The work that lies ahead for CMS
As we head toward spring
break and the end of the year,
I am excited about the work
that lies ahead in CharlotteMecklenburg Schools. As you
probably know, the CharlotteMecklenburg Board of Education
voted in February to extend my
contract through June 2017. I am
pleased to have an additional year
to participate in the important
work of our district.
In particular, we will be
focusing on two areas: literacy,
recruiting and retaining the best
teachers and student assignment.
We began our work on literacy
in 2015 and we will continue to
focus on getting every third-grader
reading on grade level by the end
of the third grade. We are also
focusing on the gateway grades of seven and 12, making sure that students
are ready for high school and graduation.
We’re calling this work the North Star Literacy Initiative because literacy
is the North Star of education. Without it, students can’t learn. It’s also
important because we know that a student reading on grade level at the end
of third grade has an increased chance of graduating from high school. So
we will continue to have our young readers, as well as seventh-graders and
seniors, work with mentors and tutors to get on grade level and stay there.
The second area of focus for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is student
assignment. This is critical work for our district. As our area continues
to grow, it is important for us to make sure that all students have the
opportunity to succeed in school. We don’t want our schools to be
Show Choir
Camp!
Register by May 1 - Save $20!
Camp Weeks:
June 20-24 Singing to the Boos!
July 11-15 Hummin’ to the Movies
Aug 8-12 Top 40 Express!
• A fun, creative & musical
camp experience
• Open to rising 1st thru
rising 8th graders
• Professional teaching staff
Location: Myers Park Baptist Church
1900 Queens Road, Charlotte, NC 28207
12:30pm-4pm, Mon-Fri
$165/week - Scholarships available
More info: 704-374-1564
www.carolinavoices.org/KidsVoices.asp
Carolina Kids’ Voices is an educational component of Carolina Voices, a 61 year old choral arts organization.
2 • March/April 2016 • Parent Teacher News
overcrowded or to have high concentrations of poverty, because that can
interfere with learning.
We are ready to begin this work. On Feb. 23, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Board of Education voted to adopt a list of goals to help us make decisions
about student assignment. These goals are important because they provide
parameters and clarity for district leadership and for our families.
In the preamble to the goals, the Board said: “The goals should be
viewed as a collective against which student assignment options and
methodologies will be evaluated for their ability to accomplish, to the extent
possible, the goals. The mission of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is to
maximize academic achievement by every student in every school. The Board
of Education believes that the student assignment plan is a vital resource for
accomplishing this mission.”
The Board wants to design a student assignment plan that will:
• Provide choice and promote equitable access to varied and viable
programmatic