(Above, from left) Michael and Chris Smith work together on Chris’s Eagle Scout project.

The 17-year-old Ardrey Kell High School twins know what it means to be committed, spending their high school careers on the Ardrey Kell High football team – Chris a wide receiver and Michael an outside linebacker – and working to maintain good grades as members of the National Honor Society.

But it’s their long history with Boy Scouts of America that’s taught them to complete what they start, and in just a few short months they’ll be able to check Eagle Scout off their lists.

Both boys recently finished workdays for their Eagle projects and are now working on the final reports for a review board.

The two boys are members of Boy Scout Troop 15, based at St. Francis United Methodist Church in south Charlotte. Starting Cub Scouts as kindergarteners in Pack 15, Scouting has always been a big part of their lives: planning camping trips, gaining leadership skills and learning to appreciate the outdoors. But after hitting high school, it was easy to get distracted and lose their connection with Scouting. With football practice starting early in summer and taking up much of the boys’ time, Scouting sometimes took the backseat. But in the case of Chris and Michael, unlike a lot of Scouts who drop out after life gets too busy, they stuck it out. Though they might not be at the meetings, they still want to see Scouting through to the end.

“I really looked up to the older Scouts when I was younger, and I kind of wanted to be like them,” Michael said. “I’ve had a lot of friends who have stuck with Boy Scouts and who have helped me enjoy it and appreciate it a lot more.”

At the start of their junior year, Chris and Michael realized they needed to get the ball rolling on their projects in order to complete them before their 18th birthdays in October. They started brainstorming, bouncing back and forth between ideas until they talked with their football coach Adam Hastings, who came up with two ideas where football and Boy Scouts could collide.

Hastings had the idea for both boys to do beautification projects right outside the Ardrey Kell football field.

Both boys liked the idea and began to set their own individual projects in motion: Michael working to turn patchy grass in front of the stadium seating into rows of rose bushes and Chris working to install a landscaped area with the school’s “AK” logo visible to visitors.

Though the boys’ projects were different, they’ve been side by side the whole time, pushing each other to get a move on it, both boys said.  Michael completed his workday in April, while Chris’s workday was June 1.

“We kind of bounce ideas off of each other to figure out what to focus on more. It’s all kind of been about accountability,” Chris said. “I know we’re not at Boy Scout meetings all the time, but it’s always been there. Going all the way through Eagle is a big commitment. We lasted this long, so why would we stop now?”

The boys’ dad, Allen Smith, also encouraged his sons to finish their Eagle projects. He said he’s proud of his boys for making it this far, all while balancing schoolwork, football and church youth group.

“They have come this far and it’s just been a lot of work getting to there. From an adult perspective, I know looking back they would regret getting that close and not completing it,” Allen Smith said.

The two schools have teamed up and are working for the good of the community, using rundown garden beds on Myers Park Traditional’s campus to plant an organic vertical community garden. Students at Queens approached elementary school administrators in April. It’s the first year for the U.S. Green Building Council, or USGBC, at Queens and the project-based group was looking for ways to do a sustainable, green building community project.

“I originally started investigating using the university’s greenhouse, but I was told at this time we cannot use it,” said Jennifer Reid, the club’s vice president and a student in the Queens adult program. “But Myers Park Traditional already has two raised bed gardens that have been sitting there unoccupied, just filled with weeds and stuff.”

So she met with Myers Park Traditional principal, Lane Price, who was on board for the university/school partnership and then with Bill Nichols, vice president of campus services for Queens to ensure maintenance of the beds was plausible.

With everyone on board, a new collaboration was born – a partnership both parties hope will last for years to come.

Price passed the project to Myers Park Traditional science teacher Julia Magdzinski, who has been working closely with her second- and third-grade students at the school to plant, water and nurture the young seedlings in preparation to move them outside into the garden beds June 7, the students’ last day of school.

“I wanted (to do the project) with that age group because they are the ones that will really see the gardens grow,” Magdzinski said. “And the third-graders do a plant unit. It’s one thing when we do our plant unit to see them memorize the parts of the plant, but it really helps them to see something from start to finish and see the end result.”

