I live in West Charlotte, so I’m certainly not complaining about the schools on this side of town receiving a much needed influx of cash, but wouldn’t it be nice if every school were as lucky as those in this Charlotte Observer article?
As they launched a $55 million reform plan for struggling westside schools, Charlotte’s business and philanthropic elite pledged to push for permission to try bold experiments, such as lengthening the school day or school year.
Those declarations came at Monday’s unveiling of Project LIFT, a privately financed plan to pour $11 million a year for five years into West Charlotte High and seven elementary and middle schools that feed its student body.
The project’s backers say they will help CMS recruit and retain high-performing educators, and will push for longer school days, and programs for summer classes and early-childhood education. They will also provide technology for students and help families better support their children’s education.
The goal: to increase the graduation rate and close the achievement gap separating minority and low-income students from their middle-income and white peers.
Officials say to tackle the problems, the westside schools need charter-school-style flexibility on spending, school calendars and other issues.
“If it’s good enough for KIPP Academy and other high-performing charter school models, then why is it not good enough for the 135,000 students in CMS?” asked Anna Spangler Nelson, co-chair of the study group leading the effort.
Project LIFT will hire a coordinator who will work for CMS but be paid with private money. Some aid to CMS will start flowing in 2011-12, with the full program beginning in 2012-13.
Read the entire article, by Eric Frazier and Mark Price, here.
Rhiannon “Rhi” Bowman is an independent journalist who contributes commentary on Creative Loafing’s CLog blog four days a week in addition to writing for several other local media organizations. To learn more, click the links or follow Rhi on Twitter.
This article appears in Feb 1-7, 2011.
The money would be better spent giving the low scoring children access to a private school education. Maybe a privately funded voucher system. Pissing the money down the public union drain is only a waste of resources. Heck for 55 million they could start their own school and compete with CMS!
I went to west meck years ago and the system was rotten from the top down. I was late one day and the principle said do you want to show up late one more time and go to in school suspension or do you want to skip school for the day and not get into trouble. Guess what I did hehe. Common sense was destoyed at the alter of zero tolerance and the teachers loved it! No need to make a judgement call, just quote the rules and move on.
Gee, Frank, with all your great, instant ideas about nearly everything, it’s a real wonder they didn’t ask you what to do with the 55 million they raised for the effort to strengthen westside schools.
In fact, it’s a real shame that everyone else can’t think exactly like you all the time, right? If only everyone else had one shitty experience with a westside school principal to base their decisions on, they could have been like you and avoided the trouble of getting off their butts and doing something about the problem — then, they’d have more time to snipe at everything from the safety of a computer. When will we ever learn to be like Frank?
It’s always been glaringly obvious Frank and his warped, uninformed ideals are the result of a poor education.
Thanks for finally confirming my suspicions there Franky.
If pouring $55 million into CMS schools can help the children of Charlotte not grow up to be another ignorant conservitard drone like Frank here than I don’t see how any rational individual could oppose it.