Magnet Schools in Charlotte (Gorman: house, safe area, tax rates)

[AJ1972]

Are there any?
Are they like a Lottery system to be accepted into them?
Are they in SAFE areas?
Does anyone know where they are, or have a link?
Thanks.

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by AJ1972

Are there any?
Are they like a Lottery system to be accepted into them?
Are they in SAFE areas?
Does anyone know where they are, or have a link?
Thanks.

Yes, we have some good magnet schools here. Today is the beginning of the magnet fairs to highlight them:

Charlotte Observer | 01/03/2008 | 4 magnet fairs for CMS kick off today


Charlotte Observer | 01/03/2008 | CMS magnet fairs begin

[BarbJ]

Very valuable post, LOVES.

[FortMillBound]

I wish I had known about the magnet schools before I bought in Fort Mill, SC. My daughter was born in Guatemala, but speaks no Spanish due to being adopted as an infant. I really want her to be bilingual.

CMS offers magnet schools that are full-bore language immersion! I would love to have that for her. Fort Mill offers 45 minutes of Spanish every 6 DAYS for elementary school! Give me a break!

I checked with CMS and they don't have an out-of-area enrollment option, even with tuition. Now I have to decide if it's worth moving in a couple of years to try to get her in this program.

I stayed away from CMS schools because of all the negative talk, especially on this board. Check out the magnet schools before you decide to avoid CMS.

[south.charlotte&union]

Check this link as well:

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools

[schuylercat]

The low cost of housing, low tax rates, decent weather and beauty of Charlotte is offset by one thing: the schools here suck. Suck suck suck. MAN do they suck.

Well, not as bad as Mississippi, but you get my point.

Magnets here DO have a lottery (you're too late for 2008, by the way, but so were we and we got in anyway), and the schools get very high marks. My daughter attends a language academy, and it's a lovely, place...located in a terrifying section of town. Mixed bag, that.

Keep your eyes open for news on an individual named Dr. Peter Gorman. Used to be school superintendent in Orange County, California (where I moved from) and has everyone veeeery nervous about what he intends to do with the schools here. He's fired teachers, made some pretty bold statements, pissed off pretty much everyone, and just got a bond passed through for a few hundred million. I can't tell if he's beloved or hated, but I will say he's got a lot of guts. I get the feeling schools here will be a lot better in two years. If they aren't, we're going to dump this house and move to Tega Cay.

Good luck!

[BarbJ]

Originally Posted by FortMillBound

I stayed away from CMS schools because of all the negative talk, especially on this board. Check out the magnet schools before you decide to avoid CMS.

Sound advice FortMillBound

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by schuylercat

The low cost of housing, low tax rates, decent weather and beauty of Charlotte is offset by one thing: the schools here suck. Suck suck suck. MAN do they suck.

Well, not as bad as Mississippi, but you get my point.

Magnets here DO have a lottery (you're too late for 2008, by the way, but so were we and we got in anyway), and the schools get very high marks. My daughter attends a language academy, and it's a lovely, place...located in a terrifying section of town. Mixed bag, that.

Keep your eyes open for news on an individual named Dr. Peter Gorman. Used to be school superintendent in Orange County, California (where I moved from) and has everyone veeeery nervous about what he intends to do with the schools here. He's fired teachers, made some pretty bold statements, pissed off pretty much everyone, and just got a bond passed through for a few hundred million. I can't tell if he's beloved or hated, but I will say he's got a lot of guts. I get the feeling schools here will be a lot better in two years. If they aren't, we're going to dump this house and move to Tega Cay.

Good luck!

This is the most misleading post I have read all week!

You haven't been here very long have you? Good grief, I sure hope people take that in to consideration when reading any of what you have written. You have so many inaccuracies in your post I don't know where to begin!

First of all, the schools here do not "suck". Such a broad generalization is really what sucks. Some schools in Charlotte are some of the best in the state, you just have to choose your area of the city wisely to have access to them. We do have some low performing, high poverty schools that are definitely struggling - but they are not the majority of the schools. Four in fact may be some of the worst in the state, but this is a very tiny portion of our overall school population. And that "terrifying" part of town your daughter attends school in - please identify it for me as I know of only one or two scary parts of town I wouldn't venture into during the day, and neither of them have a language academy in them that I know of. And lastly, Dr. Gorman is very well liked by the community and has a lot of support for his programs and ideas. And even those who aren't sure if they like him yet or not have taken a wait and see approach to all he's implementing. He has certainly NOT "pissed off pretty much everyone" - I cannot understand why you think otherwise. Sounds to me like you need to be here a little longer to get a better grasp on what exactly our situation with schools really is.

[BarbJ]

Originally Posted by lovesMountains

This is the most misleading post I have read all week!

You haven't been here very long have you? Good grief, I sure hope people take that in to consideration when reading any of what you have written. You have so many inaccuracies in your post I don't know where to begin!

First of all, the schools here do not "suck". Such a broad generalization is really what sucks. Some schools in Charlotte are some of the best in the state, you just have to choose your area of the city wisely to have access to them. We do have some low performing, high poverty schools that are definitely struggling - but they are not the majority of the schools. Four in fact may be some of the worst in the state, but this is a very tiny portion of our overall school population. And that "terrifying" part of town your daughter attends school in - please identify it for me as I know of only one or two scary parts of town I wouldn't venture into during the day, and neither of them have a language academy in them that I know of. And lastly, Dr. Gorman is very well liked by the community and has a lot of support for his programs and ideas. And even those who aren't sure if they like him yet or not have taken a wait and see approach to all he's implementing. He has certainly NOT "pissed off pretty much everyone" - I cannot understand why you think otherwise. Sounds to me like you need to be here a little longer to get a better grasp on what exactly our situation with schools really is.

You sure told it like it is!!!

[AJ1972]

Keep your eyes open for news on an individual named Dr. Peter Gorman. Used to be school superintendent in Orange County, California (where I moved from) and has everyone veeeery nervous about what he intends to do with the schools here. He's fired teachers, made some pretty bold statements, pissed off pretty much everyone, and just got a bond passed through for a few hundred million. I can't tell if he's beloved or hated, but I will say he's got a lot of guts. I get the feeling schools here will be a lot better in two years. If they aren't, we're going to dump this house and move to Tega Cay.

Wow. I'm really excited about this superintendant guy from California. All I hear is how the schools are not so great in Meck., but I have confidence in this guy (if he's as tough as you say, this is going to be a good thing I believe ... now there will be more to love about Charlotte, right?).