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New elementary school for the Tanglewood area

Southwest FW

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#1 bclaridge

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Posted 23 June 2017 - 03:14 AM

https://www.fwisd.or...=17117&PageID=1

 

Although the FWISD board will not meet until this upcoming Tuesday (6/27), it seems that Kent Scribner will recommend to the school board that the district construct a new K-5 elementary school to relieve overcrowding at Tanglewood Elementary School.  The district still needs to decide on a location, which will be within the current Tanglewood attendance boundary, but it seems most likely that it will be west of Hulen Street.


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#2 hannerhan

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Posted 23 June 2017 - 08:21 AM

Given all the recent new housing (with more to come) in the Edwards Ranch developments, this seems like the obvious choice to me.  In time I'm sure this new school will come to have a stellar reputation, just as Tanglewood does now.



#3 rriojas71

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Posted 23 June 2017 - 08:56 AM

FW does have some stellar elementary schools with Tanglewood being one of them. I just wish the quality of the FWISD would extend beyond elementary schools. I'm still perplexed why that quality seems to drop off once the middle school years come around.

#4 Doohickie

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Posted 23 June 2017 - 09:25 AM

FW does have some stellar elementary schools with Tanglewood being one of them. I just wish the quality of the FWISD would extend beyond elementary schools. I'm still perplexed why that quality seems to drop off once the middle school years come around.

 

I think that's the point where the kids 1) have to start to work independently (because they're changing classes and aren't under the watchful eye of only one or two teachers), 2) start to get tempted by adolescent activities, and 3) are affected by their hormones start bumping around.  And from the parents' side, I think it's more effort on their part to keep the kids on the straight and narrow so class differences play a larger role (parents with resources can better keep their kids on track).  It's a problem everywhere but especially in more urban areas.


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#5 Big Frog II

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Posted 23 June 2017 - 10:03 AM

McLean is fine.  My kids attended there and enjoyed it and had good teachers for the most part.  Paschal is great as long as you are in the AP classes.  My kids had 24 or so hours of college credit when they graduated, and they were well prepared for college.  We live in the Tanglewood/Overton Park area and are excited for a new elementary.  



#6 hannerhan

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Posted 26 June 2017 - 08:34 AM

McLean is fine.  My kids attended there and enjoyed it and had good teachers for the most part.  Paschal is great as long as you are in the AP classes.  My kids had 24 or so hours of college credit when they graduated, and they were well prepared for college.  We live in the Tanglewood/Overton Park area and are excited for a new elementary.  

 

Agree.  Ten years ago I do think there was legitimate reason to be concerned with FWISD middle schools.  But McLean and a few others seem to be doing a great job.



#7 Urbndwlr

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Posted 26 June 2017 - 05:26 PM

Any ideas as to what the attendance boundaries would be for the new "Tanglewood West" elementary school?  Would it stay within existing boundaries and just take half of it? 

 

Surprising that Alice B Carlson wasn't mentioned as an option - to relocate the applied learning center to another spot and reinstate that building as a neighborhood campus as it used to be.  I imagine the ISD looked into that but am not aware of why it wasn't one of the short list options. 



#8 Big Frog II

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Posted 26 June 2017 - 06:37 PM

Any ideas as to what the attendance boundaries would be for the new "Tanglewood West" elementary school?  Would it stay within existing boundaries and just take half of it? 

 

Surprising that Alice B Carlson wasn't mentioned as an option - to relocate the applied learning center to another spot and reinstate that building as a neighborhood campus as it used to be.  I imagine the ISD looked into that but am not aware of why it wasn't one of the short list options. 

From what we here, the new school's attendance zone will be south of Bellaire and west of Hulen of what is already Tanglewood.  



#9 mmmdan

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Posted 28 June 2017 - 10:40 AM

I'm pretty sure I read or heard something where Alice B Carlson was considered, but due to it's size, it wouldn't provide that much relief and things would be overcrowded again soon.



#10 Thurman52

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Posted 28 June 2017 - 08:20 PM

Correct, it was briefly considered but size was issue. FWISD, said building had landmark status and too costly to modify to accommodate the needs.

New campus is rumored to be behind First Command. There is space back on KingsRidge road but the frost bank drive thru

#11 John T Roberts

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Posted 28 June 2017 - 09:06 PM

I don't know if any of you know it, but the FWISD, at one time, owned the entire block bounded by Hulen, Briarhaven, and Arborlawn.  That 23 acre block was scheduled to have two schools.  I think they were a proposed high school and elementary school, but it could have been another middle school, instead of a high schoool.  Those plans were eventually abandoned and the FWISD sold the property to the City of Fort Worth for a branch library and to Temple Beth-El and McKinney Memorial Bible Church.



