CMS Community Forum Outcome

Well, for those who did not attend the forum on Monday...it was quite a show!  Just two hours before the scheduled start of the forum, CMS announced a new proposal to move Smith to Harding and to keep Waddell open, since it is a neighborhood school and not a magnet.  To view the details of the new proposal click here.  While this new announcement was good news for Waddell it was bad news for Harding and for many of the Smith families who would prefer to stay in their current facility.    

Members of our group stepped out of the auditorium to take part in a smaller focus group to discuss other schools on the CMS list which includes Pinewood Elementary and their need for "targeted assistance" due to a "perception issue."  After the discussion, Jarrett Hunt spoke with Tyler Ream and Scott McCully and it was determined that we will not see the changes we desire for Madison Park during the vote for the upcoming school year.  However, Tyler seemed optimistic that we would be more likely to have an impact when budget cuts and school closings are not at the forefront of the debate.

So, with that being said, that leaves us with our efforts being focused on Pinewood, which will always be our neighborhood elementary school.  We can have a direct positive impact on the success of Pinewood if we commit to sending our children there and contribute our time and efforts as a community.  If you are interested, you can start now by signing up to volunteer at Pinewood.  The CMS volunteer form can be found here.

     

Proposed Boundary Changes Posted

The CMS site has posted the proposed boundary changes for all of the changes that are currently being discussed including the changes to Waddell should Smith move to their facility.  Madison Park is zoned for Harding as the proposal stands now.  Click here to view the map and the staff proposal on pages 8 & 9 of the PDF.

***REMINDER CMS Forum Tomorrow night, 10/25, 6-8pm***

Tomorrow night, from 6-8PM, our CMS Community Forum will be held at South Mecklenburg High School, 8900 Park Road 28210.

Jarrett Hunt will present our proposal to be zoned for Myers Park or South Meck to the BOE during the session.  We plan to show our support by holding signs that read "Madison Park Supports Neighborhood Schools" and by wearing our Madison Park T-shirts.

We hope to see you there!

***REMINDER to RSVP for the Pinewood Community Cruise 10/25 10AM***

Next Monday, October 25th at 10AM, Trish Sexton, Principal of Pinewood Elementary, has invited our community to tour the school while it is in session.  Come see for yourself what Pinewood has to offer!  Childcare will be available during the tour.  

RSVP is required for this event.  Please e-mail lisacharde@earthlink.net or call 646-299-8661 if you would like to attend or need more info.

CMS Update/Madison Park Neighborhood effort

Well...the blog has been silent for a few days...but that does not mean that things are not happening and happening quickly! 

• Jarrett Hunt succeeded in getting Madison Park some press in the Charlotte Observer on 10/6.  You can read the article here. 
• We had a GREAT turnout for our neighborhood meeting (10/6) to discuss our schools and a lot of information was shared.  Almost 100 Madison Park neighbors came to get updated and to find out how to get involved!
• We are continuing to meet with Board members face to face and meetings with Joyce Waddell (10/8) and Richard McElrath (10/11) were held to discuss our situation and the concerns of our neighborhood.
• Leslie Brooks has calls scheduled with Eric Davis and Trent Merchant scheduled for later this week and she is continuing her efforts to speak with others board members as well.
• An update on our neighborhood school movement was presented at the HOA meeting on 10/11.     

Stay tuned for more info on our next action plans!  We still plan to appear at the October 25 community forum although we hear it will be total chaos as this is the forum that will focus on the proposed closing of Waddell.

Meeting tomorrow night 10/6, 7:30pm at Pinewood ***Reminder***

A quick reminder of the meeting tomorrow night (10/6), 7:30-8:30pm at Pinewood Elementary.  The meeting will be held in the Media Center at the front entrance of the building.

We will discuss the information obtained over the last few weeks regarding the support of Pinewood as a neighborhood/home school and the possibility of rezoning part or all of Madison Park to the Myers Park HS district.

Please come out and show your support, get updated, and find out what you can do to help and be a part of the movement.  Final school board votes on November 9^th, so things are moving fast! 

