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The Charlotte Mecklenburg School systems is huge and unwieldy. There is "tension" between the growing suburban areas and the areas that are not growing. (Do we use money to build a new school, or make repairs to an existing one?)
Many schools are excellent, in spite of the system. Every now and then the Observer will run a listing of all in CMS that make $100K or more. The numbers will make you numb.
You can find good schools anywhere, but as a rule of thumb, the "better" the parents, the better the schools. "Better" means educated, involved in schools, and raising children properly. Find those parents and you will find good schools.
Thank you everyone for all the information! Those links are very helpful Gophils, thanks!
I found it odd that so many people are negative about the schools, but I guess there are negative people everywhere looking for something to complain about. I am really looking forward to the smaller class sizes. We are from the Chicago suburbs originally, but have been in Orange County California the past 2 years and the schools here are so overcrowded. My kids are at a great Charter school, but there are 33 kids in my son's kindergarten classroom and 34 kids in my daughter's 2nd grade classroom. They have no aides and it really bothers me that my kids don't get much attention. They are doing well, but that is in part because my husband and I are doing a lot of work with them every school night.
NDL- that is great to hear about the library system.
NDL- that is great to hear about the library system.
It's something that I appreciate about Charlotte.
I won't say where (it will start a firestorm on the forum ) - but in one of the Mid Atlantic states, in a county that's well thought of, they have large facilities with empty shelves, or shelves lined with old, and irrelevant, books.
That experience made me appreciate what we have in Charlotte .
Also, Charlotte participates with Hoopla Digital - on online service that allows card holders to borrow *all* kinds of materials.
You'll hear me pipe up on the forum about crime in Charlotte, but I will say that there are many benefits of living within the Charlotte City limits. The library system is one of them.
I've been doing some research on moving our family to North Carolina. Originally, I thought the Raleigh area would be the better place (on paper), but am now leaning more toward Charlotte. Charlotte seem like the better fit. The school ratings in Ballantyne, Marvin, Matthews, and Waxhaw mainly seem to be 8-10 on the Great Schools site. I'm not really sure how the zoning works and would love some clarification. I know some of the schools I mentions are in UC or MC. But, Once your child is in an elementary school, can they be moved or do they stay put until middle school? If your child completes elementary school at say, Marvin Elem, would all their classmates feed to the same middle school? If we bought a house in the Marvin Ridge High School area, I'm assuming that could potentially change in the years to come? Our children are young; 2nd grade, Kindergarten, 4 and 2 yr. olds. Sorry for all the questions, it is confusing! Overall, the schools I've been looking at seem to be great and I am so lost why so many threads say it is not so. Am I missing something??
Thanks for any direction!!
Speaking just for UC, they typically have 3-4 elementary schools that feed one middle school, that in turn feed one high school. They call these clusters within the county district. There are some specialty schools like CATA, and some academies spread around different schools for things like film, IB, culinary, and such.
The boundaries for the schools and clusters have changed in the past and are currently being reviewed again. Previously they would grandfather HS kids to stay until they graduate but not at the elementary or middle schools. The current wish list for the next moves is to provide grandfathering from K-12 if they do make a change. All on the table now and there won't be a proposal until Mar-May 2018. Some areas are relatively immune to border changes, but locations between multiple schools are obviously more volatile.
And all the locations you listed above do have great schools. There's no right or wrong; it depends on personal preference.
Speaking just for UC, they typically have 3-4 elementary schools that feed one middle school, that in turn feed one high school. They call these clusters within the county district. There are some specialty schools like CATA, and some academies spread around different schools for things like film, IB, culinary, and such.
The boundaries for the schools and clusters have changed in the past and are currently being reviewed again. Previously they would grandfather HS kids to stay until they graduate but not at the elementary or middle schools. The current wish list for the next moves is to provide grandfathering from K-12 if they do make a change. All on the table now and there won't be a proposal until Mar-May 2018. Some areas are relatively immune to border changes, but locations between multiple schools are obviously more volatile.
And all the locations you listed above do have great schools. There's no right or wrong; it depends on personal preference.
Good luck!
Thanks! That's helpful. Good to know that things are changing again, it seems like the county redoes the zones kind of often.
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) - but in one of the Mid Atlantic states, in a county that's well thought of, they have large facilities with empty shelves, or shelves lined with old, and irrelevant, books.
