School Boundary Study

Preparation Continues for School Boundary Adjustments for 2025-2026 School Year; Families of Students Whose School Would Change Will Receive Letter in Early April

Preparations for 2025-2026 adjustments to current school attendance boundaries are underway for Wicomico County Public Schools, following a planning process that began last June and included numerous public meetings to gather input.

 The Wicomico County Board of Education unanimously approved the recommended school boundary adjustments in what had been presented as Option B. Approximately 742 students – 705 in elementary school and 37 in middle school – are affected by these school boundary adjustments, which focus on elementary school attendance areas and related secondary school feeder patterns. No adjustments were made to high school attendance areas.

 In early April, the school system will send letters to the parents or guardians of the students who will attend a different school in 2025-2026 due to the school boundary adjustments. The letter will include the name or names of the affected students at that address and will provide the name of the school each student will attend next school year. After receiving the letter, parents and guardians with questions or concerns should speak with their child’s current principal in April.

 Families may check the interactive online map at any time to determine if their home address is one that will have a change in school boundaries for 2025-2026. Once on the map page, type in the street address and hit enter to see the schools for that address, as well as a note about whether there are any changes to schools next year for the address.

 Wicomico County Public Schools conducted the school boundary planning process with consultant Cropper GIS. The process looked at adjustments to help balance enrollment, relieve overcrowding, and use resources as equitably and efficiently as possible throughout the county. Cropper GIS outlined this process at a Board of Education work session on June 25, 2024. The process was then widely publicized to families, school system staff and the community starting in late August 2024.

 Two initial public information sessions were held on Sept. 19, 2024. The School Boundary Planning Team met throughout the fall to analyze data and develop draft options. Input was taken at any time through a general feedback form online.

 Two more public information sessions, this time on draft options, were held Nov. 21, 2024. A survey on draft options was conducted Nov. 21-Dec. 9, 2024. After consideration of the survey results, the team made its boundary change recommendations to Cropper GIS, which joined with staff to present the recommendations to the Board of Education on Jan. 10, 2025.

 The Board of Education held a public hearing on the recommendations for school attendance boundary changes on Jan. 14, 2025. The Board approved the recommended school boundary changes during the Board meeting on Feb. 11, 2025.

 All the materials from the school boundary adjustment planning process continue to be available online at https://www.wcpsboundarystudy.org/ 

How the School Boundary Study Came About

At the October 10, 2023 Board of Education meeting a revised and updated School Attendance Areas and Redistricting Policy was approved. This policy is designed to guide Wicomico County Public Schools (WCPS) through the process to balance enrollment when data shows a need (i.e. schools exceeding or under the state-rated capacity). The policy may be viewed at this link.

Following the policy, the Board was presented with a proposal for a school boundary study process to take place during the 2024-25 school year at the June 25 Work Session. Based on input from Board members, the proposal was modified and accepted as a plan at the July 9, 2024 meeting. You can view the presentations at the link below:

WCPS has contracted with Cropper GIS, a highly-experienced geographic information service firm, to assist us in the boundary study process. Cropper has prepared a video to introduce the public to the boundary study process, share key dates, and inform the public how they will be able to provide input into this process. Click here for the Introductory Video.

On September 19, WCPS held two public information sessions to share an overview of the process, timeline, future meeting dates, and how the public can participate and provide input. You may view the video of the public information and public hearing at the links below.

Video from the September 19 public information session

Video for the January 14, 2025 - Public Hearing on School Boundary Study

Upcoming Dates:

  • Feb 11, 2025 - The 7-Member Wicomico County Board of Education to Vote on Whether to Approve or Decline Recommended School Boundary Changes

Much more information is available at the CropperGIS/WCPS Boundary Study Site.