A user’s guide to the CMS boundary plan, with the latest links, tallies and schedules
As Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools keeps adding details about the student assignment plan released Tuesday, we’re all getting a clearer picture of what Superintendent Ann Clark is proposing.
By my count this plan, which takes effect in 2018-19 if the school board approves it, includes:
▪ Boundary changes for 56 existing schools.
▪ New magnet programs for 11 neighborhood schools.
▪ New attendance zones for four schools that had been full magnet schools.
▪ Changes in grade levels for four schools.
▪ Plans for four new schools, including one new school opening in August, one new school opening in 2018 and two old buildings that will be reopened or repurposed as new schools in 2018.
▪ Changes in middle and/or high school feeds for about a dozen schools that aren’t slated for other change.
If that doesn’t add up to the 75 schools Clark cited Tuesday, that’s because some schools are seeing more than one type of change.
Below is a school-by-school summary I’ve been refining all week, with help from CMS and readers. You can skip straight to that, or check out the the latest information CMS has posted:
Here’s the detailed report on the proposed changes.
Here’s a schedule of discussion sessions being held for all affected schools, starting May 1.
Here’s information about two Facebook Live sessions Clark will hold May 1 to talk about the new elementary school pairings.
And here’s the link to keep checking for updates on the assignment plan. CMS folks assure me they’re working feverishly to generate maps that can zoom in to the street level so people can be sure whether and how their homes are affected.
Of course, I’ve been cranking out stories all week as well, with the help of reporter Steve Harrison. You can check out the overview story, early reactions from parents, a look at how little is changing for high-poverty schools and more information about the socioeconomic diversity ratings cited below. Follow my Facebook page for updates as they come in.
Here’s what each school can expect. Schools that aren’t listed aren’t part of Clark’s proposal. But keep paying attention; board members could suggest revisions, which will be presented May 9.
Albemarle Road Elementary: Loses some students to the K-8 school at the Eastland Mall site opening in 2018, which relieves crowding. Low SES enrollment drops from 64 percent to 56 percent.
Albemarle Road Middle: Loses some students to the K-8 school at the Eastland Mall site opening in 2018, which relieves crowding. No significant demographic change, with 65 percent low SES.
Alexander Middle: Some students from the Winding Springs Elementary zone, now zoned for Ranson and Martin, move to Alexander. Some students from the Croft Elementary zone move to Ridge Road Middle, which means all Alexander students now feed to the same high school. Medium SES enrollment goes from 51 percent to 48 percent.
A science class at Alexander Graham Middle, which would see boundary changes under Clark’s plan.
Alexander Graham Middle: Students from the Dilworth Elementary zone inside the I-277 loop move to Sedgefield Middle, while Sedgefield sends some from the Pinewood Elementary zone. Some students from the Selwyn Elementary zone move to Carmel Middle. Percentage of high SES students goes from 66 percent to 61 percent.
Ardrey Kell High: Picks up some South Meck students who live in the Endhaven Elementary zone. High SES enrollment remains at 95 percent.
Ashley Park: Remains a preK-8 school. The elementary students who live in the Wesley Heights neighborhood move to Bruns Elementary. Another part of the zone moves to a new First Ward Arts zone, relieving crowding at Ashley Park. Low SES enrollment rises from 89 percent to 95 percent.
Beverly Woods Elementary: Picks up some students from Selwyn Elementary. Percentage of high SES students is virtually unchanged at 79 percent.
Billingsville Elementary: Paired with Cotswold Elementary, with students in the combined zone attending Billingsville for K-2 and Cotswold for 3-5. Both will offer an International Baccalaureate magnet program. The helps fill seats at Billingsville and dramatically changes the demographics, from 99 percent low SES to 44 percent high.
Blythe Elementary: The part of the zone west of I-77 moves to Torrence Creek Elementary, relieving crowding. Part of the Winding Springs zone moves to Blythe. Medium SES enrollment goes from 61 to 64 percent.
Bradley Middle: No changes to boundaries, but because of Hough/Hopewell change Bradley’s students will no longer split to two high schools.
Bruns Academy: PreK-8 school becomes an elementary school, with middle school students moving to Ranson Middle. Some elementary students move to a new University Park Elementary zone. Bruns picks up students from the Wesley Heights neighborhood, currently assigned to Ashley Park. A magnet program will be added, with the theme to be determined. Low SES enrollment is expected to drop from 91 percent to 56 percent, depending partly on magnet enrollment.
Butler High: Picks up a few East Meck students who live within the town of Matthews. Medium SES enrollment continues 64 percent.
Byers School: Remains a K-8 school, but loses some students to the new Villa Heights Elementary and Eastway Middle. Adds a countywide health and medical careers magnet, which feeds to Hawthorne High. Low SES enrollment is expected to drop from 98 percent to 59 percent.
