Frequently Asked Questions

What is the process and timeline for the long-range facility plan? 

The District embarked on its long-range facility plan (LRFP) in August 2023. The District hired Cooperative Strategies (CS), a firm that works with districts across the country in the development and implementation of long-range facility plans. CS will work with the District and our community to develop a LRFP that aligns with the District’s Strategic Plan. The LRFP process includes the collection of data about the District, its utilization and condition of its facilities, and the community’s educational vision. We will have a Steering Committee composed of members of our community, businesses and schools. We will also have numerous community dialogues that will be at different times and locations through the District to ensure all community members can have their voices heard throughout the process. The timeline envisions the work of the community will afford the team to bring forward the recommendations for the LRFP to the District School Board in March 2024. 

What is the vision for the district and how will the LRFP tie to this vision? 

The long-range facility plan will align with the Strategic Plan. The District has a number of aged facilities, at various stages of need and repair. There are also several gaps in our facilities in which improvements are needed to better meet the District goals and educational needs. 

Who will provide input on the development of the LRFP? 

The LRFP team has put in place a structure that incorporates significant community engagement throughout the LRFP development. The LRFP will be the community’s vision; the facilities it wants to provide for its students. The Steering Committee will be diverse, providing multiple perspectives to the work that needs to be done by this committee. This committee will do a significant amount of work focusing on district data, using the data to help frame the discussions with the broader community and help to build consensus on the pathway forward. The committee’s work will also be the basis for the survey questions that we will make available to the broader community during the process.  We will have a series of Community Dialogue meetings, at different locations over multiple days to provide opportunities for the community to have a voice. The development of ideas, options and recommendations will be submitted with the LRFP to the School Board.  We will also have surveys available on-line that will seek input from the community on their priorities and vision for the future of FPS. The results of the survey will be incorporated in both the Steering Committee’s work and the Community Dialogue sessions. 

Will teachers and administrators have a voice in the process? 

Yes, all teachers and administrators are encouraged to participate in the process.  Teachers’ voices are critical to this process.  We recognize the day-to-day engagement teachers have with their students and learning environments. We will have teachers on the Steering Committee and will have Community Dialogue meetings at schools and other locations throughout the District.

Will students have a voice? 

Yes! Our students are critical to the development of the District’s LRFP.  They will have a voice throughout the LRFP process. For example, we will have students on the community’s Steering Committee, and we will have a community survey where students may make their voice heard.  There will be community dialogue opportunities at different times throughout the District and community at large that will allow for student participation.  We will also have opportunities for students to engage and provide their feedback to the Steering Committee. 

Will the plan envision community needs? (e.g. community schools or support services) 

The LRFP process will allow the community to define its needs. Throughout the process, the community will be able to prioritize and refine the facilities plan to align with what it values and what it wants schools to provide for its students. 

How do we give feedback on the LRFP if we cannot attend community meetings? 

We will have two surveys available on-line for all interested parties to complete. The framework of the survey will incorporate some of the items that will be discussed in detail during the Community Dialogue sessions.

Do you envision closing any schools? 

The LRFP process will allow us to envision the future of facility needs across the district.  We do not have a definitive facility plan that depicts the closure of any school. We are aware of our changing enrollment, the growth within our community and surrounding areas as well as the impact school choice has on the utilization of our facilities. These factors need to be considered through the community engagement process. The community engagement process will provide guidance for the options that will be considered by the Steering Committee and its final recommendations to the school board and superintendent. 

What are grade configuration changes and why are they considered in a LRFP? 

A grade configuration defines the grades housed at a particular school.  For example, an elementary school typically houses Kindergarten – 5th grade, but may also house Pre-Kindergarten or 6th grade. A grade configuration change may be considered as a part of the long-range facility planning process to accomplish an academic vision when the facility and enrollment data support it. For example, if the community desires to offer a K-8 school environment, this option may be considered if a current school has sufficient space to accommodate this configuration and can be renovated to support it. 

Are you also considering the transportation needs of the students? 

The LRFP is focused on the District’s facilities, yet transportation to/from these facilities is a critical component of accomplishing our mission. So, transportation will be actively involved through this process. 

How will the proposed LRFP be funded? 

There are typically two financial pathways:  

Utilizing existing funding from the Capital Program and a Bond Measure. 

A Bond Measure would require voter approval to implement. 