Notes from Eric Davis Meeting

From Lisa Charde:

The meeting with Eric Davis yesterday morning went well.  He played his cards close to his chest, but he offered some answers and suggestions for the group, and said he appreciated meeting with us.

Our Questions/Discussion with Eric fell into 3 categories:
1. What does "targeted assistance" mean for Pinewood and our community?
2. With our feeder high school closing, what is the new middle/high school track for Pinewood?
3. How will the board make their decisions and how can our community influence the decisions?

#1.  Eric had no specific information to share with us about what targeted assistance will mean at our school.  BOE has given this designation, but Pinewood Principal will be addressing the three targeted assistance subcategories (School Improvement Plan, Perception, Addressing Mobility Issues, i.e. transient student population who move among schools). We can get involved by joining the leadership Council at Pinewood.

#2.  No decisions have been made about Pinewood's new track.  First the Board will decide how to disperse Wadell's population and then work backwards to the middle school assignments. 

#3.  Meeting such as this one today will help our cause.  He recommended meeting with other Board Members, attending the Oct 12 BOE meeting, and consolidating communication for our cause when approaching the board.

Other comments he made that can help guide us moving forward:
--Our strongest case for reassignment to a better track is *Proximity*--work that angle
--He said our timing is good to make our case to the board as things are in flux with the closing of Waddell
--Continue to be organized in our approach.
--Don't flood the BOE with emails this is not effective.
--Look at CMS website tab to see Pinewood zone map and dot map

Support for Pinewood Elementary

Yard signs showing neighborhood support for Pinewood Elementary are making their debut! 

Thanks to the Madison Park HOA and to the neighborhood families who donated the funds to have these signs made.  

"Put a Park in Madison Park" Meeting, Mon. 11/1 at 7pm at Pinewood Elementary

For those who do not know...there is another neighborhood initiative that involves something more fun than CMS!  There is a proposal to place a neighborhood park where the old Pinewood Elementary School was located.  As part of the "Put a Park in Madison Park" effort a town-hall style meeting will be held to discuss design concepts for the site of the old Pinewood Elementary School. This meeting will take place on Monday, November 1 @ 7pm at the new Pinewood Elementary.  Please join the Facebook group "Put a Park in Madison Park" to stay informed on the progress of this effort. 

Pinewood Elementary Fall Festival Sat. 10/23, 10am-2pm

The 2nd annual Pinewood Fall Festival will be held on Saturday, October 23rd.

The school had a great turnout last year and are planning to add a "Wellness Walk" that will begin at 9am.  The Community Blood Center of the Carolinas will be on site to take donations as well.  In addition to the "Wellness Walk" and Blood Drive, there will be a Raffle, Bake Sale, Bouncers, Popcorn, & Hot Dogs.  Come support your neighborhood Elementary School!

CMS Update

My head is spinning trying to keep up with all of the information regarding the proposed changes for CMS.  Here is the link to the report that was discussed in yesterday's work session.  The biggest change to our area schools is a proposal to move Smith's Language Program to Waddell and to assign current Waddell students to South Meck, West Meck or Harding, with Harding going from a full magnet to a partial.  I did not see any mention as to whether or not the current Smith facilities would be used by another program.   Pinewood Elementary is on the list to receive "targeted assistance" for their "perception issue" since students consistently choose to opt out.  This help would come in the form of stronger PTA/PTO partnerships, amped-up community outreach and aggressive PR support through increased communications.  Please post your comments or attend our meeting with Eric Davis, Board Chair, tomorrow at 7:30am at Caribou Coffee, Park Road Shopping Center.

Come tour Pinewood Elementary Monday, 10/25 10-11:30am

Pinewood Elementary is holding a "Community Cruise" on Monday, October 25th from 10:00AM - 11:30PM.  This event will give you an opportunity to tour the school, sit in on a class and attend a Q & A session with Principal Sexton.  Childcare will be provided.  If you are interested in attending, please RSVP to lisacharde@earthlink.net .