Carmel Middle: Picks up some Sedgefield Middle students from the Huntingtowne Farms Elementary zone and some Alexander Graham students from the Selwyn Elementary zone. Percentage of high SES students goes from 58 percent to 55 percent.
Cochrane Collegiate Academy: Picks up some students from the Orr Elementary zone, currently zoned for Eastway Middle. Low SES enrollment remains at 94 percent.
Community House Middle: Loses some students from the Pineville Elementary zone to Quail Hollow, which relieves crowding. High SES enrollment goes from 89 percent to 95 percent.
Cornelius Elementary: Picks up students from Washam Elementary, filling seats at Cornelius. High SES enrollment remains virtually unchanged at 54 percent.
Cotswold Elementary: Paired with Billingsville Elementary, with students in the combined zone attending Billingsville for K-2 and Cotswold for 3-5. Both will offer an International Baccalaureate magnet program. The pairing relieves crowding at Cotswold and reduces the level of high SES students from 57 percent to 44 percent.
Crestdale Middle: Picks up a few McClintock Middle students who live within the town of Matthews. A 200-seat arts magnet will be added. High SES students continue to make up 58 percent of enrollment.
Croft Community School: No change to the school itself, but the middle school feed changes for part of the zone.
David Cox Elementary: Picks up part of the Nathaniel Alexander zone. Medium SES enrollment goes from 92 percent to 89 percent.
Dilworth Elementary: Paired with Sedgefield Elementary, with the two zones merged. K-2 students attend Sedgefield and 3-5 students Dilworth. Feed is to Sedgefield Middle and Myers Park High. The part of the Dilworth zone inside the I-277 loop moves to a new First Ward Arts zone. Changes relieve crowding at Dilworth. Percentage of high socioeconomic students drops from 75 percent to 66 percent.
Druid Hills Academy: Remains a preK-8 school. Some elementary students move to a new University Park Elementary zone and some to Highland Renaissance Elementary and Martin Luther King Middle, which relieves crowding. Low SES enrollment remains at 98 percent.
East Mecklenburg High: Loses some students from the Oakhurst Elementary zone to Garinger and a few who live within Matthews town boundaries to Butler. Low SES enrollment continues at 61 percent.
Eastway Middle: Loses some students to the K-8 school at the Eastland Mall site opening in 2018. Loses some from the Orr Elementary zone to Cochrane Collegiate Academy. Picks up some from Byers School and Martin Luther King Middle. A 100-seat leadership and STEM magnet will be added, and will become the continuation school for Elizabeth Traditional Elementary. All Eastway students will feed to Garinger High, compared with three schools now. Low SES enrollment remains virtually unchanged at 92 percent.
Endhaven Elementary: No change to the school, but the high school feed for part of the zone changes.
First Ward Arts: Full-magnet elementary school becomes a partial arts magnet, with a new neighborhood zone created from parts of the Ashley Park and Dilworth Elementary zones. All students participate in the arts theme. Neighborhood students feed to Sedgefield Middle and Myers Park High. The percentage of low socioeconomic students is expected to drop from 65 percent to 58 percent.
Garinger High: Loses some students to Independence High. Picks up some from the Oakhurst Elementary zone, currently zoned for Myers Park and East Meck high schools. Picks up some from West Charlotte. Low SES enrollment is virtually unchanged at 94 percent.
Grand Oak Elementary: No change to boundaries, but the high school feed for this zone shifts from Hough to Hopewell.
Greenway Park Elementary: A few students who live within the Matthews town limit move to Matthews Elementary. A 100-seat arts magnet program will be added. Low SES enrollment is projected to drop from 82 percent to 69 percent.
Harding High: Picks up some students from the Allenbrook Elementary zone, currently zoned for West Charlotte. Loses some from the Huntingtowne Farms zone to South Meck and from the Pinewood zone to Myers Park. Adds a 350-seat coding and digital technology magnet. Low SES enrollment continues at 95 percent.
Highland Renaissance Elementary: Loses some students to the new Villa Heights Elementary, picks up some from Druid Hills Academy. Low SES enrollment remains at 85 percent.
Hopewell High: Students in the Grand Oak Elementary zone and part of the Torrence Creek Elementary zone move from Hough to Hopewell. Fills seats at Hopewell. Medium SES enrollment goes from 57 percent to 48 percent.
Hough High: Students in the Grand Oak Elementary zone and part of the Torrence Creek Elementary zone move from Hough to Hopewell. Reduces crowding at Hough. High SES enrollment goes from 72 percent to 68 percent.
Huntingtowne Farms Elementary: No changes to the school, but boundary changes at other levels mean students all advance to the same middle and high school.