Along with vegetables, the students also are raising rosemary, oregano and thyme. They take turns watering the plants throughout the week.

In the meantime, five students from Queens have been working to get the garden beds ready for planting day. With donations from Lowe’s Home Improvement store and Myers Park Traditional’s parent-teacher group, the five students, including Reid, have prepped the garden beds, made trellises to support vertical growth to better utilize the limited amount of space and made signs to encourage community members to get involved, too.

“We are also inviting the community to come help. We want to pull in the neighbors of that community to come and be part of it. We would love for them to help and give us input,” Reid said, adding harvest from the garden will be distributed to those who have helped along the way and at times, like the summer months, may be donated to local charities or food banks.

On Friday, June 7, Queens students will be at Myers Park Traditional from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. for a kick-off party that will give the elementary students a chance to plant their seedlings. Reid said community members also are invited to attend and can use the event to sign up to help maintain the garden while school’s out for summer. Students and parents already have responded and will help volunteer over the summer.

“I see this as being the beginning stages of science-based curriculum. I see it opening ideas to leadership roles between the two schools,” Reid said. “And it also is promoting healthy eating habits and then giving back to the community. I think we all need to be more well-rounded in terms of giving. Hopefully the students will be inspired.”

CMS recently submitted their list of the top 18 priorities in the school district, with replacement buildings and renovations at Myers Park High School ranking eighth. But county staff reprioritized the projects, which also included requests from Central Piedmont Community College, Mecklenburg County Parks and Recreation and other town departments, ranking the Myers Park project at second – a nice surprise for the Myers Park community, as many describe the project as “a long time coming.”

The project would cost the county around $22,248,000 and would replace three existing and outdated buildings with one larger facility with state-of-the-art classrooms. The project also would include the elimination of some of the school’s 21 mobile units and involves renovating the school’s kitchen and cafeteria.

“It’s much needed. You’re looking at buildings that have all kinds of electrical issues, old restrooms, issues with plumbing,” Myers Park Principal Tom Spivey said. “I’m sure the energy consumption has to be terrible. We’re even looking at safety issues.”

The buildings currently are not handicap accessible, Spivey added, and are not conducive to the science, technology, engineering and math courses the school is trying to offer.

Matthew Ridenhour is county commissioner for District 5, which covers the Myers Park area. Though he’s happy the high school is getting some attention, as the school continues to grow, he understands the school district knows what projects are needed most and why Myers Park was ranked eighth.

“Ideally, I think we need to take the recommendations of CMS, as they are the subject experts,” Ridenhour said. “They know the needs of the school system better than the county does. I think we need to take that into consideration.”

At this point, county commission hasn’t discussed the rankings in any detail, Ridenhour said, but mentioned he’s excited the Myers Park project also ranked high with CMS. Also, the reopening of Starmount Elementary, a project ranked fifth with the county and first for CMS, will provide overcrowding relief for other elementary schools in District 5.

“Those are some big concerns for that community,” Ridenhour said. “I’ve heard concerns for both those projects.”

Myers Park currently has about 2,800 students. Spivey projects the school, which is one of the largest in the state, will soon grow to more than 3,000, a reason he said the project is needed sooner rather than later so the school will have the capacity to continue with its growth.

Myers Park parents agree. Marinn Bengel, a co-president for the school’s parent-teacher group, said the number of portables at the school is already out of hand. The 63-acre campus also consists of 14 buildings; the oldest standing were built in 1950.

“I think one of the hidden factors about Myers Park High School is that people associate the school with the neighborhood, kind of a country club mentality. People haven’t really seen the backside of the building. None of the buildings (in the capital project) can even be upgraded. The buildings are just in such bad shape.”

Other construction projects for Myers Park were recently approved with funding from previous bonds, including renovations to the school’s stadium, which was condemned last season, and renovations to the school’s language arts building, which is scheduled to start summer 2014. The project will temporarily add about 20 additional mobile units to the school’s campus.

