March 13, 2024 Update:
Dear CSES Families, Faculty, and Staff,
We hope you are having a great week. We are writing today to provide you with an update on the School Board’s efforts to address the rising enrollment at Cool Spring Elementary School (CSES).
At
its meeting last night,
the School Board unanimously approved the submission of a special exception application to the Hanover County Planning Department for two stand-alone learning cottages with four combined classrooms (two classrooms per cottage) in response to Cool Spring’s current and anticipated enrollment increase. As we shared with you earlier this month, the School Board reached consensus on this short-term (two-year) solution following extensive discussion at its February 29 work session.
Having received the School Board’s approval, we will now submit a special exception application to the Hanover County Planning Department, which will follow the standard review process. This includes consideration by the Board of Supervisors.
Pending the necessary approvals, the learning cottages would be installed for use during the 2024-25 school year.
The School Board remains committed to identifying a long-term and comprehensive solution to address the rise in enrollment, as outlined in our update following the work session and as discussed during last night’s monthly School Board meeting.
We hope this is helpful in keeping you informed about the upcoming plans for CSES. As we have throughout this process, we will continue to keep you updated as more information becomes available.
Thank you.
Hanover County Public Schools
March 1, 2024 Update:
Dear CSES Families, Faculty, and Staff,
We hope you are well. We are writing today to update you on the School Board’s efforts to address the increase in enrollment at Cool Spring Elementary School (CSES).
At its work session yesterday,
the School Board reached consensus that it plans to pursue a special exception application for two stand-alone learning cottages with four combined classrooms in response to Cool Spring’s current and anticipated enrollment increase. The learning cottages, which the Board has identified as the short-term (two-year) solution to the rising enrollment, would house a music space, a gifted and talented space, and two intervention spaces, meaning they would not have “regular” classrooms and students would not spend full days in the units. Following an approval process (outlined below), the learning cottages would be installed for use during the 2024-25 school year.
The learning cottages are proposed to be placed near the current school building and located in the green space behind the school between the playground and bus loop. Additionally, please note that, in the interest of fiscal stewardship, the School Board hopes to purchase the units. They would not have restrooms since they would not house full classrooms and students would not be in the units for an extended period of time. This is similar to the approach at other Hanover elementary schools with learning cottages without restrooms that are currently in use across the county. Accordingly, the CSES safety plan would be updated to help provide for the safety of our students while also providing them access to the restrooms inside the main building, similar to what is already in place at other schools that utilize learning cottages that do not include restrooms.
In addition to the identified short-term (two-year) solution,
the School Board reached consensus that it will continue its work in identifying a long-term and more comprehensive solution to address student enrollment and capacity across all schools in the division, including potential boundary line adjustments.
What comes next?
The learning cottage proposal will be added to the agenda of the School Board’s March 12 business meeting. If approved, a special exception application would be filed with Hanover County Government and would follow the standard review process, which includes consideration by the Board of Supervisors. Pending the necessary approvals, the learning cottages would be installed for use during the 2024-25 school year.
In addition to the application process, the School Board will also work to ensure the necessary funding (approximately $400,000) is available in the current Fiscal Year 2024 budget for the learning cottages.
With regard to a long-term and more comprehensive solution towards addressing student enrollment and capacity across all schools in the division, the School Board plans to hire an independent consultant with expertise in school boundary analysis to assist with this process. This is in alignment with well-established processes among school divisions throughout Virginia. Please note that this process would include extensive opportunities for community review and engagement prior to any approved adjustments.
Additionally, as you may know, a replacement Washington-Henry Elementary School is in the
School Board’s approved Capital Improvement Plan and is scheduled to open for the 2027-28 school year. The School Board plans to have the architect who is designing replacement schools across HCPS present to the Board this spring on the capacity of the planned rebuilt school and how it may support the Board’s broader goal of more comprehensively addressing student enrollment and capacity, including the CSES enrollment increase.
Please note that the enrollment and capacity of elementary schools across Hanover County Public Schools can be found in
this document. Additionally, the full presentation from school division administration to the School Board at the work session can be found
here.
We hope this is helpful in keeping you informed about the upcoming plans for CSES. As we have throughout this process, we will continue to keep you updated as more information becomes available.
As always, if you have any questions about CSES or your child, please feel free to reach out directly to CSES. The full agenda for the March 12 business meeting and instructions for public comment will be published
on BoardDocs in advance of the meeting.
Thank you.
Hanover County Public Schools
January 2024 Update:
Dear CSES Families, Faculty, and Staff,
We hope you are well. We are writing today to update you on the proposed installation of a temporary learning cottage on the Cool Spring Elementary School (CSES) campus.
At its meeting Tuesday night,
the Hanover County School Board voted to withdraw the special exception application to install a temporary learning cottage on the CSES campus starting next school year. This means that at this time, CSES will not have a learning cottage on its campus next year.
The School Board expressed a desire to explore alternative options to address the growth in the number of students at CSES. As we did throughout this process, we will keep you updated as more information becomes available.
Thank you for your continued support of CSES and our school division.
