Parent Teacher Magazine Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools September 2014 | Page 4

CMS Superintendent, Dr. Heath E. Morrison
The 2014-2015 school year is
going to be a great one for CharlotteMecklenburg Schools. We had a very
good year last year and it has provided
a strong foundation for the work we’re
doing this year to make every school a
school of choice.
I’m really excited about some of
the new programs and initiatives we
are offering this year. They will help us
educate every child, every day, for a
better tomorrow. Offering a wide range
of choices and options to our students
and families means that we can meet
the individual needs of each student –
and engage every student in learning.
We are offering new programs at
every level – elementary, middle and
high. For our elementary students, we have a new elementary school opening
and we’re adding a Montessori program that runs from pre-kindergarten
through grade six. For middle school students, we are adding one Science,
Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) and one Science, Technology,
Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) program. And for high school students,
there are two new middle college programs, a new advanced manufacturing
and entrepreneurship program and a new early college program.
Some highlights of our new offerings this year:
Elementary:
Palisades Park Elementary, opening this year, will have a school-wide
focus on the engineering process, with a partial science and engineering
magnet also provided.
Trillium Springs will open as a Montessori magnet for pre-kindergarten
through second grade, adding a grade each year to become a Montessori
school for pre-K through grade six.
Middle:
McClintock Middle School will become a partial magnet school with a
STEAM program for grades six through eight. The STEAM magnet will open
with grade six this year, and then add seventh grade next year and eighth
two years from now. Magnet students will go on to either East Meck or Phillip
O. Berry Academy of Technology.
Mountain Island Elementary will become a K-8 school in the 2014-2015
year, adding three grades to the existing K-5 program at the rate of one

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grade per year. The program will accommodate about 250 students.
Coulwood Middle School will become a partial magnet in 2014-2015, with
a school-wide focus on STEM. The program will begin with sixth grade this
year, and add another grade a year for the next two years.
High:
Cochrane/iMeck Academy will offer an innovative iMeck Academy high
school program as a magnet theme at Cochrane Collegiate Academy. Rising
ninth-graders from Cochrane will be given priority, with other students
eligible to enter a lottery. The iMeck Academy will begin in 2014-2015 with
ninth grade and add a grade each year in subsequent years.
The Technology, Entrepreneurship, Advanced Manufacturing school at
Olympic will start with grades nine and 10, with a grade added each year.
It will provide instruction in the areas of precision manufacturing through
advanced technologies and entrepreneurial skill sets to students in the
Olympic attendance zone.
The Levine Middle College program, which opened in January with
students from Cato, will expand to offer grades 11 and 12 this year. It will
provide up to 200 additional seats for students interested in middle college.
Students will also have the opportunit 䁹