CMS is proposing a new kindergarten through eighth-grade magnet school in the Ballantyne area that would help alleviate overcrowding and use of mobile units at south Charlotte schools. (Above) Hawk Ridge Elementary School uses several mobile units for classroom overflow.

The proposed science, technology, engineering, arts and math school in Ballantyne would provide overcrowding relief at Ballantyne, Elon Park, Hawk Ridge and Polo Ridge elementary schools and Community House and Jay M. Robinson middle schools and would be the first magnet and kindergarten through eighth-grade school in the area – offering south Charlotte students different programming than already is available. CMS leaders ranked the project 15th among an 18-project, nearly $300 million capital improvement request in hopes the 18 projects would be included in a bond package voters likely will see on the ballot in November, but knowing the projects would have to fight for money against Central Piedmont Community College and county park and recreation requests, among other investment proposals.

The county’s ranking list, presented Tuesday, May 21, to the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners, saw three CMS projects jump ahead of the south Charlotte kindergarten through eighth-grade magnet school, with the project moving to the bottom of the CMS list against recommendations from the CMS Board of Education. County staff valued the Statesville Road Elementary School replacement project, Selwyn Elementary School renovation project and Northridge Middle School addition project higher than the Ballantyne school, though all three were ranked lower by CMS.

“We came up with a list that we think is important for our school district,” CMS Superintendent Heath Morrison said. “What we want to see is for the Board of County Commissioners to honor it. We hope that they would work with us and honor our priority list.”

But Morrison said the commissioners and the school district have a difference in measuring area growth. While CMS looks at current school capacity and future development, county commission is focused on voter precincts.

“That doesn’t help us,” Morrison said. “Growth in voter precincts doesn’t tell us where there are kids. In the south Charlotte area, we don’t have additional capacity. We think this (kindergarten through eighth-grade) STEAM school is tremendously needed to address overcrowding… we are very committed to this project.”

A number of CPCC projects, as well as a project at the Latta Plantation Nature Preserve in north Mecklenburg and relocation of the county’s Child Support Enforcement group, also are ranked higher on the county’s list than the Ballantyne school, which is now 29th on the county’s priority ranking.

“It’s frustrating to us that we’re trying to be collaborative with the community college – not in competition,” Morrison said. “What’s been expressed to us is ‘Why can’t we work to have more available funding?’ CMS prioritized the projects and now we have to be held accountable for those decisions.”

Other south Charlotte schools fared better in the county’s ranking. Additions and renovations at Myers Park High School, which CMS ranked eighth on its list, was moved up to second overall by county staff. The project would replace some existing buildings with state-of-of-the-art classrooms, eliminate mobile units and provide renovations to the school’s kitchen and cafeteria.

The Starmount/Oakhurst STEAM magnet project, ranked first by CMS, moved down to fifth on the county’s list but likely will still make the cut. The Starmount school will provide some overcrowding relief to Huntingtowne Farms and Montclaire elementary schools in south Charlotte.

Additions and renovations at East Mecklenburg and South Mecklenburg high schools are ranked 11th and 12th, respectively, on the county’s list, and likely also will be included in the bond package. Both schools will see additions of a new 30-classroom building, while East Mecklenburg High’s project also will include some renovations and elimination of mobile units and South Mecklenburg’s project also will include a new kitchen and cafeteria building and demolition of the campus’s C and D buildings.

But for parents in south Charlotte, seeing the Ballantyne school put on the back burner is concerning. Faye Whipkey, the parent-teacher association president at Jay M. Robinson Middle School, said although Robinson currently does not suffer from overcrowding issues, she would like more magnet options in south Charlotte to provide area students with more program choices.

“It’s disappointing that (the Ballantyne magnet) was moved down the list because having this program in the area would enhance the other schools in the area, as well. And there is a definite need to relieve overcrowding in the middle and elementary schools,” Whipkey said.

Whipkey’s two children, both students at Robinson, also attended McAlpine and Polo Ridge elementary schools. She said though her seventh-grader last attended Polo Ridge two years ago, the school was already suffering from overcrowding issues. She noted elective teachers seemed to suffer the most from the crowding.

