First Day Of School In Charlotte, NC. Comes With New Core Standards

Today marks the first day of school for students in the Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools system (CMS). As my children will tell you; I call it the happiest day of the year as a parent. But this year marks the beginning of new changes within the Charlotte Mecklenburg School System that filters all the way down to the parents. How this will play out I am not sure yet....But I am encouraged by the changes. CMS is changing the way teachers teach and our children learn in school. Gone are the days of facts and memorizing information. They want the children to ask questions and interact more in the classroom and be inquisitive rather than take notes and memorize information to pass a test. This is part of the common core standards that the school has rolled out in conjunction with a large amount of other states in math and reading. But they are asking the teachers to take it to another level in other classes as well... My oldest daughter teachers in science and history were talking about it as well.... She likes the idea of preparing us for real life and being creative and thinking things through and reasoning to the why than just accepting it as a fact..... Charlotte schools are also rolling out new end of the year tests to see how the students performed over the year and how much they grasped. It will also be used to evaluate how teachers are performing in school as well... This has been a hot topic among teachers, parents and students alike on how one exam can decide a teacher's fate. it has met with lots of controversy and I know teachers that teach the kids to the exam and not how they normally would just to ensure they do well on the test.....This will continue to be a very heated topic during the school year again this year. Charlotte schools are also trying to go more digital across the board. Most classrooms have smart boards and computers in the classroom. Now they are trying to take it to another level in the age of digital and move toward children having access to electronic devices in school. For example i-pads or net books and small laptops. They are rolling it out in a sample amount of schools to test it. I think in this digital age that as the children move up computers are necessary for the everyday work. One of the largest and most sought after changes is parent and community involvement in the education. In the past it was perceived (whether right or wrong) that it did not matter what the parents said the school board did what it wanted to and had made their minds up about it. Now the new superintendent of schools for charlotte is taking it to the people so to speak. Trying to get parents and communities involved in the education of our children is a hot topic this year . All in all this is the first day of school and the new changes being implemented starting today. Being a parent of four children in the school system form elementary school all the way up to high school; I am looking forward to see what the year brings on.... These new standards are supposed to help our children learn more and be better prepared to join the workforce or attend college. Change is a necessity today and I am open to change that will help our children blossom in the future. Dave diCecco Realtor/Broker Coldwell Banker United www.davedicecco.com