This fall Forsyth County Schools is redistricting for the 2016-17 school year to relieve overcrowding and populate Brandywine Elementary School and DeSana Middle School, which will open in August 2016. As a result our community Maristone has been proposed as a neighborhood to be redistricted to Midway Elementary and DeSana Middle School next fall. 

The redistricting of Maristone subdivision is not in the best interests of the children and the Maristone community. It will have a negative impact on students and cause material disruption to their lives. In particular

 1)    Change in school significantly increases the risk of redistricting in near future

Maristone subdivision is right on the cusp of highway 400. There isn't much room for growth within the Shiloh/ Piney district but lots of room for growth around Midway and DeSana. We run the risk of being redistricted again within a couple of years similar to Shepherds Pond and Wallace Run subdivisions. 2 years ago, students from these subdivisions were at Midway ES. Since then, they have been attending Shiloh point ES. Next year they will be relocated to Brandywine ES.  A situation like this would be unacceptable and not what is best for the students and our community.

2)  Change in schedule negatively impacts children with working parents

Shiloh Point’s start time is 7:40 AM and our usual bus time is just before 7:00 AM for those kids taking the bus to school. Many of us have arranged our lives for our own work schedules around this and student activities that begin at 3 PM and it would be a great hardship on us if we had to shift our schedules to meet the 8:20 AM start time for Midway.

3) Change in school creates stressful situation for students who are already at a critical point in their personal development

Maristone subdivision has been here long before other subdivisions in this area just to the west of 400. Many of our children and their siblings have attended Shiloh Point Elementary since the school opened in 2006 and a lot of parents in this community have had significant contribution to the overall development of Shiloh Point Elementary through various charitable events over the last 10 years. Communities are built around schools. However redistricting Maristone is likely to have the opposite effect. It will cut the ties that have been built over the years around the school and can create a stressful situation for students who are expecting to attend Shiloh Point ES and Piney Grove MS with their childhood friends from neighboring communities. 

4) Commute times increase for Maristone families

If the proposal goes through, this will end up being a Crisscrossing of buses in the already heavily congested intersection of Major’s Rd and Shiloh Rd.  Instead Homes north of the Shiloh Rd & Hwy 9 intersection should be redistricted to Midway ES (or Whitlow ES). Highway 9 is a straight commute and would avoid the Shiloh Rd / Majors Rd bottleneck. The current distance and school bus routes between Maristone to Shiloh Point ES & Piney Grove MS do not add additional congestion to the Shiloh Rd & Hwy 9 intersection. In fact, Maristone is currently the shortest, easiest and safest path for bus routes. 

Please sign our petition to allow students from Maristone community to continue attending Shiloh Point Elementary and Piney Grove Middle schools.