“When you put art on a cart or have a traveling music teacher, it really impacts the education kids are getting,” Whipkey said. “But I do believe those teachers are doing the best they can and those subjects are just as important.”

Lynda Willingham, parent-teacher association president at Elon Park Elementary, views the need for another school in Ballantyne as a way to not only “catch up, but to plan correctly for future growth,” she said in an email to South Charlotte Weekly.

Willingham said Elon Park Elementary, only 5 years old, is already at 130 percent capacity and currently uses 11 mobile units, hosting about 24 students each.

She said other factors, like not having available classrooms and teaching staff to start each school year, four lunch periods and limited space for elective classes, all affect students negatively.

“The CMS department that plans and projects school enrollments significantly (underestimated) our growth.  Schools that are only 5 years old, such as Elon Park and Ballantyne (elementary schools) should not be so wildly over capacity already,” Willingham said. “This problem continues up through our middle schools and will hit our high schools.”

Willingham also noted that growth is already happening. With the addition of corporations like MetLife, the growth of the community will continue as new company employees and their families move to the Ballantyne area, she said.

“We are looking forward to CMS addressing our overcrowded schools in south Charlotte and welcome getting back on track with the right number of available classrooms and teachers,” Willingham said.

Students in Justin Ashley’s classes organized facts about Lockhart on the whiteboard. (Top right, from left) Ashley, Matrena Hunter and Patrick Phillips. Hunter is Lockhart’s 93-year-old daughter.

When college friend Patrick Phillips of Harrisburg told Ashley, a history teacher at the school, about his great-grandfather and the pile of old newspaper articles, personal letters and certificates he found, Ashley was surprised to find the story of John Clegg Lockhart had been forgotten and lost throughout the years. With a few glances into the files, he quickly realized Lockhart was a true leader and education advocate in North Carolina – someone to be remembered and someone whose story should be cherished.

That’s why Ashley, the North Carolina History Teacher of the Year, asked his 70 fourth-grade students for help. Together, for the past five weeks or so, Ashley and his students have sifted through the files and uncovered Lockhart’s story. Now, they’re working to bring honor back to his name.

“It all started when I was talking to my friend Patrick this summer and I was telling him about teaching North Carolina history this year,” Ashley said. “I said ‘Give me the files and we’ll see what we can do.’ We realized that this guy changed the game in the North Carolina educational system. The kids and I talked about it and decided that maybe it was our job to sing the song of an unsung hero.”

With help from parents, teachers assistants and other volunteers, the kids got to work researching Lockhart’s life. They were stunned when a simple Google search only retrieved a birth and death certificate. They first started by creating “Leader Gold,” folders highlighting key aspects of what constitutes a great leader – another aspect of the project Ashley hoped to teach his students.

Students were able to create a timeline of Lockhart’s life after dissecting the files and interviews with family members like Phillips. They searched the North Carolina State Archives for background information and eventually organized their facts on Ashley’s whiteboard. They found Lockhart was a leader in school consolidation, building 17 new schools in Wake County with state and local funds and money from President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal while superintendent of Wake County Schools from 1918 to 1940. He advocated for construction of five black high schools and a transportation system for black students.

He also changed the welfare for teachers and educators, advocating for the creation of the State Retirement System for teachers and other state employees, and was part of the adoption of the 12th year of education and nine-month school year term.

“He consolidated one-room school houses into larger schools,” Ashley said. “He lobbied for school funding during the Great Depression. He was fighting for Civil Rights before it was even a movement and that’s one thing the kids really admired about him. Everything he touched turned to gold.”

Lockhart also served as superintendent of what was then Mecklenburg County Schools from 1940 to 1943.

“I think that it is very interesting that he gave his whole life to education. How did he not get recognized for doing all those things?” 10-year-old Roch Guertin said. “He was an amazing leader. His first wife died shortly after childbirth, but he eventually remarried. I thought it was amazing that he didn’t give up. And thanks to Mr. Lockhart, teachers have a better life.”