#12 bclaridge

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Posted 29 June 2017 - 06:40 PM

New campus is rumored to be behind First Command. There is space back on KingsRidge road but the frost bank drive thru

 

I knew that some of the land along Hulen Street in that area is actually within the boundaries of Crowley ISD, but the area behind First Command is within the FWISD.  The portion within Crowley ISD only goes back to the driveway behind First Command, and up to include southern end of Congregation Ahavath Sholom's building.  That said, the school district boundary issue might pose a problem if FWISD wanted to build their school behind Ahavath Sholom.

 

Crowley ISD boundaries

FWISD boundaries

 

In my opinion, the southeast corner of Bellaire and Ranch View might be the more appropriate location, as it is in a neighborhood.  However, the Edwards family would need to be willing to sell a portion of their land there, combined with the fact that this location is on a hillside and that the removal of trees might take away from some of the neighborhood character of Overton Woods along Bellaire.


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#13 Thurman52

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Posted 29 June 2017 - 07:56 PM

Not sure what the district boundaries has to do with site selection. I admit it would be odd but not a real issue.

#14 bclaridge

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Posted 29 June 2017 - 11:52 PM

Not sure what the district boundaries has to do with site selection. I admit it would be odd but not a real issue.

 

True.  This would only be an issue if they chose to build on the empty lot behind Ahavath Sholom, and even then there would be sufficient space within the FWISD to build a school.  And they could always try and get Crowley ISD to cede their portion of this lot to FWISD if it were needed (little to no property tax is being contributed from this lot anyways).

 

Putting this "non-issue" aside, FWISD's Tanglewood community presentation in May stated that they wanted to maintain a "walkable/rideable" environment for the new school, which would favor a neighborhood-based site over one placed in a commercial district like that behind First Command.  Although there are currently less than 100 students attending Tanglewood on the west side of Hulen (per the presentation), the rideable aspect could be incorporated into an Overton Woods site by making a bicycle-trail link to the Trinity Trails along the south side of Bellaire to a potential site located on the Edwards property.  That way, children on bicycles from the east side of Hulen would not have to cross Hulen at grade, as they could simply use the trail underpass from Overton Park to make the connection to the new school.  That said, I can understand that some parents would have an issue with letting their children travel on the trails by themselves or with other children.  I've ran on this portion of trail many times, and I feel that is very safe, though there are added concerns when you are talking children instead of a grown man.

 

Unfortunately there is no solution that can satisfy everyone with a stake in their children's education at Tanglewood.  But even with the compromises made, I have a feeling that the parents will help make this new school into something amazing.  There is a reason that Tanglewood is as good of an elementary school as its counterparts in Southlake, and parent involvement (and community socioeconomics) is a big part of that.  None of those factors will be changing with a new school.


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Please consider following my Instagram page!  I take a lot of pictures of scenery and urban environments, in addition to my interests in fashion.


#15 bclaridge

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Posted 04 September 2017 - 01:12 AM

This may be old news, but the reliever school for Tanglewood, along with improvements to Tanglewood Elementary itself, is included in the FWISD bond election to take place this November.  It also includes land purchases for future schools (one of which is what I assume to be for the Tanglewood reliever school), but nothing has yet been determined for where the reliever school will be located.

 

I'm hoping that the owners of the Edwards homestead would be willing to sell a portion of their property for the new school, or that it could be incorporated into future phases of Riverhills located north of Arborlawn Drive (preferably the portion north of Arborlawn/Bellaire east of the Chisholm Trail Parkway).  That said, I heard that Riverhills was out of the question.

 

Sooner than later FWISD will have to consider the effects of all this growth on McLean and Paschal.  While not affecting the Tanglewood area, ultimately FWISD will need to factor in the effects of suburban sprawl on the southwestern portions of their district, including the areas south and west of Benbrook as well as potential infill development between Walsh Ranch and 820.  Also at full buildout the portions of Walsh within Tarrant County will be in the FWISD, rather than the Aledo ISD, and the Walsh master plan has schools included in the FWISD area. Furthermore, I've already heard of issues with overcrowding at the new Westpark Elementary in Benbrook, as well as crowding issues at the Benbrook Middle-High School, which was also recently expanded to include the old Westpark building.  In my opinion the 2017 bond should have addressed these issues better (it does mention some improvements for Paschal, BMHS, and Waverly Park Elementary, though).

In my opinion the FWISD needs to look at how the suburban school districts (eg. Northwest ISD, Aledo ISD, Crowley ISD, etc.) handle growth in their school districts, including how they collaborate with developers to offer "on-site" schools.  While most of the FWISD area is urban, there are also suburban and rural portions (especially around Benbrook) where there is the potential for major suburban sprawl in the years to come, not even mentioning growing areas like Tanglewood elsewhere in the district.  Although I am not a fan of suburban sprawl, as long as there is a demand for it, the necessary planning needs to be done.