View the Flyer for the Community Cruise.

Meeting to Discuss Neighborhood School Initiative, Wed., 10/6, 7:30pm at Pinewood Elementary

A special meeting will be held by Madison Park Reisdents to discuss an initiative to have Madison Park added to the Myers Park High School district and to show our support of neighborhood schools.  Please join us at Pinewood Elementary on Wednesday, October 6th at 7:30pm.  We need your input...please get involved!

Meet with CMS Board member Kaye McGarry, 9/29 from 7:30-9:00am

Yet another chance to have coffee and speak with a school board member...

On Wednesday, September 29th, Kaye McGarry will be at Starbucks Coffee, 8951-A South Tryon Street, Charlotte, 28273 (Village at Whitehall near Ayrsley), from 7:30 a.m. until 9:00 a.m. She will be available to discuss school-related issues and to answer questions citizens may have regarding Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.

Kaye McGarry is a strong supporter of neighborhood schools.  Here is an exerpt from her latest newsletter:

During the summer community forums, I heard many parents express reasons why they thought neighborhood schools were important. Among those reasons were:      

       
• Parental involvement is easier and more likely when a school is closer to home        
• There is more opportunity for greater school pride when the school is close to home        
• Whether families in a community have school-aged children or not, they are much more willing to volunteer and/or support a school in their neighborhood        
• Keeping a child off a bus an hour or two a day has to be good        
• There may be more opportunity for after-school programs for those desiring such when a child goes to school close to home        
• You can inject diversity all sorts of ways, from guest classroom teachers to projects highlighting various cultures      

Meet with CMS Board Chair, Eric Davis, 9/30 at 7:30am at Caribou Coffee

Madison Park residents have an opportunity to speak with Eric Davis, CMS Board Chairperson for our district.  Please join us on Thursday, September 30th at 7:30am at Caribou Coffee, Park Road Shopping Center, as we discuss the future of our neighborhood schools.  THIS IS NOT A PUBLIC MEETING...IT IS A MEETING JUST FOR RESIDENTS OF MADISON PARK.  Please share your thoughts regarding our schools while you get your caffeine fix!

Put Madison Park in the Myers Park District

An exciting initiative is taking place here in Madison Park!  In support of CMS placing top priority on neighborhood or "home" schools, we would like to petition the board to place Madison Park in the Myers Park High School District.  Please take a moment to sign the petition.  As mentioned in the previous posts, the school board has to make some tough decisions and their vote is scheduled for November.  If there is to be a change in our schools...this is the time!  There is a possibility that boundaries may be redrawn and that schools may close or programs may change.  Even if you don't have school aged children, changes to our schools will impact our property values and a switch to Myers Park could result in a real boost to our neighborhood!

CMS to discuss schools on "the list" on Tuesday

All three of Madison Park's "home schools" are on the CMS list for closings and other changes.  The board is planning to discuss school fates on Tuesday.  The work session is scheduled for 1pm in Room 267 of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center, 600 E. Fourth Street.  The board's regular meeting starts at 6pm in the government center's meeting chamber.  Both meetings are open to the public.  For the article in Saturday's Charlotte Observer click here.

A Comprehensive Review of CMS - what changes will we see?

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education launched a comprehensive review of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools this summer. The board has held several work sessions and forums in an effort to involve the community and gain their perspective.  More work sessions are scheduled for next week  and throughout October.  Click here for a list of dates and times.  The review is expected to be completed by November and the board will vote on changes that will take effect in 2011-12.  
During these work sessions, the Board will apply guiding principles to review CMS programs, transportation, funding, bell schedules, student assignment, facilities and capital needs to develop a comprehensive plan for next school year. The 2010 guiding principles are different from those in the past in that they are prioritized with "home schools" listed at the top of their list.  What changes will we see, if any, in Madison Park's home schools?  What would we like to see take place?   

Welcome!

This blog has been created to serve as an additional source of neighborhood information for the residents of Madison Park in Charlotte, NC.  If there is a topic of community interest that you would like to have posted here, please contact me.