The students currently are working to raise money for several plaques to be placed around the state in honor of Lockhart. Each plaque costs around $1,500, the first of which has already been purchased and will be placed at Lockhart Elementary School in Raleigh, named after Lockhart, though no one at the school knew his story, Ashley said.

Phillips said Lockhart’s family is thankful for the recognition.

“For me personally, the biggest thing I learned were the types of adversity and obstacles that John Lockhart encountered. I thought it was very impressive he was able to do the things that he did during a time where it was very unpopular,” Phillips said. He never met his great-grandfather, as Lockhart died in 1964.

But his grandmother, Matrena Hunter, 93, daughter of Lockhart, knew her dad very well. Now in a nursing home near Raleigh, Ashley’s students will visit her May 23 to share their findings and present her with a song.

“She’s aware of what’s going on, though she’s not as (sharp) as she once was,” Phillips said. “She has been very ecstatic and touched. She was a daddy’s girl; she loved everything he was about, not just in his professional life, but his personal life, as well.”

McKee Road Elementary physical education teacher Doug Smith was recently named a CMS Teacher of the Year finalist.

All students at McKee Road Elementary School know teacher Doug Smith.

He’s one of the first faces they see in the morning, always headlining the school’s morning news channel, encouraging kids to get up and get moving while leading exercises during the morning J.A.M.M., or Jumpstart And Move at McKee, session.

“I just love the J.A.M.M. sessions and the kids love them, too,” Jeremy Lundgren, the assistant principal at McKee Road, said. “He’s always energetic and he really just empowers the students to have fun, all while looking out for their best interest.”

Smith was recently named a finalist for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Teacher of the Year award. He was first nominated at the school level by his co-workers and after an interview process was named the East Zone finalist. Now he’s one of six district-wide finalists wide that could be named CMS Teacher of the Year in May.

Smith comes from a family of educators – his mom a teacher and his dad a recreational therapist. He always knew he wanted to be a teacher, but wasn’t sure in what field. After exploring different topics, physical education just seemed to click, he said.

“What’s funny is that I was outdoors a lot. I did recreational swimming, I was on the swim team in high school, but I wasn’t a star quarterback athlete or anything like that,” Smith said. “But I think we are seeing kids today be less active, and I just want to encourage them to get outside.”

Smith earned his education degree from Appalachian State University in 1997 and his master’s from West Virginia University in 1998. He started teaching in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, his home district, in 1998 at Oakdale Elementary and then at Park Road Elementary, now Park Road Montessori School. He then moved to McKee Road, where he has taught for the past 11 years.

For Smith, teaching is more about the individuals and less about the athletic skills. That’s how he’s directed his classroom for many years now, a method that’s proven to better encourage his students time and time again, he said.

“You don’t have to play sports. You don’t have to be on a team – just get outside and play. I don’t teach to just athletes,” Smith said. “Not too many years into teaching at McKee, I started to see students becoming inactive, so I brought a new philosophy to the PE program, one that doesn’t focus on competition but focuses on goal setting,” adding that each student sets their own goals. “I saw lower skilled kids come in smiling because they achieved their goals.”

It’s that kind of impact that encouraged teachers at the school to nominate Smith for the Teacher of the Year award, Lundgren said, describing Smith as dedicated, caring and motivated. He said Smith frequently goes above and beyond the call of duty, making contacts to help his program, writing grants and taking initiatives on projects like the school’s new playground facility that was dedicated Wednesday, April 24. Smith helped generate the idea to create a natural playground at the school that would mimic the topography of North Carolina, including sections representing the mountains, piedmont and shoreline.

“He sees the bigger picture and is able to have a great impact on all of our students,” Lundgren said. “Really the caring part, that’s the key to any successful teacher. He’s just a great teacher with good classroom management skills, which enables him to have a lot of fun in the classroom.”

Charlotte Christian School hosted the Knights Fight Hunger week April 8 to 12. The school-wide effort worked to help feed the hungry.

The Knights Fight Hunger Week, April 8 through 12, was an extension of the school’s efforts in past year’s to help feed hungry people in Charlotte. Starting seven years ago with the school’s Tailgate to Donate Event that benefits the homeless through the Harvest Center of Charlotte, this year the school wanted to add to the event to make it even more family oriented and cross-divisional.

