I have to apologize to my readers. Selfishly, I spend a lot of time talking about breweries and coffee shops and not enough time on something as important as Charlotte Schools. I received a call from a couple moving here from Massachusetts. This family has a little one and one on the way. They, understandably, are interested in our school systems and where to live that is walkable and in good school systems. I have to admit: I know, broadly, what the good school systems are, but my knowledge is a mile wide and an inch deep. This family has inspired me to educate myself on schools and I would like to share my lessons with you.
The first place to look is the Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools page. This is a page off of www.CharMeck.org, a City of Charlotte and county-wide website with lots of great information. One of the departments is Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools. This site has everything from Student placement to School lunch menus. It’s very easy to navigate, and a phone number under “Contact Us” connects you to a place where people actually answer the phone. I have called many times. You can type in the address or area where you are interested in moving and find out where your child would attend school.
For those that really want to know the word on the street about how our Charlotte Schools rate in the nation or how healthy and cohesive our public system is, you need to reach outside the City/County website. I found a great, non-commercial site that rates schools across the U.S. It is a nonprofit organization called GreatSchools founded in 1998 with the mission of helping parents get more informed and engaged in their children’s education. Today it is the leading national source of school information for parents. Check it out, very easy to navigate and great non-biased data driven information.
Last, There has been controversy in North Carolina and Charlotte about our public school systems. It’s good to know the word on the street, so to speak. So below are links to a few recent articles from our own Charlotte Observer regarding some education developments and issues. Charlotte news sources do focus on education, so that means our citizens care about the school systems.
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2015/01/09/5435786/3-new-charlotte-charter-schools.html#.VLRPPEuFVFI
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2015/01/10/5438019/education-outlook-poor-grades.html#.VLRQqkuFUlI
I welcome any and all information you may have that would be helpful to our new Charlotte neighbors. Feel free to comment and let me know what you know!
Image: Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools website
