by Rich Haag | Dec 11, 2019 | Economic Development, Greenways, Schools
Do you care about improving our parks, schools and social services? Be sure to add completing the Mecklenburg County Budget Survey to your December to-do list. Your responses could influence next year’s county budget priorities. Here are details about the survey as well as other ways you can learn about the county budget, the budgeting process, and how you can take part in shaping the final budget for Fiscal Year 2021. Resident Budget Priority Survey (available through Dec. 31) Share your budget priorities for the budget year starting July 2020 (Fiscal Year 2021) by ranking services by level of importance. Learn how the county allocates and manages the current $1.9 billion operating budget, which funds: most parks and park programs throughout the county; a sizable part of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools budget; and numerous social services. The survey must be submitted by Dec. 31 and is limited to Mecklenburg County residents. The county says that most people complete the survey in 10-15 minutes. Online survey – To complete the survey online, click here. Paper survey – To complete a paper copy of the survey, click here for a list of 20 public libraries including University City Regional Library where paper surveys are available. You may download a Spanish version of the survey at the same link. Balancing Act Budget Simulator The county offers an online Balancing Act Budget Simulator to help the public better understand the complex process of making choices on what to fund with limited resources. Using the simulator, you can learn details about Mecklenburg County revenue sources and expense categories in the current budget...
by Rich Haag | Apr 3, 2019 | Events in University City, Schools, Uncategorized
Mallard Creek High will host information meetings about the Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools budget and curriculum options. If you can’t make the meeting there, you can attend sessions at other schools on different dates. Here are the details. Learn about the budget and share ideas Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is holding community-engagement meetings to discuss development of the 2019-2020 operating budget. Employees, parents and community members are invited to attend, learn more about the current budget climate and give input on budget priorities to support academic success for all students. The meetings will be held: April 3, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Mallard Creek High, 3825 Johnston Oehler Road, Charlotte. April 11, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Crown Point Elementary, 3335 Sam Newell Road, Matthews. Learn about curriculum options Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools will adopt a guaranteed viable curriculum for the 2019-2020 school year. Parents, employees and community members are invited to attend sessions to help choose tools and resources for English language arts for grades K-8, math for grades 6-8 and NC Math 1, 2 and 3. The sessions will be held: April 8, Independence High, 1967 Patriot Drive, 6-8 p.m. April 9, South Mecklenburg High, 8900 Park Road, 6-8 p.m. April 10, West Charlotte High, 2219 Senior Drive, 6-8 p.m. April 11, Mallard Creek High, 3825 Johnston Oehler Road, 6-8 p.m.April 12, Spaugh Administrative Center, 1901 Herbert Spaugh Lane, 10 a.m. to 2...
by Rich Haag | Nov 28, 2018 | Commercial real estate, Schools, Transit Oriented Development
Two University City development projects and a pioneering architect for University Place have received the Charlotte Business Journal’s Heavy Hitters Commercial Real Estate Awards: Blu at Northline apartments, Corvian Community School’s high school and architect David Furman. The awards were announced on Nov. 1 at the business publication’s fifth annual event honoring commercial real-estate projects completed in the past year in the Charlotte region. Blu at Northline Blu at Northline, the apartment community on North Tryon Street beside the I-85 entrance, won in the apartment development category for leading a development boom in this part of University City. The 377-unit apartment community was the first transit-oriented development along the 9.3-mile Blue Line Extension between uptown and UNC Charlotte, the Business Journal noted. MORE Corvian Community School – High School Corvian Community School won in the Public/Civic/Community category for creating a building “for the next generation.” The 70,000-square-foot high school has many notable features besides classrooms, the Business Journal noted. These include innovation labs for robotics, a yoga and dance studio, a black-box theater and other learning and collaborative spaces. MORE David Furman Architect David Furman received the Pillar Award for three decades of working helping to transform the landscape of center city Charlotte. At the start of his career, Furman designed three components of University Place: Lakeshore Village condominiums, Walden Court apartments and the original Countryside Montessori School. The Business Journal honored Furman for being “a pioneer and leader in creative, cool and funky real estate projects — primarily in the residential space but more recently in commercial and mixed-use deals in South End and uptown...
