Some Lowell students will switch schools next year

Several years of transition could be in store for five schools in Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200 thanks to changing attendance boundaries.

Starting next year, students in Wheaton's Danada North and Briarcliffe subdivisions longer no will attend Lowell Elementary School.

School board members voted unanimously this week to redraw Lowell's attendance boundaries. The move will shift roughly one-third of the school's students to other buildings.

The change came because Lowell is the only school in the district that doesn't send all its students to the same middle school.

Danada residents now will attend Lincoln Elementary and Edison Middle School. Briarcliffe residents will attend Wiesbrook Elementary and Hubble Middle School.

The change starts next year, but it could take several years before everyone is permanently settled. All current Lowell students have the option to stay at Lowell until they graduate as part of the deal.

Lowell students can switch schools starting next year.

Lowell officials want families who will move next year to let them know by March 14. That will allow the district enough time to determine how many teachers each school will need.

District officials don't expect the move to cause many changes in bus routes, depending on how many students choose to leave Lowell.

Generally, the district expects most of the Lowell students at higher grade levels will choose to stay, while students in their first couple years of school will make the switch.