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Please consider following my Instagram page!  I take a lot of pictures of scenery and urban environments, in addition to my interests in fashion.


#16 chmartin79

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Posted 05 September 2017 - 01:35 PM

I hate to be a downer here, but while I understand the issue for Tanglewood and overcrowding is important, I am not too keen on giving the elementary everyone wants to go to a new school with all the bells and whistles.  That money could be better spent on upgrading all elementary schools instead of just one.  Case in point, my wife and I voted for the bond that included universal Pre-K for all Fort Worth students and we were lucky enough for our son to start in FWISD's pre k last year. Come to find out, our home school didn't have room for him since we made too much money.  That wasn't a big deal at the time since we were able to find a spot for him at one of the schools close to where my wife works. But, we were one of the lucky ones that could find a spot close to us.  That problem needs addressing more so than Tanglewood.  If you live in an attendance zone of the elementary, you should be able to go to school there. If not, that school needs an expansion, not Tanglewood. We will not be voting for this bond, and I urge others to think about this as well before voting for it.  It doesn't seem right and it shouldn't be the priority of FWISD to serve a small segment of the school district over the needs of all those.



#17 bclaridge

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Posted 05 September 2017 - 06:33 PM

I hate to be a downer here, but while I understand the issue for Tanglewood and overcrowding is important, I am not too keen on giving the elementary everyone wants to go to a new school with all the bells and whistles.  That money could be better spent on upgrading all elementary schools instead of just one.  Case in point, my wife and I voted for the bond that included universal Pre-K for all Fort Worth students and we were lucky enough for our son to start in FWISD's pre k last year. Come to find out, our home school didn't have room for him since we made too much money.  That wasn't a big deal at the time since we were able to find a spot for him at one of the schools close to where my wife works. But, we were one of the lucky ones that could find a spot close to us.  That problem needs addressing more so than Tanglewood.  If you live in an attendance zone of the elementary, you should be able to go to school there. If not, that school needs an expansion, not Tanglewood. We will not be voting for this bond, and I urge others to think about this as well before voting for it.  It doesn't seem right and it shouldn't be the priority of FWISD to serve a small segment of the school district over the needs of all those.

 

I do understand your argument with regard to improving elementary schools and access to Pre-K, though.   To my understanding, some FWISD elementary schools have had Pre-K expansions since the 2013 bond, although unfortunately not all of them have.  And just so you know, Tanglewood does not even offer Pre-K (I believe it is the only elementary school in the FWISD not to do so, excluding areas where FWISD has primary schools).  The FWISD, and all school districts, are required to serve those who first meet the Federal guidelines for Pre-K enrollment; once all of those children are taken into account only then can they consider the Universal Pre-K students, that is those who do not meet the guidelines (source).

 

The vast majority of the 2017 bond is for upgrades to all 14 of FWISD's high schools (~$581 million is budgeted for the high schools, including the 13 zoned schools and Trimble Tech).  In other words, the whole district benefits.  Compared to the elementary schools in the district, of which there are several "newer" school facilities built in the last 20-30 years, more of the high schools in FWISD are older buildings that could use upgrades.  That said, the lack of money allocated for middle schools (excluding the combined Benbrook Middle-High School and the specialized programs) is somewhat concerning.

 

The School Overcrowding and Student Growth section of the bond, which includes the Tanglewood reliever school, improvements to Tanglewood Elementary itself, land purchases for future schools, and some improvements to Waverly Park Elementary, is just upwards of $52 million.

Though borrowing money is not something to be taken lightly.


Sydney B. Claridge

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Please consider following my Instagram page!  I take a lot of pictures of scenery and urban environments, in addition to my interests in fashion.


#18 bclaridge

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Posted 23 December 2017 - 10:37 PM

Though this update is a little bit late, the Star-Telegram states that FWISD will most likely select the site behind First Command and Ahavath Sholom for the Tanglewood relief school.

 

According to the article, Ahavath Sholom had planned to use their empty property for an assisted living community.  Here are my suggestions that would still allow Ahavath Sholom to use most of their empty property (around 3 acres) and maintain an adequate-sized swath of property (roughly 9 acres) for the Tanglewood relief school.

 

Personally I would prefer to see the new school be built at the southeast corner of Bellaire and Ranch View, or in Riverhills, in order to keep the school in a neighborhood setting.


Sydney B. Claridge

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Please consider following my Instagram page!  I take a lot of pictures of scenery and urban environments, in addition to my interests in fashion.