Over the past seven years, the school has collected more than 6,700 canned goods, about 48,000 food service gloves, more than 83,000 Styrofoam take-out trays and has wrapped more than 100,000 forks and napkins for a project they call Operation Fork Wrap.

“Each year, it’s grown,” LuAnn Durden, the school’s parent relations specialist, said. “This year, we collected over 1,600 canned goods, 20,000 takeout trays, 20,000 forks and napkins and over 30,000 food service gloves. And then we expanded our initiative with a packing event.”

Along with collections for the Harvest Center, the school hosted two food packing events through Servants With A Heart, a Kids Against Hunger satellite nonprofit started by Jeff and Suzanne Yoh, one of Charlotte Christian’s own families. Kids Against Hunger packs highly nutritious dehydrated meals that are sent to children in Nicaragua. The organization provides the trucks, tables, food bins, bags, training and the logistics of the event to help other local organizations make a difference worldwide. The meals, which consist of white rice, crushed soy, dehydrated blended vegetables and chicken-flavored vegetarian vitamin and mineral powder, provide a rich source of digestible protein, carbohydrates and vitamins needed and offer all nine of the essential amino acids required for complete nutrition, according to the organization’s website www.kidsagainsthungercharlotte.org.

Ten percent of the meals will remain locally at food banks and in backpack programs while the rest will be delivered by Samaritans International, an organization in Waxhaw.

“That’s a ministry that a lot of our Charlotte Christian families are already familiar with,” Ken Griffin, Charlotte Christian’s director of institutional advancement, said about Servants With A Heart.

For the packing portion of Knights Fight Hunger Week, the school hosted a packing event on Thursday evening for families and then another event all day Friday for junior-kindergarten through 12th-grade students – an event designed to be cross-divisional, giving all students the opportunity to work side-by-side. Altogether, the school packed about 125,000 meals.

“Since it was the first year, in talking with Jeff and Suzanne Yoh, they were thinking around 100,000 meals. Not only did this project teach our kids to combine as a community and serve together, but we also liked this project because it benefitted locally and internationally,” Griffin said.

Each packing shift was typically around an hour and a half long, where the standard equates to each child packing enough bags to feed a child for a year, Griffin said.

“I think this teaches the kids they can give of their resources and they can give of their time,” he said. “And it teaches them to be the hands and feet of Christ.”

But not only were the students learning, but also were engaging in friendly competition between classes to see who could bring in the most goods for the Harvest Center. And in preparation for the week, teachers and staff briefed students on the impact they would be making all around the world.

“We went through the logistics and philosophically talked about it and our teachers did a good job preparing them,” Griffin said. “They could see the people that were part of these ministries through videos, explaining ‘these kids are just like you, but they are hungry.’”

Superintendent Heath Morrison will speak Thursay night, April 11, at the Ballantyne Hotel as part of the Ballantyne Breakfast Club’s local advocacy meetings.

Morrison recently unveiled “The Way Forward,” a detailed plan of what he feels is needed to continue shaping a district of more than 141,000 students and nearly 19,000 staff into what it needs to be. Morrison already has started that work, now in his second semester at the helm of CMS, and is becoming a regular at public forums in south Charlotte – giving parents unrestricted access to the man who’s trying to prepare their children for a rapidly evolving workforce.

“I’m looking forward to the conversation,” Morrison said. “I’ve really enjoyed all the discussions so far and my last meeting there was very positive and I hope to have the same success this time around.”

This time around, Morrison will be explaining – and possibly defending – a package of capital improvements projects that would cost at least $400 million and require a bond vote. And that’s just for the top 25 proposed projects on the list. It’s a list that Morrison and others say needs to be completed, and includes a number of south Charlotte projects that could improve aging campuses and relieve overcrowding in spots.
Morrison said he plans to discuss Thursday “what we know and what we don’t know about our funding, and what would be significant and relevant for the southern part of the county.”

