Families and students interested in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools options for the 2024-25 school year can start checking them out at Saturday’s school choice magnet fair.
The event, which runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at West Charlotte High School, is a first step toward preparing for the magnet application period, which runs from Nov. 27 to Dec. 29. That happens eight months before the next school year begins because knowing enrollment numbers helps CMS start early to recruit staff for specialized themes.
CMS launched many of its magnet themes in the 1990s as an effort to encourage voluntary racial desegregation. The lottery still uses priorities based on socioeconomic diversity, but it’s mostly a chance for students like Kim Durham to turn their passions into career paths.
Durham says she has always loved design and used to make paper pocketbooks in class. Now she’s a junior at Northwest School of the Arts’ costume design program, which can lead to a career in theater or fashion.
“When I was in middle school, I heard about Northwest School of the Arts and I decided to do a little bit of research on it and I saw the costume design program and it really looked interesting,” she said. “I saw everything they did for the theater and I love the theater, and I decided to audition and it was a really fun process.”
All the options — including world languages, STEM, Montessori, IB and high schools based on college campuses — will have displays at the magnet fair to help families understand what’s offered and how to apply. Northwest, for instance, requires auditions.
At 11:15 a.m. and 1:15 p.m., speakers will explain the lottery application process. Staff will also be on hand to enroll students who will enter CMS in August — including 4-year-olds whose families hope to get them into Montessori pre-K classes. Students must be enrolled by Nov. 13 to take part in the lottery.
The district will have translators on hand who are fluent in Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, French, German, Ukrainian, Nepali and Arabic.
For details and to register for a lottery information session, go to CMSchoice.org.