How does the LRFP take enrollment trends into consideration? 

Enrollment trends are certainly a consideration, but they are not the only factor taken into consideration when building the LRFP.  

Can you show us the trends of enrollment in different school planning areas? Where are we growing? Where are we losing students? Can we bring them back with strong programs? 

The community will have the opportunity to look at the data needed to build the LRFP. Enrollment trends are certainly a consideration, but they are not the only factor taken into consideration when building the LRFP.  

What is Facility Condition Index (FCI) and how does it influence the level of investment in a facility? How do you prioritize? 

FCI is a standard management benchmark that is used to objectively assess the current and projected condition of a building. It takes into consideration the repairs that are necessary to maintain the facility to a level that will allow it to continue to provide an environment that supports the education of our students now and into the future.  As costs for maintenance begin to exceed 40 to 50% of a building’s replacement cost, the district evaluates the viability of maintenance versus replacement. 

What is the Education Adequacy Index (EAI)? 

A subjective assessment to determine the physical capacity of a school building to accommodate the existing programming, or educational courses, being offered. It takes into consideration physical attributes of classrooms space types as well as systems within the facility. 

Are we taking Early Childhood Special Education into consideration with the LRFP? 

 Yes, among other programs within the district who require physical space. 

Can you provide the presentation(s) to the community on-line? 

Yes, the District has a dedicated project website on their website for the long-range facility plan. Presentations and other documents are available at this location. 

Can you provide a glossary that can provide definitions for acronyms that are used through this process…e.g. FCI, EAI, ECE, FRL, GT, CS etc.? 

We have a Glossary of Terms and Acronyms below. 

AP: Advanced Placement, college level credit courses offered at high schools 

Boundary Scenarios: Options for how school attendance boundaries may be adjusted.  

Capacity:  The number of students a school building can hold.  

Career and Technical Education (CTE): An education pathway that provides direction and instruction in areas leading to careers, work preparation, and life skills. 

Career Pathways: A series of connected education and training programs, work experiences, and student support services that enable individuals to secure a job or advance in a demand industry occupation.  

Collaboration Space/Extended Learning Area:  Space that extends the classroom learning beyond the traditional classroom space to an adjacent learning space such as a commons or circulation space.  A gathering place for small and large groups for informal instruction as well as individual learning.  

Comprehensive School:  A high school which serves the needs of all its students, offering curriculum such as language arts, social studies, sciences, math, and elective offerings including music, visual & performing arts, and physical education.  

Dual Language Immersion Program (DLIP): Children spend all or a large portion of their day learning, in a natural way, a particular world language. It is a method of teaching a second language in which the learners’ second language (L2) is the medium of classroom instruction. Through this method, learners study school subjects, such as math, science, and social studies, in their L2. The main purpose of this method is to foster bilingualism. 

EAI: Educational Adequacy Index  

Early / Expanded College Options: The ability for a student to hold concurrent enrollment with a college while attending high school or by articulation with another school for credits toward graduation and/or a degree or certification. 

ECSE: Early Childhood Special Education  

Educational Adequacy: An assessment to determine the physical capacity of a school building to accommodate the existing or future programming, or educational courses, being offered. It takes into consideration physical attributes of classrooms as well as systems within the facility.  

Electives / Specialty Class:  A program or class in a school facility designed for a certain group of students or focused on one specific program area such as photography, physical education, band, etc.  

Enrollment: The number of students attending a particular school or district. 

ESL: English as a Second Language  

Ethnicity:  A socially defined category of people who identify with each other based on a perceived shared social experience or ancestry.  Membership of an ethnic group tends to be associated with and ideologies of shared cultural heritage, ancestry, history, homeland, language or dialect, and with symbolic systems such as religion, mythology and ritual, cuisine, dressing style, physical appearance, etc.  

Facility Capacity Assessment:  A school building tour conducted to determine the maximum number of students a facility can accommodate based on programs and/or building design.  

Facility Condition Index (FCI): This is a standard management benchmark that is used to objectively assess the current and projected condition of a building.  

Family Census Data:  A family includes a householder and one or more people living in the same household who are related to the householder by birth, marriage, or adoption.  

LRFP: Long-Range Facility Plan 

FRL: Free and Reduced Lunch  

General Classrooms:  Those classrooms primarily used for core curriculum and instruction such as language arts, social studies, and math that do not require specific facility considerations such as specialized electricity or water systems.    