“There are some things in my operating budget that I think show we are working in Ballantyne and southern Mecklenburg,” Morrison said. “When I was at the meeting at the beginning of the year, I said it’s important for people to see me as the superintendent of Charlotte-Mecklenburg and that people see that we are meeting the needs all across our district.”

Morrison specifically pointed out two projects – the proposed kindergarten through eighth-grade school that would relieve overcrowding at elementary and middle schools in and around Ballantyne at a cost of around $29 million (“we’ve got a lot of great feedback from that,” Morrison said) and a new science, technology, engineering and math high school at the Smith Family Center for $43 million.  Other projects on the list include improvements at South Mecklenburg High such as a new kitchen and cafeteria building and a three-story, 30-classroom building ($18 million) and a replacement for Lansdowne Elementary School, at $19 million.

“I’ve been to several events in south Mecklenburg and there is a lot of positive support for the district,” Morrison said. “All parents have questions about our capital plan, operating budget (and) technology.”

Another issue Morrison expects to come up Thursday is school safety. CMS, like other school systems in the area, plans to ask for funding for improved security measures following the shooting last year at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. CMS wants $19.3 million for security improvements – down from the more than $33 million the district considered asking for. The funding would pay for things such as cameras and an identification system for people on campus.

“We presented a revised security plan that our board voted on positively … adding additional cameras at elementary and middle schools and finding single entry access,” Morrison explained. “Now it’s on its way to the county commission for their consideration.”

Morrison will make a presentation at the Ballantyne meeting, scheduled for Thursday, April 11, at 7 p.m. The meeting was moved from its usual Saturday morning spot in order to accommodate more people interested in attending.

Morrison will answer questions from the crowd following his presentation.

“As Dr. Morrison points out, we should not want to accept a good school district when what we need for our children is a great one,” read a news release from the Ballantyne Breakfast Club, which is hosting the event and others throughout the year to engage area residents. “This meeting will provide you with the opportunity to engage Dr. Morrison and ask what it will take so that our schools provide a level of education for every child that will help them become productive members of our society.”

The meeting will take place at the Ballantyne Hotel, 10000 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy. Find more information on the advocacy group and next week’s meeting at the group’s website, www.ballantyne breakfastclub.com.

Find more information on Morrison’s blueprint for CMS, “The Way Forward,” at the school system’s website, www.cms.k12.nc.us/superintendent/Pages/TheWay Forward.aspx.

Area middle school students gathered at Charlotte Latin School on Thursday, March 21, where upper school students from Charlotte Latin, Charlotte Country Day and Providence Day schools lead sessions on leadership and diversity.

Those are some questions middle school students from across the region pondered on Thursday, March 21, during the second annual Affirming Community Together Conference, this year held at Charlotte Latin School. The conference, directed by upper school students from Charlotte Latin School, Charlotte Country Day School and Providence Day School, is a collaboration between the three schools to help engage middle school students from across Charlotte on topics about leadership and diversity. This year’s conference was two fold, covering topics about “knowing yourself” and “doing what’s right.”

“We find that when the students can take their power back in defining who they are and not letting others do that for them, the can be better leaders,” Ayeola Elias, director of diversity and multiculturalism at Charlotte Latin, said. “They can be more confident in who they are as individuals.”

Elias, who helped coordinate the event at Charlotte Latin, said around 160 middle school students attended the conference this year, up from 130 last year. Middle school students were not only from Charlotte Latin, Country Day and Providence Day, but also from Trinity Episcopal School, Cannon School, Woodlawn School and Charlotte Preparatory School in south Charlotte.

The Upper School students leading the sessions decided on which topics to cover, this year brainstorming ways to help middle schools students create more inclusive environments. The group of students all have an interest in encouraging inclusion and tolerance throughout their schools; most belong to diversity clubs and were excited to collaborate together and help middle school students get a head start on understanding what it means to be accepting of others.

“Working outside of our communities is just as important as working in our communities,” Elias said. “True growth happens when we step out of our comfort zones. It’s no longer about the individual. It’s not just about the groups within the schools, the school or even the independent schools – it becomes about people just working together.”