Independence High: Picks up some Garinger students from areas that are assigned to the new K-8 school at the Eastland Mall site. No significant change in demographics, with 47 percent labeled medium SES.
Long Creek Elementary: Adds a 220-seat arts magnet.
Lake Wylie Elementary: Picks up some students from Steele Creek Elementary. Medium SES enrollment remains virtually unchanged at 98 percent.
Mallard Creek High: Picks up some students from the Nathaniel Alexander Elementary zone, currently zoned for Vance. Some students from the Stoney Creek Elementary zone move to Vance. Medium SES enrollment goes from 69 percent to 65 percent.
Marie G. Davis IB: The K-8 magnet school, which is undergoing changes in 2017-18, would add neighborhood students from a zone created from parts of the Sedgefield elementary and middle school zones. The neighborhood students would also take part in the International Baccalaureate curriculum, which debuts in August. Low socioeconomic enrollment drops from 65 percent now (it’s currently a K-12 military magnet) to 55 percent.
Martin Middle: Picks up STEM magnet program from Morehead STEM Academy. Loses some students from the Nathaniel Alexander Elementary zone to Ridge Road Middle, and some from the Winding Springs zone to Alexander Middle. Martin will send students to two high schools, instead of the current three. Low SES enrollment goes from 52 percent to 48 percent.
Martin Luther King Middle: Loses some students from the Highland Renaissance zone to Eastway Middle, picks up some from the Druid Hills zone. Low SES enrollment remains at 83 percent.
Matthews Elementary: Picks up Greenway Park students who live within Matthews town boundaries. Demographics are virtually unchanged, with medium SES enrollment the largest segment at 42 percent.
McClintock Middle: Students who live within Matthews town boundaries move to Crestdale Middle. Low SES enrollment remains at 71 percent.
Morehead STEM Academy: Full-magnet K-8 school becomes a partial magnet elementary school, paired with next-door Nathaniel Alexander Elementary and pulling students from that zone. K-2 students go to Nathaniel Alexander and 3-5 to Morehead. Neighborhood and magnet students all get STEM program. Grades 6-8 move to Martin Middle, which is on the same Governor’s Village campus. The change adds 500 STEM magnet seats at the elementary level and 50 in middle school. Medium SES enrollment goes from 60 percent to 45 percent.
Myers Park High: Picks up some students from the Ashley Park zone, currently zoned for West Charlotte High, and from the Pinewood zone, currently zoned for Harding. Loses some from the Oakhurst Elementary zone to Garinger and from the Selwyn Elementary zone to South Meck. Percentage of high SES students remains virtually unchanged at 68 percent.
Nathaniel Alexander Elementary: Neighborhood school becomes a partial STEM magnet, paired with next-door Morehead. K-2 students go to Nathaniel Alexander and 3-5 to Morehead. Part of the zone also moves to David Cox Road Elementary, with feed changing to Ridge Road Middle and Mallard Creek High. Low SES enrollment goes from 64 percent to 52 percent.
Current Eastland Mall site where the new school will be built, scheduled to open in 2018.
New school at Eastland Mall site: K-8 school opening in 2018 will be a partial Spanish language magnet, with a neighborhood zone pulled from parts of the Windsor Park Elementary, Albemarle Road Elementary, Eastway Middle and Albemarle Road Middle zones. The magnet will offer 600 seats. The school is expected to be economically diverse, with 43 percent low SES.
Northeast Middle: Adds a 220-seat computer science and coding magnet.
Northridge Middle: Adds a 200-seat computer science and coding magnet.
Oakdale Elementary: No change to the school but the high school feed changes for part of the zone.
Oakhurst STEAM Academy: No change to the school but the high school feed for this zone goes from three schools to one.
Orr Elementary: No change to the school but the middle school feed changes for part of the zone.
Pineville Elementary: No change to the school but all students will now feed to the same middle school.
Pinewood Elementary: No change to the school but the middle and high school feed changes for part of the zone.
Quail Hollow Middle: Picks up some students from the Pineville Elementary zone who are zoned for Community House Middle, which fills seats at Quail Hollow. Adds a leadership and Paideia magnet. Low SES students, who currently make up 51 percent of enrollment, drops well below half, with the largest group becoming medium SES at 45 percent.
Ranson Middle: Students from the Winding Springs Elementary zone move to Alexander Middle. Students from Bruns, Allenbrook and the new University Park zones move to Ranson. Ranson students will feed to two high schools, instead of the current four. Low SES enrollment rises from 60 percent to 65 percent.
Reid Park Academy: PreK-8 school becomes an elementary school, with middle school students moving to Wilson Middle. Part of the zone would shift to the new Renaissance West for grades K-8, which relieves crowding. Low SES students are expected to continue making up 100 percent of enrollment.