Geographic Information Systems (GIS): GIS integrates software, hardware, data, and people to create, store, analyze, display, report, and manage geographic information  

Grade Configuration: The arrangement of students into grade groupings.  A common grade grouping would be K-5, 6-8, 9-12 grades.  Other examples include PK-3, PK-6, K-3, K-8, 4-6, 7-9, 9-12, and 10-12.  

GT: Gifted and Talented  

Historical Enrollment:  The number of students attending a particular school or division in the past.  For example, if we say the historical enrollment of Jane Doe Elementary School in 2020-2021 was 314 students, we are indicating that the number of students attending that school in that year was 314 students. 

Household Census Data:  A household includes all the people who occupy a housing unit as their usual place of residence  

Load Factor:  Also known as “utilization factor”.  This factor compares the enrollment against the capacity of a facility.  It is very difficult to schedule every teaching station every period of the day.  There may be a specialized space such as a lab for which there is insufficient enrollment to conduct classes each period.  At times it is not possible to maintain an average enrollment of 25 students and there needs to be some room to adjust.  It is recommended that the average load factor be 85% for the secondary level, representing an approximate utilization of a space 6 out of 7 periods during a school day.    

Maximum Capacity:  The maximum number of students a school building can accommodate or hold.  

Neighborhood Schools: All neighborhood schools will commit to equitable opportunities for all learners by using the Standards in all core subject areas, research based instructional strategies, the same equitable academic opportunities, curriculum which follows grade-by-grade content, concepts and skill building blocks much like spiraling curriculum models, with fidelity of treatment, and computer and technology skills. 

Online School (virtual academy or e-school or cyber-school): This program teaches students entirely or primarily online or through the Internet. It has been defined as "education that uses one or more technologies to deliver instruction to students who are separated from the instructor and to support regular and substantive interaction between the students.” 

Pathway Schools: These are public schools with specialized curriculum. These schools draw students from their normal boundaries, as well as across areas of the district and other districts. They are free and open to anyone. Pathway schools are accountable to state standards, as well as the components of quality Neighborhood Schools. 

PLC: Professional Learning Community  

PRE-K: Pre-school and kindergarten 

Program Requirements:  What the facility needs to effectively deliver the curriculum.    

Program/Functional Capacity:  The number of students a school building can hold based on the current program or curriculum being delivered.  

Programs:  The curriculum that is taught / delivered.    

Projected Enrollment:  Student attendance forecast.  

Pull-Out Rooms / Resource Rooms:  Primarily used by the special education population, but also used for one-to-one instruction and tutoring.   

Recommended Capacity:  Suggested number of students that a school building could accommodate.    

Redistricting: The process of adjusting attendance boundaries using certain criteria such as major thoroughfares as boundaries for the purpose of balancing enrollment.  

Replacement Cost: The hard cost per square foot plus the costs assumed for site improvements to replace a facility at its current square footage.  

School Attendance Boundary/Zone: The imaginary “lines” that define an area assigned to a school for enrollment purposes.  

School Within a School: A building layout or curriculum delivery method that allows more than one school to function on shared land and/or in shared building space, often by using the same common areas (cafeterias, gyms, etc.).  

Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM): A program where the curriculum is centered on education in the disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The entire school’s focus is on STEM and every student participates in a curriculum of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. A STEM program within a larger school: Some schools create STEM academies within their schools that allow interested students to study STEM in more depth. 

STEAM: The addition of the ARTS in the STEM model. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) 

SEL: Social and Emotional Learning  

Socioeconomic Status:  An economic and sociological combined total measure of a person's work experience and of an individual's or family’s economic and social position in relation to others, based on income, education, and occupation.  

SPED: Special Education  

Student Density:  A measure of student population within a given area.  

Survival Ratio:  The percentage of students that enroll in the district/grade in a school year compared to the number of students enrolled in the previous district/grade in the previous year.    

Teaching Spaces:  Also referred to as Teaching Stations, are those spaces to which students are assigned per the master schedule of a building for core curriculum and elective courses.  Examples of teaching spaces/stations are: general classrooms, science classrooms, and at the secondary level, art & music classrooms as well as gymnasiums.  

Utilization:  Enrollment divided by capacity.