And the upper school students love what they’re doing for the middle school students, many explaining they didn’t receive the diversity training they are providing when they were in middle school.

For Sarah Whitmore, an upper school student at Charlotte Latin, she said middle school students were eager to talk about issues such as intolerance, cyber bullying, self-confidence and more. She says it’s important for students to understand at a young age what it means to be invested in the well being of the community.

“It’s important to start young, planting these seeds,” Sarah said. “They will need the skills like how to work with different types of people in order to succeed in the world today.”

Senior Katie Mayopoulos was a leader at the conference last year, which focused on bullying. She said this year’s conference really built on skills and themes of last year’s event, though she says this year’s could be applied to an even broader scope of students.

“When it comes to bullying, someone thinks ‘If it’s not me, I’ll just stay out of it.’ Being a bystander is much more real life for more of these kids,” Katie said about the “doing the right thing” theme. “And middle school is such a tough time to be an individual. By the time you’re in high school, students should really know what they believe in.”

The upper school students all hope the middle school participants will take what they learn back into their own communities, creating a waterfall of change throughout the Charlotte region.

“It’s been an amazing, amazing experience,” Elias added. “It shows we can really work together among independent schools.”

This year’s Good Cookie 5K and Bake Sale will be held Saturday, March 23, in the Cotswold area of Randolph Park. The event raises money to fight pediatric cancer.

The teen was inspired by family friend Grier Christenbury, who has battled cancer since age 2, and the local chapter of nonprofit Cookies For Kids’ Cancer, an organization dedicated to raising funds for pediatric cancer research, to do something.

The local Cookies chapter, spearheaded by women from south Charlotte including Grier’s mom, Amy, is known for its giant bake sales throughout the area that have raised thousands of dollars for the cause.

Abbey’s seen the success of the bake sales, the largest which is held at Blackhawk Hardware in the Park Road shopping center every December. That’s why she wanted to give back in her own way, creating the Good Cookie 5K and Bake Sale last year.

“The Christenburys have been family friends of ours for a while now – we know them from school and church,” Abbey said.  “I initially started this as a project for school, but it was also multi-purpose because I wanted to do something that would help the cause.”

And with so much success last year, Abbey is at it again. With help from family and friends, she’s hosting the second annual Good Cookie 5K and Bake Sale this Saturday, March 23, in the Cotswold neighborhood of Randolph Park, located near the intersection of Sharon Amity and Randolph roads. Last year’s event raised about $14,000 for the cause, with around 350 runners in the 5K and the one-mile fun run.

“This year, we just really wanted to see it grow,” Abbey said. “We are expecting around 500 runners, but I have no idea how much we could raise. I really can’t say I have a goal, but that I personally would like to raise more money than we did last year.”

This year, Abbey said growth for the event has been encouraged by a lot of word-of-mouth advertising, along with passing out flyers. She said the cause has turned into a city-wide event, with a much broader pool of participants than she could have ever imagined.

“Cookies For Kids’ Cancer is just such a great organization to be involved in. I really didn’t expect (the event) to grow to the size it did, but as I went through the process, so many people wanted to be involved,” Abbey said.

Abbey says she couldn’t pull off the event off without the help of her family and friends, like her mom Janine, her number one volunteer, she said, who has been on board with Abbey from day one as a top supporter and a true “go-getter.” Abbey also said her friends Caroline Carmichael, who is coordinating the bake sale portion with her mom Kelley, and Joy Hart, who is managing the volunteers, both have been great supporters.

“It is my project essentially, but it is definitely not a solo effort whatsoever,” Abbey said. “I have had so much help throughout the process both last year and this year.”

This year’s event will run Saturday, March 23, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., with race day registration starting at 8:30 a.m. The 5K costs $30 to register and $15 for the one-mile fun run. The bake sale will feature sweet treats from local residents and businesses such as Gigi’s Cupcakes and Polka Dot Bake Shop.

Learn more about the Good Cookie 5K and Bake Sale at www.cookiesforkidscancer.racesonline.com.