Charlotte Schools Offer Several Magnet Choices

Admin — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 14:11:43 +0000

The magnet program of Charlotte Schools is committed to increasing educational opportunities for students. Magnet programs are theme based learning centers within Charlotte Schools which aim to promote students’ interests, abilities and talents. Researchers have noted that magnet programs promote innovation in teaching and learning, increased parental involvement, greater student engagement, and diverse student bodies that lead to higher student achievement. Charlotte Schools offer various curricular themes or instructional approaches such as Early College, Foreign Language Immersion, Montessori, Leadership and Global Economics and many others.

Early College provides academically-talented and motivated students the chance to earn college credit while still in high school. This Charlotte Schools program allows ninth and tenth grade students to prepare for college courses by taking higher-level classes, such as Advanced Placement. Eleventh and twelfth grade students continue to earn their high school credits in the morning and take college classes in the afternoon. Special features include a formal agreement among the University of North Carolina system, allowing students to earn college credit and to transfer these credit hours to a participating college or university upon high school graduation.

A typical student that may attend this Charlotte Schools magnet program is one who enjoys reading, learning and academic challenges. This Charlotte Schools student has the ability to do accelerated work and is intellectually curious and possesses the self-motivation to learn. Students must also be willing to commit to college-level work expectations and show above grade level reading and math proficiency.

Charlotte Schools which participate in the Foreign Language magnet school program offer students the unique opportunity to become fluent in Chinese, French, German, Japanese or Spanish through a foreign language immersion program. Beginning in kindergarten, students become familiar with the new language as lessons are conducted in the second language for all or part of the instructional day.

Charlotte Schools children enrolled in the Montessori program magnet schools learn by working with specially designed and attractively displayed developmental materials. Working individually or in small groups, children develop a sense of self-esteem because they are given a balance of freedom and responsibility. Some of the special features a student may enjoy when attending a Charlotte Schools Montessori magnet are classes with multi-aged grouping, activities that help students develop responsibility, self-confidence and independence, and certified Montessori teachers. Montessori schools are ones which have a child-centered learning environment that places high regard for each child’s developmental level.

Charlotte Schools students enrolled in the Center for Leadership and Global Economics are given opportunities to learn about leadership and to identify and develop personal leadership qualities while gaining a better understanding of global studies and economics. This program, available to Charlotte Schools students, hopes to produce future leaders in careers such as business, banking, finance, law, diplomacy, politics and the military. High school students in Charlotte Schools may choose from one of three leadership strands: 1) Banking and Finance through the National Academy of Finance; 2) Legal, Political and Social Systems; and 3) Military Science through JROTC.

By: Patricia Hawke

charlotte schools offer chinese immersion

Tampa Schools Prepare Students for the World of Tomorrow through Global Classrooms

Admin — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 15:09:55 +0000

The United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA), along with New York-based Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc., has brought the Model United Nations to Tampa schools. Originally, only four high schools were participating and only as an extra-curricular activity. Now, over 50 teachers teach the Global Classrooms curriculum to students in over 120 classrooms in 35 Tampa schools. The program has the supported of Tampa schools District Social Studies Supervisors Dennis Holt and Martha Ford, as well as Tampa schools administrators, University of South Florida, and University of Tampa.

The Model United Nations program of Global Classrooms was developed by the UNA to enhance student understanding of international issues. Their hope is to develop strong leadership and critical-thinking skills in our youth, needed to shape a globally informed workforce in the future. To that end, a special Model UN teachers training program was recently developed that includes global trade, finance and development.

Global Classrooms deal with such critical world issues as human rights for refugees, prevention of nuclear terrorism, global economics, post-conflict transition, and UN Security Council reform — the same issues world diplomats deal with daily in the United Nations. It is an excellent educational opportunity for students in the Tampa schools.

Tampa schools participation increased in the Model UN program after the April 2006 conference, held at the Tampa Convention Center. More than 500 high schools and 600 middle schools participated in the conference of Global Classrooms.

Ambassador William H. Luers, president of the UNA-USA, addressed the Tampa schools students and students from other areas within the Hillsborough and Pinellas County Public Schools. Luers noted that children today must learn about the world to be prepared for tomorrow. The younger the child, the more open minded he or she will be.

Another speaker was Shaun King, former quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, current player for the Detroit Lions, and a favorite with Tampa schools’ students. Like Luers, King wants to see young people use all that talent they have. He believes it truly makes a difference, especially for children of single-parent and/or disadvantaged families.

The UNA-USA is a not-for-profit organization that develops innovative programs to engage Americans, especially the children, in issues of global concern. It promotes educational and humanitarian campaigns, as well as policy and advocacy programs. The UNA’s mission is to allow people to make a global impact at a local level.

The Model UN program would not be possible without the support of business. Merrill Lynch has donated more than $37 million in 2005 to charities with educational organizations receiving more than half. They are responsible for bringing the April Model UN conference to Tampa and underwrote the cost of implementing the program in the Tampa schools.

Together, the UNA and Merrill Lynch hope to bring the Model UN experience to urban public schools across the nation, as well as a diverse array of schools around the world.

It is a fact that the U.S. is losing its world economic edge by falling far behind other countries in preparing its youth for the global world issues of tomorrow. With programs, such as the No Child Left Behind that concentrates only on reading and mathematics skills, the children of the U.S. are missing an opportunity to know about the world and its issues. Bringing the Model UN program to students in areas like the Tampa schools is an essential step. Hopefully, more Tampa schools will participate in the future.

This information on Tampa schools is brought to you by www.schoolsk-12.com.

By: Patricia Hawke

Education Economics » Global Economics

Charlotte Schools Offer Several Magnet Choices

Tampa Schools Prepare Students for the World of Tomorrow through Global Classrooms