The Englewood Board of Education voted February 21 on whether to switch the sites of Maddox Early Childhood Education Center and Bishop Elementary when new schools are constructed. The initial examination was driven by a few factors such as examination of usable space for elementary schools versus Early Childhood Education centers and whether the two current locations would continue to serve the long-term needs of the District.

The Board asked for community input while making this important decision. The Board held town hall meetings at Bishop and Maddox in January, sent out an online community survey in late January/early February, and offered public comment at its February regular meeting.

Based on community input, the Board voted 5-0 in favor of keeping the schools at their original locations.

Board members cited reasons that were brought to them by the community such as keeping a walkable elementary school in each quadrant of the city, the ongoing cost of transporting Bishop students to a different location, and the disruption redrawing school boundaries would cause to all schools. While Board members agreed that offering Bishop students more field space is important, they believed that looking at a two-story option for Bishop could be an important step to helping give more space.  Additionally, if the District were to need to use the sizeable space of the current Early Childhood Center to expand elementary offerings in the future, keeping the two sites at their current locations keeps that option open to address future needs.

The Board relied heavily on input from the community in making this decision and would like to thank everyone for their thoughtful insight into the experience of Englewood Schools students and families.