course of five decades!

Why are we talking about rezoning?

Rezoning is a common conversation in school divisions with multiple schools serving the same age group. In Charlottesville, rezoning would enable the division to avoid overcrowding issues. Our most crowded elementary schools — Summit and Jackson-Via — do not have space for learning cottages. And other schools (for example, Greenbrier) have capacity to enroll more students. Anticipating that we would need to rezone our elementary schools, this process is described in our Strategic Plan (in the category of Ensure Effective and Efficient Operations, strategy 16).

In particular, this rezoning work is triggered by the net additional units scheduled for completion at South First Street during the 24-25 school year and other affordable housing work already in progress. We also anticipate that Charlottesville’s recently adopted upzoning changes as well as UVA’s plan to require all second-year students to live on campus (thereby freeing up housing stock for families) will lead to increases in the K-12 student population.

When was the last time we rezoned?

This is the first comprehensive discussion about rezoning in our community since Jackson-Via was built more than 50 years ago!

What guidelines will be in place as you review these attendance zones?

In addition to redistributing students to avoid overcrowding some schools (and underutilization of others), other key considerations for rezoning include:

Maximize Walkability
Maximize Bus Route Efficiency
Adhere to Recognized Neighborhood Boundaries (whenever possible)
Maintain or Improve Diversity & Demographic Balance Across Schools
Maximize Zone Sustainability (the goal is to plan for 5 years before any future rezoning)

When would the new boundaries go into effect?

The new boundaries would likely go into effect at the beginning of the 2026-27 school year (August 2026). It is possible that we would take a phased approach to implementation. If we phased in implementation, no student would change schools more than once.

When does the division anticipate that the boundaries for the 26-27 school year will be determined?

We anticipate that the boundaries for the 2026-27 school year will be approved by the School Board in either January or February, 2025. Families will receive communications throughout the process. We have been giving monthly updates in the “News and Highlights” e-newsletter sent to all Cville Schools staff and families, plus community members who subscribe.

How can I get involved?

Community Meetings will be held in at the end of October (see below). All events are open to the entire community. Community members are invited to come in and ask questions about the process and options and provide feedback. An online survey will also be made available to those who are unable to attend the meetings.

Rezoning Discussion Events:

Monday, October 28: Greenbrier, 5-7pm
Tuesday, October 29: Jackson-Via, 4-6pm
Wednesday, October 30: Summit, 5-7pm
Wednesday, November 6 (Zoom): 12-1:30pm (register here) and 6-7:30pm (register here)

Who will make these decisions?

We are guided in this work by our consultants, Woolpert, hired through an RFP process. We have also convened some advisory groups to assist in the work:

Staff Work Group for Rezoning (includes executive leadership and department representatives including family/community engagement and pupil transportation)
Superintendent’s Advisory Committee of Rezoning (including Charlottesville Education Association representatives, Board members, elementary PTO parents, and Executive Leadership)

What is the decision-making process?

These two groups are working with Woolpert to shape initial recommendations to share at public discussion meetings in October and November (see dates and times listed above). Based on public feedback, the draft recommendations may be revised accordingly. When a recommendation is final, it will be presented to the Board for further discussion and input, and then a month later, the Board will vote on the recommendation. The final vote is expected in January or February 2025. Implementation for changes would likely begin in August 2026, which would coincide with the return of 5th-graders to elementary schools.

What is the timeline for this rezoning process?

July 2024: Request for Proposals (RFP) to hire rezoning consultant released
August 2024: Rezoning consultant contract finalized
Fall 2024: Consultant works with Staff Work Group for Rezoning (Executive Leadership) and the Superintendent’s Advisory Committee of Rezoning (including Charlottesville Education Association representatives, Board members, elementary PTOs, and Executive Leadership). Consultant also holds communitywide meetings.
January or February 2025: Final public hearing and presentation to School Board for action
August 2026: Likely start of implementation, which would coincide with the return of 5th-graders to elementary schools. Depending on the approved recommendation, the consultants may recommend a “phased” approach to implementation.

How is the school division communicating about rezoning?

