Should You Let Your Kid Quit?
When my son was in a tween, he asked if he could take golf lessons. I signed him up for introductory lessons with a golf pro. He enjoyed it so much I sent to a summer golf camp for a…
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Ages & Stages: 11-18: Class Ring: Should Students Have Electronic Devices at School?
Gone are the days of crib sheets and test answers written on your palm. Today’s students have a much more savvy way to cheat their way through an assignment — modern technology! And this technology brings with it a variety of new problems that schools must contend with.
Cleaning the Air for Kids
Each day the routine act of riding a school bus exposes children to a toxic mix of airborne carcinogens and particles from diesel exhaust. Diesel engines have long been known to spew dirty exhaust from their tailpipes, but studies now reveal that levels of diesel pollutants getting inside school buses can be up to four times greater than outside levels.
Danger in the Hallways
Student safety has always been a priority for state and local school officials, but the emphasis on keeping our classrooms safe has increased in recent years with the numerous tragic school shootings nationwide.
Parent Involvement = Student Success
The 2007-08 school year will be an exciting one for CMS. The district will shift to learning communities as part of our decentralization, and we will begin to put into place some new programs designed to boost student achievement. All of these programs are important ones, and we think they’ll help students learn. But our biggest asset in helping CMS raise student achievement is you — the parents of our students.
Teach Your Children about School Bus Safety
The beginning of a new school year can bring many new experiences for children. They may need to become accustomed to an unfamiliar routine, get to know a new teacher or perhaps ride a school bus for the first time. But whether a child is new to the school bus or a seasoned "veteran" in junior high, it’s important for them to know the rules of school bus safety.
Top 10 Classical Music Pieces for Your Child
It seems like everyone has an opinion about music and its benefits for children. Some say listening to classical music will make your child smarter while others speak about its ability to soothe even the fussiest of infants. All of this could be well and true, but at the very least, an early exposure to great music can create a life-time love affair and appreciation for it.
Easy Lunchbox Makeover
The school cafeteria has become a place filled with poor diet choices. From franchise fast food offerings to soda machine temptations, today’s kids are faced with a lot of unhealthy options at lunchtime. So, what can parents do? They can pack a better lunch! But many parents could use some help — the typical child’s lunch box is often filled with fat, sugar and salt, and lacking healthy fruit, protein and whole grains.
Violins and Verbs: How Students Use Music to Enhance Writing
The Mozart Effect, a 1997 theory by Don Campbell, states that listening to classical music, more specifically, music by Mozart, increases intelligence. Though results are often debated, research continues to support the idea. In 2005, students taking the SAT with prior coursework in music appreciation scored 60 points higher on the verbal and 39 points higher on the math portion of the test.*
School Nurses Call for Classroom Cleaning Protocols
School nurses say more can be done in America's classrooms to help prevent the spread of illness, especially at the height of cold and flu season when more than half of school nurses, who were recently surveyed, send five or more sick children home each day.
Ages & Stages: 0-5 years: When Left Is Right: Tips to Encourage a Left-Handed Child
"My son writes with his left hand, please fix that," says a left-handed parent to the child’s kindergarten teacher on the first day of school. Surprising? Perhaps.
Superintendent Urges Support for Bonds
My interest in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools isn’t just professional. It’s personal, too — my 9-year-old daughter, Katie, is a fourth-grader at Beverly Woods Elementary. It’s important to me and to my wife that our daughter does well in school so she can have a full, productive life as an adult.
Student Success Stories
We spend a lot of time talking about the challenges we face at CMS. We want to share with our parents and the community how we’re meeting these challenges. But we need to be equally diligent in sharing our success stories.
Ages & Stages: 6-10: Alternatives to Nagging
In a recent New York Times article titled "What Shamu Taught Me About A Happy Marriage," Amy Sutherland shares what she has learned from animal trainers in California while researching a book she is writing. "The central lesson I learned from exotic animal trainers is that I should reward behavior I like and ignore behavior I don’t. After all, you don’t get a sea lion to balance a ball on the end of its nose by nagging."
Magnet Schools Explained
Peek around a classroom door at Northwest School of the Arts and see a young dancer perfect her steps. Drop into a classroom at the Smith Language Academy and hear kindergartners receiving classroom instructions in Chinese. Stroll by an open door at Randolph Middle School and catch the sounds of students practicing the Socratic method of inquiry.
Backpacks = Back pain?
Up to 33 percent of all children and teens experience back pain, according to the Pediatric Orthopedic Society of North America. Although there’s little chance a child will suffer permanent injuries from carrying an overloaded backpack, many children do put undue stress on their spines by using bags designed to hold only five or six pounds to support their 15- or even 20-pound loads.
Savoring Life with Preschoolers
Recently, as I baked cookies with my kids, I watched my 3-year-old lick the plate clean of sprinkles, rather than roll the dough balls in them. It made a classic picture: my little boy Judah looking up mischievously with colored sugar on his face. I reflected on the brevity of this season.
Socialization Without School
If you’ve been thinking about homeschooling, you’ve no doubt been asked by concerned friends and family: "But how will she make friends?" "He won’t learn any social skills!" The issue of socialization is the most often asked question presented to homeschooling parents.
Homeschool Parents Offer Suggestions
We asked local homeschooling parents to share with Charlotte Parent readers the activities their children engage in. Here’s what they said:
Early Language Immersion: A Window to the World
Whether his patients prefer English or Spanish, Jonathan Guenter has a great bedside manner. A local ER doctor, he’s been bilingual since elementary school — thanks to a decision his parents made more than two decades ago to enroll him in a language immersion program.
The Littlest Social Networkers
Everyone knows teens are preoccupied with Web sites like MySpace and Facebook, but now children as young as 5 have social networking Web sites just for them.
African-Americans Who Took A Stand
For nearly 250 years, black men, women and children were held as slaves in America. This year, celebrate Black History Month by remembering those who fought for freedom and civil rights.
Ages & Stages: 6-20: School's Biggest (and Toughest) Classroom
There’s a room in school that teaches many lessons. Not language arts or social studies, but other lessons, some almost as important. Students learn about relationships, friends, manners, social behavior and status.
The Two-Year Attraction: Community Colleges
David Lombard Harrison graduated with an associate’s degree from a community college more than 30 years ago. "It was the perfect transition from high school boredom to the rigors of college curriculum," he says of his experience.
Paying for the Future
North Carolina’s college system seems like a great deal. There are plenty of really exceptional schools and the tuition and fees for in-state (or "resident") students range from approximately $3,000 to $5,500 per year.
Education Resources
Enrichment + After School
Programs and classes for kids, including music, art, dance, gymnastics, martial arts and more.
Area Schools + Education Guide
Private schools, preschools, charter schools and boarding schools.
Charlotte Education Resources
Tutors, homeschool helpers, childcare resources, counselors and more.
