CMS accreditation is renewed Evaluation identifies district ’ s successes , areas for improvement
Two CMS seniors in first-round National Merit winners Myers Park students among more than 1,000 scholarship winners
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools received district accreditation March 16 after a comprehensive external review conducted by AdvancED , a national accrediting organization for Pre-K-12 schools and districts . The review team evaluated the entire district to determine how well CMS serves its students and identify areas for improvement .
CMS has been accredited since 2005 , when it became the first large urban district in the country to be accredited . Accreditation is voluntary . It is used at the K-12 and college levels to distinguish schools that adhere to an identified set of educational standards for quality school systems . To earn accreditation , a district must meet the rigorous standards set forth in five areas : purpose and direction ; governance and leadership ; teaching and assessing for learning ; resources and support systems ; and using results for continuous improvement . Evaluations for renewing accreditation occur every five years .
“ We are very pleased to have our district ’ s achievements and the hard work of our amazing teachers , principals , support staff and community partners recognized by AdvancED ,” said Superintendent Ann Clark . “ The process of earning and maintaining accreditation gives us important feedback on what we ’ re doing well and where we can improve to maximize learning for every student . This feedback will help us strengthen our district and our schools .”
AdvancED reviewed the five areas and determined an Index of Education Quality ( IEQ ) composite score to measure overall district performance . Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools received a score of 276.78 . Three subscores rated the district ’ s teaching and learning impact , leadership capacity and resource utilization . Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools received a score of 271.62 on teaching and learning impact , 290.00 on leadership capacity and 270.50 on resource utilization . The scores were all within the norm when compared to AdvancED network average IEQ scores , which reflect 34,000 institutions worldwide , including small , wealthy suburban and urban school districts . The IEQ scale ranges from 100 to 400 .
“ CMS continues to make progress in its journey to achieve success for every student ,” said Dr . Mark Elgart , AdvancED CEO and lead member of the review team . “ The district is ahead of the curve for most urban school districts . The results of this evaluation will provide direction to the system and community as to what it needs to do to achieve greater success in the future .”
A quality assurance team from AdvancED spent March 13-16 in the district visiting 48 schools and interviewing members of the Charlotte- Mecklenburg Board of Education , administrators , teachers , support staff , parents , community and business partners and students . In all , more than 1,100 stakeholders were interviewed .
“ We are making significant progress in supporting academic success for all students but there is still much work to do ,” said Clark . “ We appreciate the guidance provided by AdvancED and remain committed to our collective work to prepare every CMS student to graduate college- and career-ready .”
Summer Fun Kid ’ s Camp Pre-camp dates are May 17th and 19th from 9:45 a . m . to 11:45 p . m . Third day option can be added on and is May 21st at 1 p . m .
• Boxing Basics and Fundamentals
• Anti-Bullying Training and Resources
• Leadership Training
• Endless Fun !
10 • May / June 2016 • Parent Teacher News
The full Summer Camp program starts on June 7th and runs for 8 full weeks .
Only $ 75 Per Week . Multi-Sibling Discount Offered .
Title Boxing Club Ayrsley – 2016 Ayrsley Town Blvd . Charlotte www . charlotte-ayrsley . titleboxingclub . com ( 704 ) 588-3391
Two high school seniors in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools have won National Merit Scholarships in the first round of the finals . The students , both at Myers Park High , were among 24 students in North Carolina to win scholarships in the first round .
Robert “ Bo ” W . Carlson and Therese D . Mendoza were the Myers Park students who won . The first-round winners were announced April 20 ; more winners will be announced in May , June and July . In all , the National Merit Scholarship Corporation will name about 7,500 students in 2016 who will receive approximately $ 33 million in scholarships .
“ Bo and Therese are extraordinary students ,” said Myers Park Principal Mark Bosco . “ They exemplify what achievement in high school is all about , and we ’ re very proud of them .”
Bo plans to attend Duke University , Bosco said , and has been in the Myers Park International Baccalaureate program . He also participates in speech and debate , as well as academic competitions such as World Quest and Quiz Bowl . He is a member of the National Honor Society and the National Science Honor Society , a YMCA counselor and tutors other students .
Therese plans to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , Bosco said . She is a musician and a runner . She is an Advanced Placement scholar with distinction and an accomplished flautist who is in the All-State Band . She is also a vocalist who has written a computer program that helps her learn to read music more quickly .
Students automatically enter the scholarship competition when they take the Preliminary SAT / National Merit Qualifying Test in their junior year . In 2014-2015 , more than 1.5 million juniors in 22,000 high schools across the country took the test and 16,000 semi-finalists were named in September of last year . Semi-finalists were the highest-scoring entrants in each state .
To compete in the finals , however , each semi-finalist had to complete a detailed scholarship application , including an essay and information about extracurricular activities , awards and leadership . To become a finalist , students also had to have outstanding academic records , have SAT scores that confirmed the qualifying test performance and have a recommendation from a school official . In all , 15,000 students in the U . S . were named 2016 finalists .
The Myers Park winners were the second national recognition for the school in less than a week . Myers Park was one of seven CMS schools – half of the North Carolina total of 14 – to be awarded medals in the 2016 U . S . News & World Report list of the nation ’ s best high schools . Providence High won a gold medal and was ranked 372 on the list . Myers Park was ranked 821 on the list and won a silver medal . Five other schools also won silver medals . The schools and their rankings are Ardrey Kell ( 521 ), Northwest School of the Arts ( 589 ), South Meck High ( 1,084 ), Butler High ( 1,175 ) and Phillip O . Berry Academy of Technology ( 1,891 ).