By KAREN CIMINO WILSON
DavidsonNews.net

After months of public meetings and discussions, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board on Tuesday, Nov. 9, will vote on a series of sweeping changes aimed at saving money. In separate votes, the board will decide the fate of Davidson IB Middle School and other schools slated for closing or major changes.

The board meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Government Center, 600 East Fourth St. in Charlotte.

The long list of votes includes one that would close the aging Davidson International Baccalaureate Middle School building at 251 South St., and relocate its magnet program to J.M. Alexander Middle School, at 12201 Hambright Road in Huntersville.

The change will create a partial magnet program on the Alexander campus and remove the Davidson IB school building from service. The Davidson IB name will no longer be used and the Davidson IB school building likely will be offered to other county departments or sold. It also could be demolished.

Student assignment for current Davidson IB students will be the IB magnet program at Alexander Middle School. Other assignment options for current Davidson IB students will be to go to their home schools, to apply through a lottery to other magnet schools, or to request assignment to other non-magnet schools through the reassignment/transfer process.

There is no option for any students to remain at Davidson IB Middle School, according to the school district.

Davidson IB’s sibling guarantee will remain in effect for younger siblings of students in the partial IB magnet program at Alexander Middle School.

PARENTS FIGHT

Davidson IB is a magnet program with about 258 students, making it one of the smallest schools in the district. CMS officials say the high per-student cost is among the reasons they want to close the school and move the program.

A majority of the school’s students are from Huntersville, Charlotte and other surrounding schools, while about 50 students, or 20 percent, are from Davidson. (Most local public middle school schoolers go to Bailey Middle School in Cornelius.)

The proposal to abandon the school and move the IB program has prompted an outcry among parents and students from Huntersville to Charlotte to Davidson. They’ve rallied on the Village Green and written letters and emails to the school board in hopes of saving the program.

Davidson IB Parent Teacher Student Association President Ruth Pilsbury said Monday she has sent out a reminder e-mail to parents about Tuesday night’s meeting and hopes many will attend.

“I stand firm in the belief that this school is worth saving,” Ms. Pilsbury said. “CMS and the school board will be making their statement loud and clear tomorrow night.  They are getting ready to dismantle one of the true treasures in this vast school system.”

Ms. Pilsbury said the message she wants school board members to hear before they make their final decision is that Davidson IB is worth saving because of its proven track record of high academic achievement and growth, because it is nationally recognized and because the program serves students from more than 20 different feeder schools around the Charlotte region, narrowing the achievement gap.

“CMS officials have called the Davidson building a ‘Pandora’s box’ and I choose to hold onto what’s inside that box … and that’s HOPE,” Pilsbury wrote in an e-mail Monday.

Parent Kimberly Powell said she is disappointed with the school board.

“It’s a shame we don’t have a board member who truly represents Davidson IB for what it has to offer,” she said. “This school is being penalized for having supporting families and children who work hard to be a part of what this school has to offer and something is just not right about this when the school system is constantly begging for parental support.  You would think this school would be recognized for what the staff has been able to do over the years with these students instead of being shut down because of the condition of the building.”

Parent Nan Buckley wrote one last e-mail to District 1 school board representative Rhonda Lennon Monday, saying she believed discussions that have led to the vote on closing Davidson IB are based on bad information. (Ms. Lennon has been pushing for closing the Davidson school and moving the IB program to Alexander.)

Ms. Buckley said her child was placed at Davidson IB through the regular lottery process. Her family lives in the Huntersville area.

She does not believe the cost savings are worth destroying a school that has received state and national recognition. She also worries that the program would suffer if moved from Davidson, where students have tutoring and mentoring from Davidson College students and regular contacts with town officials, as well as walking access to the public library, green space and a performing arts center. She is concerned that for the IB program to expand at Alexander (one of the arguments for moving it), it will be placed in trailers. Another concern is violence at Alexander, which she said has more incidents than Davidson IB.

CROWD EXPECTED

CMS expects a large crowd for Tuesday’s meeting, which also includes votes on the proposed closing of J.T. Williams Middle School, Bishop Spaugh Community Academy and Wilson Middle School.

In order to accommodate all guests who want to speak at the meeting, there will be a 2-minute time limit for each speaker.

The board has been conducting a series of meetings and forums since June as part of its comprehensive review of CMS.

Community members will be given the opportunity for public comment regarding new policy or policy revision during public hearings. Call the Board of Education Office at 980-343-5139 before noon on Tuesday, Nov. 9, to register to speak.

To view the full agenda for Tuesday’s school board meeting and a full list of all proposed changes and closings, visit http://www.cms.k12.nc.us/boe/Pages/ViewAgenda_v2.aspx?meetingDate=November%209,%202010

Comments Disabled To "Fate of Davidson IB in CMS board’s hands Tues. night"

#1 Comment By Jason Stallings On November 9, 2010 @ 10:31 am

#2 Comment By Joe Hutchens On November 9, 2010 @ 1:54 pm