Volunteers build a new playground for Chantilly Montessori
Within hours after CMS Superintendent Dr. Peter C. Gorman unveiled Strategic Plan 2014: Teaching Our Way to the Top, corporate-community volunteers began building a playground for a CMS school. Their efforts highlight the importance of community and business support to help CMS succeed.
The Bank of America Super Block Team, which includes Balfour Beatty Construction and other principal partners constructing the Bank of America Tower and Ritz Carlton Hotel, built a playground at Chantilly Montessori Nov. 5. Guaranteed to provide years of enjoyment for students, the playground includes monkey bars, swings, sliding boards, and a soft-playing surface. The volunteers' work also included roofing, construction of an ADA-accessible ramp to the school, and associated landscaping. It would have cost CMS more than $100,000 to make similar renovations and install a playground.
“The Chamber of Commerce recently honored this team with the Most Admired Real Estate Development Team Award. We were given that award for making a difference, and that’s exactly what we are doing here today,” said Michael Sharp, a senior vice president for Bank of America. 
Chantilly Montessori students offered significant input into the design of the playground. The students worked with school officials and volunteers earlier in the year to discuss playground amenities that would be suitable and fun for all students. The students also learned about the types of materials used and preparation needed for playground construction.
The playground build is the third time in as many years volunteers from the Bank of America Super Block Team supplied materials, constructed ramps, and installed playgrounds free of charge to CMS. The group previously built playgrounds at Villa Heights Academic Center and Hornets Nest Elementary. During the three-year period, the group donated more than $500,000 and approximately 3,000 volunteer hours to CMS.
“What you are doing today will leave a valuable mark for many years to come,” said Joel Ritchie, area superintendent for the Central Learning Community. “You are creating life-long memories and showing support for our students. Thank you for all of your hard work, time, and generosity to CMS.”
Briar Creek Greenway Information
Links to information about the Briar Creek Greenway project are posted at the Mecklenburg County Parks & Recreation Department Web site as they become available.
CMS Learning Communities: Frequently Asked Questions
To which Learning Community does Chantilly Montessori belong?
Chantilly Montessori is assigned to the Central Learning Community (980-343-1465) which will be located at 324 N. McDowell Street. The Central Learning Community Area Superintendet is Joel Ritchie and our Executive Director is Linda Kiser.
How is decentralization going to impact the community?
It will make schools more responsive to the communities they serve. Learning communities are designed to place resources closer to the schools. This will allow parents and the public to visit an office near their community to help with needs that can’t be handled at the school.
This reorganization will help realize the decentralization called for by the Board of Education’s Theory of Action.
Why will the areas be called learning communities?
Learning is the core business of education and each area office will be located in the geographic community it serves. The new geographically grouped learning communities reflect school feeder patterns. An area superintendent will lead each learning community and parents will have the same leader as children move through kindergarten to 12th grade.
How many learning communities are there and where are they located?
There are six: Central, East, North, Northeast, South and West.
A seventh, an Achievement Zone, is composed of lower performing schools, including schools in corrective action under No Child Left Behind legislation, low-performing schools as designated by the state and underachieving schools designated by North Carolina Superior Court Judge Howard Manning in the Leandro litigation.
The Achievement Zone schools are: Billingsville Elementary, Shamrock Gardens Elementary, Martin Luther King Jr. Middle, Sedgefield Middle, Bishop Spaugh Middle, Wilson Middle, Garinger High, E.E. Waddell High, West Charlotte High and West Mecklenburg High Schools. The Superintendent may also add schools to the Achievement Zones as he deems necessary.
Does this change student assignment?
No. The learning communities follow student assignment patterns. Student assignment is a school board decision. Magnet school options and reassignment request procedures will not change. Magnet schools are assigned to the geographic area where they are located.
Every school has different needs, and some schools have greater needs than others. How will you address equity?
CMS as a district addresses equity by giving more resources to individual schools with greatest needs. The district also uses weighted-student staffing, which allocates more staff positions to schools with higher needs, such as FOCUS (Finding Opportunity; Creating Unparalleled Success) schools. Weighted-student staffing assigns a higher weight, or score, to each student on free or reduced-price lunch. In addition, more resources (such as supplies) are provided to FOCUS schools.
Does each learning community have the same number of schools and students?
No. In developing the geographically connected learning communities, our schools and students do not come in even numbers. We currently have 161 schools and more than 132,000 students in Kindergarten through 12th grade. Some areas in Mecklenburg County have a higher density than others and some areas are growing more rapidly than others. We took these factors into account. For example, some high school feeder patterns have up to 20 schools while others have only three. We also considered municipal and community boundaries along with student ethnic and socio-economic status. Every effort was made to keep communities together.
Where can I view the maps of the learning communities?
Maps and a listing of schools by area assigned will be available on the CMS website. Parents can also view maps in their children’s schools.
What were the guiding principles in developing the learning communities?
CMS made every consideration to keep municipal and community boundaries together where feasible. Growth projections, high school feeder patterns and municipal and neighborhood boundaries were used in creating the learning communities. The learning communities were designed to accommodate expected growth so that no changes would be needed for at least four years to ensure stability.
How is this reorganization different from before?
Under our current structure, parents contact their school’s regional superintendent at the Education Center in uptown Charlotte. The regional superintendent changes depending if their child is in elementary, middle or high school. An area superintendent will be assigned to each learning community and will work with parents from Pre-K through graduation; therefore, providing better service and greater responsiveness to their needs.
How will alternative and Exceptional Children schools be absorbed into the learning communities?
These schools will be assigned to the geographic learning community where they are located.
How much is this going to cost?
We are making this initiative as cost-neutral as possible. The initial cost estimates for the decentralization and establishment of area offices are about $8 million. That includes $2.2 million for facilities, $4.6 million for personnel, $300,000 for operations and a one-time facility cost of $1.3 million. Some cost savings will be achieved through a redirection of funds from existing regional offices.
How are the area superintendents named and how many staff do they have?
CMS identified area superintendents and made recommendations to the Board.
We also conducted surveys to receive feedback from principals, parents, employees and the community to determine staffing needs at area learning communities. Parents and community members took surveys to express their feedback. The survey is located on the decentralization website.
When will I be able to contact my area office?
CMS opened all six learning community offices by July 1, 2007.
Will reorganizing the district improve student achievement?
Decentralization alone does not have a direct impact on student achievement. The focus of decentralization is to place more resources closer to the schools and give teachers and principals more flexibility in meeting student needs. Improvement in student achievement is done in the classroom one child at a time. Our goal is to better support that effort by providing better service and becoming more responsive to community needs and local concerns.
