Madison Middle School Zone Boundaries? (Tampa, University: neighborhoods, magnet schools, university)

[bcandy]

Everytime I look at the zoning map I am so confused by how they have zoned Madison Middle. Why are students from Tampa Heights bussed past two other middles to go down to Madison? Can anyone provide me with the historical context?

[mcharas]

Because the other two are full so they push the kids up in TH into better schools.

We dealt with this for the kids around the University area being bussed into schools in New Tampa.

If they would end Choice programs and the arbitrary idea of giving schools ratings and invest in neighborhood schools, then there might not be as much of a problem...? But instead they pack kids in like sardines from the worse off neighborhoods into the better schools, thereby contributing to overcrowding, and making it fair to none of the kids, to have to be in schools beyond intended capacity.

Every kid should get a good education, and I don't know what the answer is. But as a person that isn't in government or education, seems to me like if they did some actual work on putting resources into neighborhood schools instead of shutting them down, it could be a start.

[MortonR]

What they said. ^^^^

There's really no historical context, as a lot of these boundaries were drawn years ago and get tweaked on occasion to deal with changes elsewhere.

At one time there was an effort to try and "diversify" the student bodies of various schools, which could also cause changes in attendance areas, but that's now done by using the attendance of suburban students at magnet schools, which are typically placed in areas of lower socio-economic residents.

There are some really weird ones that the District defends with a vengeance. One is Bloomingdale HS, which draws from the area surrounding Progress Village, a good 5-7 miles away and in clear view of Spoto HS.

Never understood that one, and they've been challenged by the locals to change it, but the District won't budge on it for some bizarre reason.

RM