North Star shines on
Reading mentors help students progress toward literacy
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools continues its
commitment to literacy with the North Star Reading
Partners program. This program asks the community,
local and regional businesses and other organizations
help meet the individual needs of students by mentoring
one child for one hour once a week.
Recently, more than 300 community volunteers,
who signed up to serve in the program, attended a
90-minute orientation.
To participate, teaching experience is not required.
A full set of district-designed curriculum materials is
provided to help volunteers be effective mentors and
coaches. During the orientation, there was an overview
of the second and third grade lessons and volunteers
received a bag including a journal, two read-aloud
novels for students, post-it notes, a highlighter and a
North Star magnet to get them started.
‘What if’ moments every day
Whitewater Middle students get a space to build, invent and design
A new innovative learning
lab opened Oct. 3 at Whitewater
Middle. A result of Verizon’s vision
and partnership, it offers students
a bright, modern 3,000-square-foot
area where they can collaborate,
create, communicate, think
critically and solve problems — all
necessary skills in today’s learning
environment.
Whitewater is one of six schools
in CMS that have been part of
Verizon Innovative Learning since
2016. Now, it is one of the first
two middle schools in the country
to have an innovative learning lab.
The project started 18 months
ago with the Verizon Foundation’s
education program team. The
team visited labs and makerspaces
at leading universities such as
Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, New York University and
the University of Virginia to ensure
that the new lab would be of the highest caliber.
“Research has shown that maker-centered learning helps students
develop ingenuity and flexibility, as well as self-confidence and a sense
of community,” said Principal Beth Thompson. “Let’s take virtual reality
as an example. We don’t know everything that can be done with that
technology yet, but we can teach it and let our students’ minds take us
to where it can go. That is the power of having this space. We can have
‘what if’ moments every day.”
The lab’s focus is on science, technology, engineering and
mathematics (STEM) — a perfect match for Whitewater, which is an
environmental STEM-themed school. The lab features such technology
8 • November/December 2018 • Parent Teacher Magazine
as augmented reality and virtual
reality (AR/VR), coding and circuits,
3D design and sound production.
There is also write-on wall paint
throughout the space, interactive
monitors and two adjoining
classrooms.
“I love this lab. I’m an artsy
type of guy so the 3D printer is
cool,” said Jeffrey Hairston Jr., a
seventh-grader. “It’s hands-on, so it
won’t get boring either.”
Seventh-grader Sumayyah
Muhammad-Bouaoud and eighth-
grader Marco Castillo agree that the
virtual reality is one of the biggest
hits among students.
Sumayyah.
“When I’m using the AR/
VR I don’t have to design things
on paper. I’m drawing, building
and moving my creations in real
time to see how they work,” said
Eighth-graders Jakob Yang and Antonio Nie sat at a table with a case
full of circuits and other materials that could be used for making games,
robots, alarms and sensors. They were building and programming a car.
Nearby, another set of students were making an alarm.
“There was a time when we were one of the lowest-growth schools
in the district and many thought we couldn’t improve. In the last four
years, we have exceeded growth, proving our students are capable,” said
Thompson. “This lab is another resource that gives them an opportunity
to explore and experience the endless possibilities that technology
provides in and outside of the classroom.”