By DAVID BORAKS and KAREN CIMINO WILSON
DavidsonNews.net

Updated 11:53 a.m.
Davidson IB Middle School on South Street is among 14 schools that could be closed as Charlotte Mecklenburg school board rethinks the way the system does business. That was one of the points to emerge from a 3-hour school board work session Thursday in Charlotte.

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Woodlawn junior Tori Rinker talks to Professor Malcolm Campbell about her lab work at Davidson College.

Woodlawn School junior Tori Rinker discovered this summer she’s “a natural’ in the biology lab. That was among the discoveries she made while interning with Davidson College biology professor Malcolm Campbell and his students.

Also in this column: CMS has stopped printing lunch menus, Davidson IB Middle School is encouraging students to pick community service projects and get to work, and incoming sixth graders have until Sept. 23 to get the required Tdap immunization. Read on for the details.

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Students arrived at Davidson IB Middle School Wednesday. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

Options could include increasing or decreasing enrollment, or shutting schools. Staff says the list isn’t final.

By MARK PRICE
The Charlotte Observer

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools leaders took the first step in what could become a massive reshuffling of students Tuesday when they released a list of 32 schools that are candidates for expansion, downsizing or even closing. Staff members note the list is a starting point and could grow or shrink in coming weeks.

The list includes schools across the county, from Ballantyne Elementary in the south to Mint Hill Middle in the east, Davidson IB Middle in the north and Harding University High in the west.
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Chris Graham of Davidson Day School talked to the group about the access path next to the school's football field, as Town Manager Leamon Brice listened. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

A new nature preserve off Griffith Street behind Davidson Day School could provide the town’s first public canoe and kayak access to Lake Davidson, as well as a wooded walking trail. Under an agreement hammered out recently between the Town of Davidson and the private school, the new park will occupy about 8 acres off Jetton Street, and be managed by the town.

Also participating in the park project will be the Davidson Lands Conservancy, which has received a $14,000 grant from the REI Foundation for the canoe launch, a short access trail and signs.
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The Davidson Elementary School Tiger Fund Direct Giving Campaign is continuing through Sept. 17. Also below, robotics team  coaches are needed at Davidson Day, a fall-fund-raising campaign at Bailey Middle School beginning Friday, and other local school news.

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Traffic leading to Hough High School on opening day Wednesday. (Karen Wilson/DavidsonNews.net)

By KAREN CIMINO WILSON
DavidsonNews.net

The first day of school always brings a combination of excitement, nerves and a few snags, and all the more so when it’s opening day for a new school, William A. Hough High School Principal Teresa Cockerham said Wednesday.

Hough High, one of Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s newest schools, opened for business Wednesday when the first bell rang at 7:15 a.m. But students continued to come through the front door late, until about 7:30 a.m., because of the biggest snag of the day – a line of cars reaching back to Bailey Middle School. Read the full story

In just 10 minutes on day last week, the Pine Lake Preparatory staff collected $5,110 in pledges to help Autism Services of Mecklenburg County, a non-profit organization that assists North Carolina residents diagnosed with autism, traumatic brain injuries and other developmental disabilities.

Also below, news about a Davidson College grad who has signed on to teach math at Davidson Day School, the start of school at McKinney Academy in Davidson, and a couple of notes about school sports.

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