Renaissance West STEAM Academy: Boundaries for the new K-8 school opening in August would be revised to bring in part of the Reid Park zone. The school is expected to open at 100 percent low SES and remain at that level after the zone expands.
Ridge Road Middle: Picks up students who live in part of the Nathaniel Alexander Elementary zone who currently go to Martin Middle, as well as some students from the Croft Elementary zone who currently go to Alexander Middle. Medium SES enrollment is virtually unchanged at 67 percent.
Sedgefield Elementary: Paired with Dilworth Elementary, with the two zones merged. K-2 students attend Sedgefield and 3-5 students Dilworth. Feed is to Sedgefield Middle and Myers Park High. Some students would move from the current Sedgefield zone to a new Marie G. Davis zone. The change would help fill seats at Sedgefield and change the demographics from 75 percent low socioeconomic status to 66 percent high socioeconomic status.
Sedgefield Middle: Picks up some students from the Alexander Graham zone inside the I-277 loop and sends some from the Pinewood Elementary zone to Alexander Graham. Loses some to a new Marie G. Davis zone and to Carmel Middle. Low SES enrollment drops from 77 percent to 50 percent.
Selwyn Elementary: Loses some students to Beverly Woods Elementary, which slightly relieves crowding. High SES enrollment is virtually unchanged at 77 percent.
South Mecklenburg High: Picks up some Harding students from the Huntingtowne Farms zone and some Myers Park students from the Selwyn Elementary zone. Sends some from the Endhaven zone to Ardrey Kell High. Demographics remain virtually unchanged, with a near-even split between low and medium SES and a significant but smaller portion of high SES students. This school remains highly crowded, but Clark says she avoided making boundary changes because it will likely be relieved by a high school in the 2017 bond plan.
Steele Creek Elementary: Some students move to Lake Wylie Elementary to relieve crowding. Medium SES enrollment remains virtually unchanged at 86 percent.
Stoney Creek Elementary: No change to boundaries but the zone would feed to only one high school, instead of two.
Torrence Creek Elementary: Picks up the part of the Blythe Elementary zone west of I-77, which fills seats at Torrence Creek. High SES enrollment goes from 70 percent to 54 percent.
University Park Arts: Full-magnet elementary school becomes a partial arts magnet, with a new neighborhood zone created from parts of the Druid Hills and Bruns zones. All students participate in the arts theme. Neighborhood students will feed to Ranson Middle and West Charlotte High. The percentage of low SES students is expected to rise from 64 percent to 70 percent.
Vance High: Loses some students from the Nathaniel Alexander Elementary zone. Picks up some from the Stoney Creek Elementary zone, currently zoned for Mallard Creek High. Currently the largest SES group is 49 percent low; afterward it will be 54 percent medium.
Villa Heights Elementary: The school closed as an elementary in 2011, then was briefly leased to a charter school before becoming an academy for high school students who are behind on credits. It will reopen as an elementary school, with a zone pulled from the Walter G. Byers and Highland Renaissance zones. Low SES enrollment is expected to be 87 percent.
Washam Elementary: Sends some students who live closer to Cornelius Elementary to that school, easing crowding at Washam. High SES enrollment is virtually unchanged at 54 percent.
West Charlotte High: Picks up students from the Oakdale Elementary zone, currently zoned for West Meck. Loses some students from the Ashley Park zone to Myers Park High, some from the Allenbrook zone to Harding, and some from the Byers and Druid Hills zones to Garinger. Low SES enrollment drops from 93 percent to 89 percent.
West Mecklenburg High: Students from the Oakdale Elementary zone move to West Charlotte High. Medium SES enrollment is virtually unchanged at 64 percent.
Westerly Hills Academy: PreK-8 school becomes an elementary school, with middle school students moving to Wilson Middle. Picks up some elementary students from the Allenbrook zone. Low socioeconomic students will continue to make up 99 percent of enrollment.
Whitewater Middle: Loses students from the Allenbrook Elementary zone to Wilson and Ranson middle schools. Adds a 360-seat magnet program, theme to be determined. Percentage of low socioeconomic students is expected to drop from 60 percent to below 50 percent.
Windsor Park Elementary: Loses some students to the K-8 school at the Eastland Mall site opening in 2018, which relieves crowding. Low SES enrollment remains virtually unchanged at 98 percent.
Wilson Middle: Closed in 2011, it will reopen with students from the Westerly Hills and Reid Park zones, as well as some from the Allenbrook Elementary zone who are currently zoned for Whitewater Middle. It will include a 400-seat computer science and coding magnet. Low SES students are expected to make up 51 percent of enrollment.
Winding Springs Elementary: Some students move to Blythe Elementary, relieving crowding. The school’s middle school feed, which used to split between Martin and Ranson, becomes Alexander. The changes reduce low SES enrollment from 74 percent to 64 percent.
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