We first included information about this rezoning initiative in the 2024-25 printed school calendar, mailed to all enrolled families in August. There has also been an update in each of the News & Highlights division newsletters this school year, and we will continue to provide updates in this monthly newsletter. (All Cville Schools staff and families receive this e-newsletter; community members can sign up here.) There was a presentation to the School Board on September 5. All updates will be posted on this project website — to help people find this website, we’ll include basic information and this link on our own Cville Schools website at charlottesvilleschools.org/zoning.

Will the grade makeup of the schools change?

Yes. Each elementary will house grades K-5 starting in the 2026-27 school year as part of the “reconfiguration” of the schools (grades 6-8 will go to Charlottesville Middle School).

Will housing developments and enrollment growth/decline be considered when creating boundaries?

Yes. Both enrollment and housing projections will be considered in this process. Planning boundaries with longevity in mind is important to CCS.

These recent housing developments underscore the need for this work. In particular, we are watching the net additional units scheduled for completion at South First Street during the 24-25 school year and other affordable housing work already in progress. We also anticipate that Charlottesville’s recently adopted upzoning changes as well as UVA’s plan to require all second-year students to live on campus (thereby freeing up housing stock for families) will lead to increases in the K-12 student population.

Will the overall boundary of the district be changing?

No. The CCS boundaries will remain the City of Charlottesville boundaries. This process will only adjust the elementary boundary lines within the division.

Will any students be permitted to remain at their current school?

Students will attend school based on the creation of the new elementary boundaries. Depending on the new boundaries created during this process, some students will remain at their current school; however, if students are assigned to a new building, they will attend school in their newly assigned building.

What if I have more questions?

You can find additional materials on the “Resources” page of this website. And please plan to attend one of the upcoming discussion sessions!

Rezoning Discussion Events:

Monday, October 28: Greenbrier, 5-7pm
Tuesday, October 29: Jackson-Via, 4-6pm
Wednesday, October 30: Summit, 5-7pm
Wednesday, November 6 (Zoom): 12-1:30pm (register here) and 6-7:30pm (register here)

What does the term “utilization” mean?

Utilization is used in this process as a measure of how effectively the space within a school is used. It is calculated by dividing the enrollment of a school by the capacity of that school. We want to avoid over- and under-utilized facilities. At the elementary level, we want our schools to be utilized anywhere from 80-85%. This allows for some flexibility year after year for additional programming, resource/intervention spaces, and especially large class moving through the system.

How are we accounting for socioeconomic status within the housing developments that have yet to come online?

The diversity metrics that have been presented for review are based on the demographic breakdown of our current CCS students. While we understand that many of the affordable housing developments will produce students that come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, we are unable to accurately predict the actual ratio of low-socioeconomic students. These ratios will be tracked year to year, and schools will be resourced appropriately for the students that attend each school.

What is “phasing” and how would it work?

The developments that are currently planned, proposed, approved, and under construction will be completed and occupied over the next 3-10 (or more) years, but not all at once. Because of the varying timelines associated with developments, it is not necessary to make all the boundary changes at once, but rather over time. Phasing in new boundaries would involve making key changes over a few years to avoid any school experiencing a period of under- or over-utilization. Any student that would be required to change schools as a part of this process would only be moved once, meaning that students are “locked-in” once they are rezoned. Students that change addresses within the implementation period would be required to attend the school in which they are zoned, regardless of if they were impacted by rezoning.

Phasing can also include allowing certain cohorts to remain at their current school to avoid multiple transitions over a short period of time, such as allowing incoming 5^th grade students to remain at their current schools before transitioning to middle school. Please note that no exception is guaranteed, but the division is considering all aspects of phasing. Any phasing plan will be incorporated into the boundary recommendation and presented to the community during the public hearing session to allow for community input.

How are housing developments being accounted for within this process?

CCS actively works with the City and affordable housing partners to track the residential developments occurring within the division. CCS also has worked with Weldon Cooper to develop student yields or student generation rates for specific housing types within the division. A student yield is the ratio of students to housing units. The student yields are specific to CCS students and CCS housing. These ratios are then applied to the developments, based on housing type and location, to estimate the number of students that each development would produce. The housing partners have provided information on the developments, such as timelines, number of net new units, locations, and likelihood of each development proceeding.
Click here for more information about the residential developments occurring within the City.