by Rich Haag | Mar 24, 2017 | Events in University City, Schools
A national program on education excellence has named Mallard Creek High School one of “America’s Best Urban Schools” – again. “We selected your school because you demonstrated through multiple indicators (including a visit by an eight-person verification team) that your school is achieving impressive academic results for every demographic group you serve,” reads the announcement from the National Center for Urban School Transformation. Among 27 schools honored nationwide Just 27 schools nationwide out of hundreds of applicants earned the 2017 designation by the National Center for Urban School Transformation, operated by San Diego State University. Principal Kevin Garay received official word of the award last week and immediately shared the good news with faculty, staff and students. “There was a sense of pride when I announced it to the student body,” Garay said. Many people involved in winning application The award recognizes years of work by Mallard Creek High faculty and administrators in crafting the school’s learning environment, as well as efforts of more than 40 administrators, teachers, parents and students in completing the application. That included hosting a team of eight educators who visited Mallard Creek High once it was named a finalist. The visitors interviewed administrators and teachers, including several teachers chosen by the team at random. The visitors also interviewed parents and 15 students. When students heard the good news last week, Garay said, “There definitely was a sense of pride. A lot of teachers gave me feedback, too.” Winner in 2014, as well This is the second time that Mallard Creek High has been honored by the National Center for Urban School Transformation. The school...
by Rich Haag | Mar 24, 2017 | Events in University City, Schools
On April 27, MeckEd will honor 20 exceptional teachers, including Toye Watson of Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School. Toye has a unique bond to her students and their nearby Hidden Valley neighborhood: She grew up there, and loves it dearly. “My life is a positive reflection of what happens when ‘the village’ raises a child,” Toye says. Toye is the embodiment of MeckEd’s mission. The nonprofit group, backed by many of Charlotte’s biggest companies, seeks to ensure that CMS graduates have the skills and experiences to lead productive, useful lives. Toye graduated from West Mecklenburg High and received her education degree in 2011 from UNC Charlotte. “I think being nominated is an incredible honor that speaks to what happens when community members feel compelled to come back and transform and aid the community that reared them,” says Toye, a language arts teacher who has been at MLK for three years. An inspirational educator Her principal, Jennifer Lee Dean, praises Toye’s confidence in her children’s abilities. “She has more than a hope – she has a belief that all of our students can learn at high levels and succeed at anything they choose in life. She was raised in our school community and knows that our students are destined for greatness in their community and beyond.” MeckEd Teachers of Excellence are chosen based on principal recommendations and several other criteria, including student academic growth, the teacher’s mastery of instructional best practices, and the teacher’s leadership in her or his school community. Toye has demonstrated all three, Dean says. “She takes time to truly know her students and has spent...
by Rich Haag | Mar 24, 2017 | Events in University City, Schools, University City Connect
Sixty students at Nathaniel Alexander Elementary School are getting lessons in speed and generosity, thanks to the good people at Fox Sports and their many friends. Those lessons and that generosity, in the form of paid entry fees and new tennis shoes for each child, will pay off on April 1, when students cross the finish line at the Race2Educate 5K and Fun Run. About Race2Educate Race2Educate is an annual event to benefit children attending the four Governors Village public schools and, for the first time this year, students in four other nearby schools. Last year’s event drew several hundred participants and raised over $17,000 for the schools and for scholarships. Fox Sports stepped in this year, literally, thanks to Elizabeth Fulk. Fulk manages Fox Sports 1’s headquarters in University Research Park, and last fall she attended a meeting of University City Connect, an association of area businesses and groups including University City Partners that provides support to nearby public schools. People at the meeting shared inspiring stories about how businesses were giving time and resources to improve our schools, Fulk said. Later, she met with the group’s leader, Rob Rogers of Chick-fil-A University Place, to brainstorm ways Fox Sports might help, too. Run, learn, grow That brainstorming has grown into three separate efforts to help 60 students at Nathaniel Alexander Elementary School become more physically fit while training for the Race2Educate 5K and Fun Run. Fulk and three Fox Sports employees – Amber Freeze, Chris Maner and Shawn Burger – now visit the school weekly to train and run with the students and teacher Nicole Nederik. Nederik also...