#19 Thurman52

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Posted 24 December 2017 - 08:26 AM

Something seems off the story. They have the land listed for sale. http://images3.loopn...M8/document.pdf

I doubt they were going to build a retirement center but sell for a retirement center. My two cents this is a strategy to get price up

#20 RD Milhollin

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Posted 25 December 2017 - 02:19 AM

Though this update is a little bit late, the Star-Telegram states that FWISD will most likely select the site behind First Command and Ahavath Sholom for the Tanglewood relief school.

 

According to the article, Ahavath Sholom had planned to use their empty property for an assisted living community.  Here are my suggestions that would still allow Ahavath Sholom to use most of their empty property (around 3 acres) and maintain an adequate-sized swath of property (roughly 9 acres) for the Tanglewood relief school.

 

Personally I would prefer to see the new school be built at the southeast corner of Bellaire and Ranch View, or in Riverhills, in order to keep the school in a neighborhood setting.

 

I agree wholeheartedly. Schools, especially elementary schools should be built off the traffic grid. FWISD has a poor record of buying property from "friends"  and that property never being appropriate for an actual school location. Once the school board can get their intestional components together enough to agree on what is legally Ethical, then they should try to focus on a logical policy on where to locate schools. This can be difficult given that we are provided elected novice school board members per the state constitution and associated state regulations. Students and parents deserve better.



#21 bclaridge

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Posted 28 December 2017 - 05:21 AM

Something seems off the story. They have the land listed for sale. http://images3.loopn...M8/document.pdf

I doubt they were going to build a retirement center but sell for a retirement center. My two cents this is a strategy to get price up

 

I was thinking that too, with regards to selling to a company wanting to build a retirement center.  Property in this area is pretty valuable, but might be even more valuable going towards other uses (like office space), but who knows?

 

 

I agree wholeheartedly. Schools, especially elementary schools should be built off the traffic grid.

 

This site is just located too far from the neighborhoods where the kids are living, and I don't think building an elementary school in a commercial district is the wisest choice.  The best example of a "misplaced" elementary school in the FWISD that I can think of would have to be Alice Contreras Elementary, which is adjacent to an industrial/warehouse district and is largely detached from the neighborhoods which it serves (much of the housing across the street from Contreras is actually for the seminary).  Contreras is not on the "traffic grid" so to speak, but isn't in an ideal location either as trucks may drive through the area coming to and from the warehouses.  

 

It would be preferable if FWISD could acquire some of the other empty land that is already in neighborhoods west of Hulen, like the Overton Woods example I previously mentioned.  The intersection of Bellaire and Arborlawn would be another possibility, although the proximity of the Chisholm Trail Parkway might bring road noise issues into the equation unless a sound wall were built.


Sydney B. Claridge

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Please consider following my Instagram page!  I take a lot of pictures of scenery and urban environments, in addition to my interests in fashion.


#22 JBB

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Posted 23 January 2018 - 11:49 PM

School board authorizes use of eminent domain to purchase school property, property owner insists it's moving ahead with its own plan for the land:

http://www.star-tele...e196163194.html

#23 Big Frog II

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Posted 24 January 2018 - 08:50 AM

School board authorizes use of eminent domain to purchase school property, property owner insists it's moving ahead with its own plan for the land:

http://www.star-tele...e196163194.html

Is that the same Jeff Bryant that was involved with the Westchester House?



#24 elpingüino

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Posted 09 August 2018 - 07:48 AM

Ahavath Sholom has agreed to sell the land to FWISD. August newsletter, page 3: http://ahavathsholom...etin_201808.pdf

#25 Big Frog II

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Posted 06 May 2019 - 03:46 PM

Groundbreaking for Overton Park Elementary is June 6.



#26 elpingüino

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Posted 06 May 2019 - 05:09 PM

More info and renderings on the FWISD site. Expected to open for the 2020-21 school year.
http://fwisd2017bond...mentary-school/
OvertonES_Rendering02_opt.jpg

#27 bclaridge

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Posted 16 May 2019 - 07:44 PM

More info and renderings on the FWISD site. Expected to open for the 2020-21 school year.
http://fwisd2017bond...mentary-school/

 

I know I'm a little bit late to the game, but this is exciting news.  I just wish the location were closer to or within the neighborhoods the school will be serving; part of Tanglewood's appeal definitely is its "neighborhood" location (at least for those close to the school), but I know buying the land would have been a major issue where empty land is located along Bellaire (eg. the SE side of Bellaire/Ranch View on the Edwards property, on the north side of Bellaire at Middlewood, and on the west and NE side of Bellaire/Arborlawn).  I guess the FWISD board could have authorized eminent domain for one of those locations though... but I might as well not fret about what is now a done deal.


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Please consider following my Instagram page!  I take a lot of pictures of scenery and urban environments, in addition to my interests in fashion.


#28 elpingüino

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Posted 06 June 2019 - 06:21 PM

Groundbreaking was today. https://www.star-tel...e231254533.html





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