Our school notes this week include the dates for upcoming flu clinics at local public schools, and also news of Ben Wyatt of Woodlawn’s winning poster in a local Lions Club contest and Michael Sanders of Cannon’s successful golf season in U.S. Kids Golf.  We also have a calendar of upcoming events, including North Meck’s 3rd annual Chili Cook-off, set for Thursday afternoon. Read the full story

Kaye McGarry

Kaye McGarry, a member-at-large on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, will be at Davidson’s Summit Coffee Thursday morning, 7:30-9 a.m., as part of her regular “about town” visits.

“I will be available to discuss school-related issues and to answer questions you may have regarding Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools,” she says on her website.

She may be in for an earful Thursday, since the president of the Bailey Middle School PTA is encouraging parents to attend the session to talk about concerns over naming the new high school in Cornelius “Hough High.” Read the full story

The following letter submitted to DavidsonNews.net is a version of an email message sent to local school parents by the head of the Bailey Middle School PTA:

To the Editor:

Hopefully by now you know our new high school on Bailey Road in Cornelius has a name – Hough High. It was approved by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education on Tuesday, Nov. 10. (DavidsonNews.net, Nov. 11, 2009, “It’s official: School on Bailey Road is Hough High”) You may have also heard there has been lots of discussion – positive and negative – in the community since the board’s approval.

Some people are upset because of the possibility of the mispronunciation from Hough High to “Ho” High, or to “huff” (a possible substance abuse reference), and the possibility that the naming process was flawed. Read the full story

What's with all the ping pong balls being dropped onto Woodlawn School? See below to find out.

Fall is fund-raiser time for area schools.  We have several to report on, including Woodlawn‘s “Fun at 5,” and the Bailey Middle kids at the farmer’s market.  We also have news below of Davidson Day artwork on display, a meet-and-greet planned for the principal of the new Bailey Road High School, CMS school board election updates and classes being offered through Davidson Parks & Rec for the CMS school holiday next week.

In sports, find out about Davidson Day’s volleyball tourney, Woodlawn’s successful soccer team and Bailey’s undefeated girls sports teams.  We have all that plus an events calendar that lists the Davidson IB fall fest Friday, a seminar on “Internet Safety,” a holiday bazaar at Cannon and more.

Read the full story

Charges follow his arrest in incident off Torrence Chapel Road

Ruben Garcia-Rosario

A kidnapping suspect in a case involving a school bus stop on Lake Norman was arrested Tuesday. Cornelius Police Chief Bence Hoyle told DavidsonNews that “the suspect was targeting a specific family.”

In a joint media announcement Thursday, the Cornelius and Char-Meck Police announced two arrests related to the case. Read the full story

Katelyn Labrijn accepts a donation from a parent in the car line Friday at Community School of Davidson.

You can almost see the word “Thank you” forming on the lips of Katelyn Labrijn in the photo at right as she accepts a donation to the Davidson-Cornelius Day Care Center.  Katelyn was one of several students who worked the Community School of Davidson car line Friday afternoon to raise money for the day care, which is reeling from a financial crisis.  Katelyn isn’t the only one saying thank you – the center board president was also full of thanks as she watched the students collecting cash.

In other school news, we have reports on how Woodlawn School students will be joining the DavidsonReads town events, an upcoming school picnic at Bailey Middle that will feature the local student band, Cynergy, plus sports scores and a calendar of school events. Read the full story

Bill Strong has lots of books to read and carpentry projects to work on...but he'd rather be teaching this fall.

It’s been a long and anxious summer for teachers in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.  The need to cut $100 million to deal with the state budget crisis has cost the public school district money for things like field trips and supplies, forced delays in building plans, and jeopardized funding for middle school athletics.  More reductions may be on the way.

Teachers and staff are bearing the brunt of cuts. The Charlotte Observer reported in July that of the 1,175 people who lost their jobs in the school district due to budget reductions, almost 57 percent were teachers.

For schools serving Davidson, these reductions have resulted in lay-off notices for at least 17, transfers for several assistant principals and a tense time of waiting to see whether a job will be available when school opens Aug. 25.

Read on for more about whose jobs were cut, who is transferring where, and how cuts are being managed by the four local CMS schools: Davidson Elementary, Davidson IB Middle, Bailey Middle and North Mecklenburg High. Read the full story

Fabrice Fresse received a teaching award at a ceremony Wednesday at Bailey Middle School.

By LAURIE DENNIS
DavidsonNews.net

Shortly after the new year, Fabrice Fresse pulled Bailey Middle School Principal Jennifer Dean aside to tell her about a student exchange program that could bring French kids to Bailey.

“This was a conversation between classes,” Ms. Dean recalled.  She told Mr. Fresse the idea sounded like a good one, and gave the matter no more thought until a few weeks later, when Mr. Fresse sat down in her office to talk about the details.  It would bring about two dozen students to Bailey from a school outside of Paris, he told her.  And soon.
Read the full story