As area grows, so do our educational options
The Lake Norman area's fast growth has been felt more in local
schools than anywhere else.
New public schools debut nearly every year to alleviate crowding,
with more on the way. Now public schools are focusing on expanding
programs to better prepare students for college and the work force. And
as the area continues to grow, parents are finding more choices: private
schools and charter schools, and the increasingly popular option of
home-schooling.
There are five public school systems around the lake -- one in each
county plus Mooresville Graded School District. Depending on where they
live, students can enroll in programs that range from magnet courses to
vocational and technical training.
In Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, most students attend their
neighborhood schools, though the system offers three magnet programs in
northern Mecklenburg, which include Davidson IB (International
Baccalaureate) Middle School, North Mecklenburg High and Hornets Nest
Elementary.
Hornets Nest is a communication arts magnet, and North Mecklenburg
High offers an International Baccalaureate magnet program within the
school.
Magnet programs offer theme-based instruction in areas such as
foreign languages, visual and performing arts, and math and science.
Families usually apply in January for the following school year.
Students are selected through a random lottery process in the spring.
Iredell-Statesville Schools want to create a 21st Century Skills
academy that would offer science, math and technology programs.
"The bottom line is that when they leave us, we have to make
sure that they're prepared to be able to go onto higher education or to
be able to function in the workplace," said Dawn Creason,
spokeswoman for Iredell-Statesville Schools. "In the global
economy, kids are required to have a wider variety of skills."
At the Mooresville Graded School District, school officials are
launching a technology initiative this fall to also help prepare
students for the global work force. By fall 2009, all students in grades
4-12 will have access to MacBooks. The school district also plans to
grow its vocational and technical programs that include automotive
technology and creating a new culinary arts program.
Some parents who say they're unhappy with crowded public schools are
turning to private and charter schools for the smaller classrooms,
academic programs and individualized attention.
Charter schools are public schools managed by nonprofit boards. In
Lake Norman, popular charter schools have lotteries and long waiting
lists.
Cornelius resident Christy Hill said she considered five private and
charter schools before choosing Pine Lake Preparatory, a charter school
that opened last year in Mooresville, where her kindergartner and
first-grader both attend. "It's a private education for free,"
said Hill, a mother of three. "The academic curriculum is
phenomenal."
At Pine Lake, more than 4,000 students applied for 1,300 spots for
the 2008-09 school year, said board member Kate Alice Dunaway. And about
2,500 students are on the wait list.
Dwayne Bowman, director of Woodlawn School, a private school in
Davidson for grades 2-10, said parents are looking for schools that suit
their child's personality and learning style.
"When you get smaller class sizes, that gives you a better
learning environment," Bowman said. "There's different kinds
of kids and it's hard to be `one size fits all' in education."
Other families are also choosing to home school their children. In
the Lake Norman area, close to 1,000 families home-school.
Huntersville resident Meleah Corner, a mother of four, said she home
schools two of her children to teach them at their own pace.
"I can custom-tailor the instruction for each of my children for
what works best for them," Corner said. "I think (home
schooling) is becoming more popular, and I think it's gong to continue
to grow."
WHERE FUN BEGINS
Future chefs to get facility
CPCC starts construction on culinary arts building
DAN TIERNEY
Currently hindered by cramped rooms and dated facilities, Central
Piedmont Community College's culinary arts program is scheduled for new
digs.
Construction crews recently began leveling land near the intersection
of Seventh Street and Kings Drive for a 36,000-square-foot culinary arts
building, complete with new kitchens and an auditorium-style classroom.
"We're tight in our space," said CPCC spokeswoman Jerri
Haigler, "and certainly know there's a demand for (the culinary
program)."
Scheduled for an August 2009 opening, the building comes at a total
project cost of $12.4 million. Funding will come from a $46.5 million
bond approved by Mecklenburg County voters in 2005.
CPCC has more than 300 students in the program and a waiting list for
others wanting to join. Haigler said CPCC will "most
definitely" look to expand the number of students in the culinary
program after the new building opens.
By comparison, Johnson & Wales University has about 1,200
students in its culinary programs, and the Art Institute of Charlotte
has approximately 160.
For Jeff LaBarge, culinary technology program chairman, the program
itself draws enough students to rival Charlotte's other two main
culinary schools even before a state-of-the-art building. Teachers and
students simply need more space, he said.
The current building features only one main kitchen and a baking lab.
In the main kitchen, LaBarge said, three classes often run at once.
"It gets almost too crowded," he said. "The building's
old and needs to be updated."
Plans for the new building include four main kitchens, two labs, two
classrooms, an auditorium, a dining/conference area, and more.
The Little Sugar Creek Greenway next to the building site is
scheduled to open sometime in 2010 and gives students and staff an
additional nearby amenity.
The new building is another sign of the growth and popularity of
culinary schools in Charlotte. Johnson & Wales made news when it
closed campuses in Charleston and in Norfolk, Va., in 2006 and moved to
Charlotte. It now has around 2,300 students.
