This article originally appeared in WFAE reporter Ann Doss Helms' weekly education newsletter. To get the latest school news in your inbox first, sign up for our email newsletters here.
After Waddell High School’s aviation magnet failed to get off the ground for 2023, I got curious about how things are going for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ other magnet programs. The results from the 2023 magnet lottery illustrate the need for an upcoming review of the program.
Ideally, magnet programs not only enrich the academic options for students but help attract families to schools that have space available and create diversity that’s driven by choice. The numbers show some CMS magnets are wildly popular with students and families, filling all available spots and generating waiting lists. Best I can tell, the most oversubscribed school is Rea Farms STEAM Academy, a K-8 school in south Charlotte that combines neighborhood and magnet seats.
The results show 150 students on the waiting list for 25 kindergarten magnet slots — or six denied for every one admitted — with demand outstripping supply at every grade level. CMS plans to divide up the Rea Farm attendance zone to other schools as part of its long-term construction, renovation and reassignment plan, freeing more space for those seeking the science, technology, engineering, arts and math theme.
But offering a program is no guarantee that students will come, even if that program is popular elsewhere.
For instance, International Baccalaureate magnet programs at Piedmont and Randolph middle schools are always in demand. Both are what’s known as full magnets, which means all students opted into the rigorous academic program. IB magnets located at neighborhood schools — especially if they’re in low-income neighborhoods — get far fewer takers. The IB magnet at Marie G. Davis, a K-8 school next to Southside Homes public housing, drew only seven kindergarteners for the coming year, and fewer than 200 for all nine grade levels. Ranson Middle in north Charlotte attracted three sixth-graders, 10 seventh-graders and five eighth-graders to its IB program.
I have lots of questions after looking at the magnet lottery results. For instance: North Mecklenburg High is slated to offer immersion programs in five languages, but only Spanish drew robust enrollment. With, for instance, only seven students signed up for German immersion and 12 for Chinese, is it feasible to hire bilingual staff for these programs?
I plan to meet soon with Magnet Director Walter Hall, but it occurs to me that the best questions and insights come not from a spreadsheet but from lived experience. So please send me your questions and thoughts (contact information is below). As the school board prepares to take a hard look at what’s working and what should change, this is a good time to explore those matters.
Sticking around an extra year
Here’s another cool tidbit from the magnet report: 460 CMS students will report to 13th grade in August.
The first time I saw “grade 13,” many years ago, I thought it was a typo. Now it’s an established trend: As educators and policymakers work to smooth the path from high school to higher ed to careers, a growing number of students opt to attend high schools that partner with universities and community colleges. And they can stay an extra year to accumulate tuition-free credits that prepare them for the next step of their journey.
Next year’s CMS 13th-graders will be at four Central Piedmont Community College campuses and UNC Charlotte, which offers programs for future educators and engineers. There’s also a new early college magnet opening at Central Piedmont’s uptown campus, launching with 210 students in grades 9-11.
CMS data guru takes a leadership role at Harvard education program
For almost 11 years, Frank Barnes has been in charge of tracking and presenting academic data for CMS. That meant presenting and explaining a lot of uncomfortable numbers related to racial disparities and pandemic setbacks.
Now he’s moving on to a national stage. Barnes, who got his doctorate in education from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, will be a faculty member and faculty director of that program. Friday was his last day with CMS. “It is [an] honor to return to Harvard in such a role, but know that I will be taking Charlotte-Mecklenburg there with me,” he said.
Lawsuits filed and settled
WBTV and CMS recently announced the end of a legal battle they’ve been engaged in for almost two years.
“Charlotte school board violated Open Meetings Law, judge rules,” said the WBTV headline.
“Judge rules in favor of CMS regarding Title IX task force,” countered the CMS press release.
Yes, they were both reporting on the same ruling. And they were both right. WBTV initially sued over former Superintendent Earnest Winston’s 2021 decision to hold meetings of a student-led Title IX task force behind closed doors. It was focused on how the district handles student reports of sexual assault, a topic of clear public interest and concern. The station contended that the task force was a public body, subject to the Open Meetings Law. Superior Court Judge Nathaniel Poovey sided with CMS in saying it was not.
Last year WBTV expanded its complaint to cite instances in which it contended that the school board, which is clearly subject to the law, violated its terms. WBTV cited in-person board meetings where public attendance was not allowed, as well as improper notice and record-keeping for closed sessions. Poovey sided with the station and ordered the board to do better moving forward. He also said the violations were “unintentional and partially caused by the COVID-19 pandemic” and did not order CMS to pay the station’s legal fees.
Meanwhile, a fired teacher sued Charlotte Secondary School, a southeast Charlotte charter school, claiming he was a casualty of America’s culture wars over how racism can be discussed in classrooms. There’s no doubt many families are vigilant for what they label critical race theory — books or lessons that focus on systemic and pervasive racism in American life. The teacher, who is Black, says the principal, who is also Black, caved to complaints from white parents about his use of the novel “Dear Martin.” At least 80% of students at Charlotte Secondary are Black, Latino or multiracial, the suit says. The school says the teacher was fired for legitimate and nondiscriminatory reasons, and vowed to vigorously defend itself.