Hanover County Public Schools
December 2023 Update:
Dear CSES Families, Faculty, and Staff,
I hope you had a nice weekend. I am writing today to keep you informed of the next steps for the installation of a temporary learning cottage on our campus.
As we shared with you in September, as a result of a significant increase in enrollment at CSES, we plan to install a custom-designed temporary learning cottage on our campus starting next school year that would house up to eight classrooms. The Hanover County School Board has filed a special exception application with Hanover County Government and the application is following the standard review process, which will include consideration by the Board of Supervisors.
As part of this process,
Hanover County Public Schools is hosting a Hanover County Planning Department informational meeting at 6 p.m. on Thursday, December 7 in our cafeteria to share an overview of the proposal and provide an opportunity to ask questions. Students, families, faculty and staff, and community members are welcome to attend.
As always, if you have any questions about CSES or your child, please feel free to reach out directly to me. For questions about this project specifically, please email
[email protected].
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Sarah Pike
Principal
Cool Spring Elementary School
Original September 2023 Message:
Dear CSES Families,
We hope you are well. We are writing today to share with you an update on the growing enrollment at Cool Spring Elementary School (CSES) and efforts that are being made to ensure that all CSES students, faculty, and staff are provided with safe, welcoming, and high-quality facilities that support exceptional teaching and learning.
As you may know, the number of students at CSES has significantly increased in recent years. Since the 2019-20 school year, CSES’ enrollment has increased from 639 students to 805 students this school year. Additionally, the forecasted enrollment for CSES, which can be found
on page 134 of the HCPS Fiscal Year 2024 budget, is projected to rise to 916 students by 2027. The capacity of CSES is 768 students.
As a result of this increase in enrollment at CSES, we, along with other division leaders, have spent considerable time and effort reviewing options for how to best address the current and anticipated growth at CSES. Accordingly, starting in the 2024-25 school year, we plan to install one custom-designed temporary learning cottage on our campus that would house up to eight classrooms. This approach is consistent with addressing similar issues at other schools in the past that allows us to meet our immediate needs, as well as plan for long-term needs that may be necessary. This 7,200-square-foot learning cottage would be an extension of our regular building and is proposed to be near the school located in the green space behind the school between the playground and bus loop. Please note that we are exploring expanding the green space near the playground to continue to provide students with ample space for recess.
The temporary learning cottage would have the following features:
- ADA accessible with access through both a ramp and stairs.
- Two single-use restrooms and two multi-user restrooms.
- Similar security features (i.e., badge readers, life safety systems, etc.), classroom resources, heating and air conditioning, and general accommodations as our current building.
We recognize that you likely have many questions about this and have prepared the following responses to potential frequently asked questions.
What are the next steps?
Our partners with Hanover County Government will review a special exception application recently submitted by HCPS. It will follow the standard review process, which includes consideration by the Board of Supervisors. If approved, the temporary unit would be in place for the 2024-25 school year. We will keep you informed of significant developments throughout the process.
Is CSES overcrowded?
Our school does not currently meet the definition of overcrowding (included immediately below). However, we continue to experience considerable growth that approaches that standard and exceeds the constructed capacity of our building.
As stated above, the enrollment at CSES has risen, especially over the past several years, and continues to increase. Enrollment is forecasted to rise above 900 students in the next several years while the capacity of our school building is 768 students.
How is overcrowding defined?
School Board Regulation 4-3.1(A) states the following: “Overcrowding is defined as more than 20 percent above functional capacity for three consecutive years. Functional capacity in a specific elementary school is computed by using the current pupil to teacher ratio in the school system multiplied by the number of classrooms used for general education grades PK-5 at the school. For each secondary school, grades 6-12, functional capacity is computed using: 1) current pupil to teacher ratios for each instructional program area in the school system, multiplied by the number of classrooms used for each program and 2) an efficiency percentage to account for specialized/low enrollment course offerings. For both elementary and secondary, specialized programming with lower pupil to teacher ratios is also evaluated.”
Based on this definition, the number of students who would need to be enrolled in our school for our building to officially be deemed overcrowded is 920. By the 2026-27 school year, our school is projected to enroll 916 students.
Does HCPS plan to adjust school boundaries?
The long-established attendance zones in HCPS balance student enrollment with available capacity within each school. This is continually monitored and evaluated to determine if any boundary adjustments may be necessary to maintain this balance. Should boundaries necessitate adjustment, HCPS would communicate that information broadly as part of a public adjustment process.
Which and how many classes will be housed in the learning cottage?
We have not made any final decisions. Prior to the start of each school year, we engage in significant planning. This includes a comprehensive assessment of student enrollment, which informs the number of classrooms/sections for each grade level and the corresponding staffing needs.
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We hope this is helpful in keeping you informed about the upcoming plans for CSES. As always, if you have any questions about CSES or your child, please feel free to reach out directly to CSES. For questions about this project specifically, please email
[email protected].
Sincerely,
Sarah Pike, Principal, Cool Spring Elementary School
Ed Buzzelli, Director of Facilities, Hanover County Public Schools