Your Turn Staff Editorial

“I personally think the rezoning is needed, but understand a lot of people’s anger on it. It’s mainly elementaries that are being affected by the new zones, but for high schoolers, I think it’s completely stupid and should instead comply with the freshman coming in instead of the people already at the school. People already have friends and clubs that they’re in, and having to switch them out into new things isn’t right.”

- Sofia Saucedo, 11

District proposes boundary changes for next year

PfISD has recently made public its plans to adjust school boundaries for the upcoming 2023-2024 school year, to parents’ and students’ discontent. These boundary modifications would be enacted with the objective of reducing school overpopulation and maintaining school ‘efficiency’. The intentions behind these changes are earnest, however, the abruptness of these plans and their lack of thorough forethought leave parents and students confused and concerned about the outcomes. Furthermore, the plans fail to address issues in transportation changes and neglect the impacts these transitions will have on the environments of students and families impacted by the transfers.

- Anna Siverio, 11

“I think the rezoning is stupid, because why are they moving people around, you know? They’re just trying to redo the area lines for no reason.”

“I think the rezoning is okay. It doesn’t affect me, but the ones it does affect could say otherwise.”

- Alesha Duncan, 1o

“I think the new zoning rules are kind of dumb because a lot of people aren’t going to want to move schools. Also, it might make it harder for some people to get to school because of the change in routine.”

- Emma Bravo, 11

“I feel bad about the rezoning, because I hear that elementary schools may shut down and that’s sad. I feel like students having to switch schools suddenly can really affect them, because they’ve made friends, bonded with people and joined clubs; it’s sad to move them to a different school in the middle of the year because they start all over again.”

- Summer loza, 9

The district has published eight rough outlines of potential plans for the elementary schools and two proposals for the high schools. Both high school plans would impact the populations of all schools in the district.

Plan A aims to remove a sector of students from the Rowe Lane area, who would then be transferred to Weiss High School, and move in a small chunk of Pflugerville high students within the Highland Park region. Plan B aims to do the same in a greater quantity. While the district has mentioned grandfathering as an option for upperclassmen impacted by the boundary adjustments, no official announcement regarding this has yet been made.

Moreover, these plans make no mention of changes in busing routes and transportation options for the areas impacted. Given that many families (especially those who are marked to transfer) live outside of walking distance from the school and are dependent on alternate modes of transport, such as busing, to get their child to school, this lack of clarity is troubling.

In addition to this insufficient planning, the lack of consideration regarding the impacted students is distressing. These abrupt transfers put many students in anxietyinducing situations, as it forces them to say goodbye to an environment they have grown accustomed to, and, instead replace that with something unknown. Not only do these plans neglect the social disruption this would cause students, particularly those who struggle to make friends, it also fails to acknowledge the interference this would have with students’ extracurriculars. Typically, the programs available at one school differ from the other, in both prestige and quality, sometimes the existence of a curriculum also differs. This then jeopardizes students’ ability to participate in or receive the same level of quality in a program. Furthermore, many students usually form some sort of connection with the programs at their school, meaning these transfers would not only run the risk of losing that program but also that community. This is especially true when considering upperclassmen. If grandfathering is not approved, then juniors and seniors who have spent the majority of their high school career in one school will be forced to ‘start over’ at a new school or in a new program. Consequently, if an upperclassman has become an active member of their school community, these moves would strip them of any of the ranks they might have acquired while at the school (consider a class president role or head captain role of a program). This then eliminates their ability to further progress in their programs and depreciates the hard work they have put into their school hobbies by removing their status. The severity of this becomes especially apparent when considering college applications.

Given these reasons, it is understandable that many students and parents have met these proposals with outrage. The majority of families have demanded the district halt their progression with these plans, or at least, provide more explanation regarding these adjustments. The boards’ lack of consideration and preparation for these changes ignore the concerns of those directly impacted, the people whose voices should be considered a priority when modifying these school zones.

Opinions

February 3, 2023

Hendrickson High School 19201 Colorado Sand Drive Pflugerville, TX 78660 http://www.pfisd.net/HHS

(512) 594-1100

Student Population: 2,134

Staff: 180

Adviser: Kari Riemer

Principal: Michael Grebb www.facebook.com/HawkNewspaper

TheHawk , the official student newspaper of Hendrickson High School, is an open forum for the exchange of ideas and opinions.

Opinions expressed reflect the beliefs of the student author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the entire Hawk Staff, the Hawk Adviser, the Hendrickson Faculty and Staff, or the Principal.

Letters to the editor are welcomed, and may be dropped off in E211. Corrections will be printed when brought to the attention of the staff.

The Hawk is printed monthly at Community Impact in Pflugerville, Texas. 1,000 copies are printed each run, and are distributed to the student body for free before school on publication day and on newsstands throughout the building.

Editorial Staff

Editors

Co-Editors:

Yael Behar, Kaitlyn Nash, Natalia Zavaleta

Copy Editor: Lili Moran

Assistant Editors: Jasper Johst, Kate Hayes

Reporters

Savanna Brewer

Rachel Calabuig

Eliana Grant Delaney Hildebrandt

Gigi Hirsch

Sophia Johst

Damo Kouakou

Kamryn Mack

Lily Miller

Emily Rodriguez

Elise Villa

Levi Walters Artists

Yael Behar

Eliana Grant

Associations

Interscholastic Press League Texas Association of Journalism Educators Journalism Educators Association National Scholastic Press Association Columbia Scholastic Press League

Honors

ILPC Bronze Star 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020

ILPC Silver Star 2021

Columbia Scholastic Press League, Gold Medalist 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021 Silver Crown, 2017, 2018, 2021 Pacemaker Finalist, 2018

Design by Natalia Zavaleta