CMS releases final south Charlotte schools map. Here are 5 things to know
To accommodate a new high school and planned middle school, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools this week released a final map of redrawn boundaries in south Charlotte.
Boundaries for four CMS high schools — Ardrey Kell, Myers Park, Providence and South Mecklenburg — will change when the relief high school opens. That means hundreds of students will be assigned to a new home school for the 2024-25 school year. The new high school is scheduled to open in August 2024 at 12218 North Community House Road.
The four main priorities for student assignment were home-to-school distance, keeping feeder patterns together, creating socioeconomically diverse schools and maximizing building use, The Charlotte Observer reported.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education will hold a public hearing on Tuesday to discuss the proposal. A final vote will be taken on June 6.
Here are five things to know about the south Charlotte school boundary maps.
Some students won’t have to switch
While many students will be required to attend their new home schools, some will have the option to finish at their current schools.
Current ninth-grade students at Myers Park who are in the international baccalaureate program have the option to stay at their current schools without transportation. Students who have siblings at their current schools can apply to transfer, but they may not be accepted.
Students who will be juniors or seniors in the 2024-25 year will option to stay at their current schools, but transportation will not be provided for juniors, according to CMS. Juniors going to their new schools in 2024-25 and rising freshman during the 2023-24 school year will be provided with transportation.
In 2024-25, the leadership magnet program at Quail Hollow Middle will be replaced with international baccalaureate. Current students will be allowed to remain at the school.
Rea Farms will become a full magnet school in 2025-26 when the new middle school opens, and current students will be guaranteed a magnet spot with transportation. Rising eighth graders in 2025-26 who are assigned to the new middle school will have the option to stay at their current school without transportation.
Could athletic and club participation could be affected?
Students who are reassigned to the relief schools may not be able to participate in athletics or certain extracurricular activities during the first year it opens.
The new high school will open with grades 9-11. According to CMS, if the new high school opens with only ninth and tenth grade students, it could be two full years before varsity sports are offered.
Clubs offered at the relief schools “will be identified and shaped by the new school staff and students,” according to CMS.
Middle schools opening with sixth and seventh graders do not offer sports during their first year of operation, CMS says. The new middle school will open with grades 6-8.
The boundary changes will increase diversity
Providence High has the highest percentage of high socioeconomic status students in south Charlotte, with 79% of its student body considered affluent and less than 1% low income, according to CMS. Socioeconomic status, or SES, includes household income and parents’ education level, among other factors.
Ardrey Kell is second in south Charlotte, with 78% of students considered affluent and 1% low income. Myers Park’s student body is 56% affluent and 19% low income. South Mecklenburg is 30% affluent and 47% low income.
With the new high school, the percentage of affluent students at Providence will rise to 81% and the percentage of low-income students will remain the same.
At Ardrey Kell, the percentage of affluent students will drop to 73% and the number of low-income students will double. Myers Park’s student population will drop to 49% affluent, while nearly one in four students will be considered low income.
The percentage of affluent students at South Mecklenburg will go up to 48%, while its population of low income students will drop to 38%.
Five of the nine schools affected by the new middle school will add more low-income students.
Home-to-school distance will be reduced
Students at Ardrey Kell currently travel an average of 2.5 miles to school, and students at Myers Park travel an average of 3.7 miles. Providence and South Mecklenburg students travel an average of 3.4 miles to school.
Those distances will be shortened with the addition of a new high school. Here are the average distances students will travel to school during the 2024-2025 school year:
Ardrey Kell: 2.1 miles
Myers Park: 3.4 miles
Providence: 3.3 miles
South Mecklenburg: 3.2 miles
Relief school: 4 miles
Some students at the relief school will have to travel more than 10 miles to school, the longest commute of any of the south Charlotte high schools.
Feeder patterns for some elementary and middle schools will change
In addition to the four high schools, feeder patterns will change at nine elementary schools and six middle schools. Those schools are:
Endhaven Elementary
Hawk Ridge Elementary
McAlpine Elementary
Olde Providence Elementary
Pineville Elementary
Polo Ridge Elementary
Sharon Elementary
South Pine Elementary
Sterling Elementary
Alexander Graham Middle
Carmel Middle
Jay M. Robinson Middle
Quail Hollow Middle
Rea Farms Middle
South Charlotte Middle
For example, students who live north of Ballantyne Commons Parkway and south of Interstate 485 will attend Quail Hollow Middle, instead of Jay M. Robinson, and go on to attend the relief high school instead of Ardrey Kell.
A full list of feeder pattern changes can be found on the CMS website. Parents can also the interactive map on the website to determine which school their child will attend.
