‘Committed to reinvigorate the community’
Charlotte East Language Academy opens as Spanish-immersion magnet
Charlotte East Language
Academy (CELA) held
a dedication ceremony
Oct. 23 to celebrate the
new Spanish-immersion
magnet school. The newly
minted Wolves emphasized
that, like their mascots,
their introduction into a
community can bring about
radical change.
"As we embarked on
this journey, there was a lot
of emotion attached to this
land," said Principal Carmen
Concepcion. "We are
committed to reinvigorate the community, to learn new cultures and together,
we strive to show [our students] there is nothing they cannot accomplish."
The K-8 school opened this year on the former Eastland Mall site and was
built with funding from the 2013 bond referendum. It has about 368 students
and is a partial magnet. The language-immersion track has students in
kindergarten through first grade, and the home-school track has students in
kindergarten through sixth grade. Additional grades will be added each year
to reach eighth grade.
Carol Sawyer, who represents District 4 on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Board of Education, said she is thrilled that CELA students have the
opportunity to grow up bilingual and biliterate, and that the new school is a
statement of hope about the future.
"Your journey toward success begins here," Sawyer said.
Dr. Clayton Wilcox, superintendent of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools,
said the unique school gives students the opportunity to support and
understand people who are different from them and that CELA "represents
the aspirations of all of us."
"We hope you are the young people who will change the course of the
community we live in today," Wilcox said.
The ceremony opened with the Pledge of Allegiance, led by first-grader
Lauryn Greene and sixth-grader Arjan Darjee. There were also student
performances: "Sirocco/Fiesta Espectacular" by sixth-grade dancers and
"Jalale" by fourth-grade dancers.
Concepcion said she loves the location of the school and that she was
able to choose a group of such committed staff members.
"The community is amazing and I am surrounded by people who have the
same vision for these children as I do," she said.
Northwest School of the Arts junior named student representative to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education
Kendall Sanders, a junior at Northwest
School of the Arts, took her seat as the
student representative to the Charlotte-
Mecklenburg Board of Education on Dec.
11. Read below to learn more about her. Q: What has been your greatest
accomplishment so far?
Question: Why were you
interested in becoming the student
representative to the CMS Board of
Education? Q: What are your hobbies or
interests?
Answer: I became interested in
becoming the student representative
through the Charlotte Mecklenburg Youth
Council. I thought it would be a great
opportunity and honor to be the voice of
my fellow classmates and students of CMS.
Q: What do you hope to gain from
this experience?
A: I hope to gain experience and learn
about issues and topics that affect CMS.
Q: How were you selected to serve
in this role?
A: To be selected for this position, all
the candidates had to go through a two-
step election process. We campaigned on social media and then we had
our first election and forum so that the students could get to know us
better. A month and a half later, we had our final election where students
from CMS could go to the polls with their parents and vote to elect a
representative.
Q: What are your college/career plans?
A: After high school, I plan on attending college and majoring in
chemistry. I want to become a dentist.
8 • January/February2019 • Parent Teacher Magazine
A: It would have to be being elected for
this position.
A: My hobbies include youth mission at
my church. I also enjoy being a part of Girl
Scouts. Shopping with my friends at the mall
is one of my favorite things to do.
Q: Do you have any siblings?
A: Yes, I have one little sister named
Kameron Sanders.
Q: What interests you most about
Northwest School of the Arts?
A: Northwest School of the Arts has a
lot of amazing things but the one thing I find
most interesting is how talented everyone
is and how professional everyone is during
shows and performances.
Q: What advice would you give to
other students to ensure academic success?
A: Students should never procrastinate with work or assignments and
always ask questions.
Q: Who is your role model?
A: My role model is my mother. She’s always been there, pushing me
to do things I would never be confident enough to do. She’s always been
my support, along with the rest of my family. I just hope when I’m older
I can be just like her.