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Address Overcrowding at Hockinson Heights Elementary School

Address Overcrowding at Hockinson Heights Elementary School
 

Hockinson Heights Elementary School (HHES) is overcrowded and squeezed for space. HHES serves 924 students, making it the largest elementary school in Clark County. A third-party demographer has projected that HHES enrollment will exceed 1,040 students by 2027.

Bar chart shows the average elementary size in clark county is 449 while HHES has 924 students.

Nearly one-third of all HHES students spend most of their school day in one of the school’s 24 portable classrooms. Due to overcrowding, limited cafeteria capacity results in long lunch windows. Currently, kindergarten students eat lunch starting at 9:50 am and 5th grade students end lunch at 12:40 pm. On family surveys, parents consistently express concern with traffic congestion at daily pick-ups, drop-offs and family events.

In district-wide family surveys this year, 66.9% of respondents prefer to address the overcrowding issue at HHES by building a second elementary school.

Pie chart shows 66.9% of respondents prefer to build a second elementary school

The Facilities Planning Committee Family will be collecting additional family input in August 2024 to guide research and explore options for more permanent solutions to support Hockinson's student population. The family survey link will be emailed to all families in August.

Safety and Usability Improvements to the Existing HHES Site

Based on district-wide family surveys this year, the following are priority safety and usability improvements to the existing HHES site:

  • Building Lockdown Functionality: There is currently no ability to automatically secure exterior doors in a lockdown situation. In a recent family survey, improving building lockdown functionality surfaced as a clear priority for responding families.

  • Improve traffic flow through parking lot redesign and improved bus access in order to reduce congestion.

  • Eliminate portable classrooms to get students into permanent classrooms.

  • Improve traffic flow through parking lot redesign and improved bus access in order to reduce congestion.

  • Redesign the campus to reduce the amount of time that students are walking from specialists to classrooms throughout the day.

  • Construction of a single secure entry: A single secure entry door would improve security by restricting school access points.

  • Update and beautify the campus to improve access and flow and promote school pride. Maximize and incorporate shared green spaces.