Newspapers / The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, … / Jan. 20, 1983, edition 1 / Page 15
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former^ Black Student Nostalgic About CMS School Closings . - ■ - • n 11 -» < ^ rru. _ tlf A 1 A A . ^ " Post Staff Writer I am nostalgic about school closings. I guess I' always wifi be. I was at York Road High. School as a 10th grader when it was closed in 1966, and we were sent to inte grate Olympic. Area residents had been promised a new school ten tatively called South Char lotte High to be built on a hill behind York Road and we were anxiously antici pating its arrival. My York Road experl ences were beautiful and to this day I regret missing V> the last two years. To be uprooted in the middle of one’s schooling is upsetting but not insurmountable. It l^pens everyday when —sBhecne moves or changes— attendance areas. lne experiences I had at integrated Olympic were good ones. For friends at other schools the situations were not the same. The ad vantages of Olympic was that everyone was new and trying hard to work to gether to make things work. The efforts made by the school board to integrate were sound ones and for the betterment of the Charlotte community which is re known in the nation for the ease at which full integra tion took place. Former school board - superinten dents Craig Phillips and Roland Jones and present school superintendent Jay Robinson should be ap plauded for their wise de cisions and understanding and guidance in times that could have been difficult. Remember the names Torrence Lytle, Zeb Vance, Bethune, Double Oaks, Bid dleville, Fairview, Crest dale and Plato Price? They are all former Black schools which were closed or torn down. Myers Streets, Second Ward, Isabella Wyche, Gunn, Sterling, Morgan ^Ret, Billingsville and Woodland have new pur poses. ; West Charlotte, J. T. Williams, Druid Hills, Lin coln Heights, Oaklawn, Kennedy (York Road Junior High), Marie Davis, Bruns Avenue, First Ward, Irwin Avenue and Amay -James- ha VC“ never dosed j and essentially kept their purposes. But now Northwest is the las test of the former Black schools that is facing ex tinction. The plan to close it and use it to consolidate other school board services is a good one, but closing Northwest will do little to improve the racial ratios at Harding, West Charlotte, Myers Park, Olympic or .the west side Junior highs that are approaching 50 percent. Perhaps a better alter native would be to keep the schools open and to look to southeast Charlotte for stu dents to Improve ratios at the west side schools or for students to raise the student enrollments so that the small junior highs on the west side could provide all the services students need. The same could be said for Harding and West Mecklenburg. Admittedly this is not the easiest problem and Dr. JaMRobiinson has sincerely looKd at the problem and come up with what he thinks are some solutions Proposed changes in clude Midwood and sending the students to Shamrock Gardena, closing Lakeview and sending the students to Tuofcasoagao, closing Merry Oaks and sending the students to Windsor Park and closing North west and sending the stu dents (except ninth graders) to University Park which would be con- ' verted to a middle school, dose Enderly Park and •and students to Ashley Park and Westerly Hills, •end 100 students from Lansdowne to Rams Road, reassign students in the scattered housing project on Marsh Road from tedgefield F.lementary to . Park Road. Other recommendations include making West Mecklenburg and Harding High grades nine through 12, making Couhrood, Spa ugh and Wilson middle schools with grades six tnrougn eignt. university Part would become the fourth middle school in this area with grades alx through eight. The schools involved are th an area called the Inner city crescent which the school system says has lost 7.000 students in the last decade. With no population shifts and based on school system predictions, the area is expected to lose another 2.000 students by 1965-66. Two schools, Wilmore and Double Oaks, have to been closed in that area in the last decade. Two others-Irwin and Myers Park-whieh drew students from this area have been made optional schools. In explaining his change to a middle school con cept, Dr. Robinson said this would increase both West Mecklenburg and Harding to 1,300 students and allow them to give a strong cur riculum. *— One obvious negative is that the 100 students in the University Park base at tendance that would be assigned to West Charlotte lor grades 10 through 12 would have to attend West Mecklenburg in ninth grade, nils would place them at a school for one year that they would have no allegiance for whatso ever. Making West Char lotte a nine through 12 school might be an interest ing idea to explore. me west Charlotte at tendance area involves so many junior high schools: Ranson, Northwest, J. T. Williams, Alexander Gra ham, Cochrane, Wilson and— Coulwood, that this might not be feasible. With all the cross-town busing in Mecklenburg County, busing should not w«ui|j issue anymore. When my nephews went to Albemarle Road Ele mentary School, they were bused 15 miles away from their home. It is very disheartening when a school that has such a name and tradition as Northwest has to close But then I am very nostalgic. CuthbcrUoo These prices good thro Saturday, January 22,1983 * ■'" USOA Choice Whole -10-12 Ik Av*= $128 1 Lb. Fraab Cat - Wbala ar Rib Half Pork Loins DSM Cb.lt. inf Rib Rib Ey> Stub_u. *3 98 Freak Green Cabbage Frith Florida *u.BlJ *129 —11 ^ 1.5 IlUr • fall***, St atria, Via Rata, Rbiat, Ll. Ckiaall, Bar|aa4y, Chablla, Piah Cbabllt Carlo Rossi ■ Pk|. of 12 - 12 Ot. Cmi/R«|. & l». . Old Milwaukee I 99. 31 Omm Duke's Mayonnaise Pi. nil r r w • * ^ I Food Town Bleach —79^ 1 1 Ply - 4 IUII PhIi ■ ^yjj I Edon Toilet Tissue I ---■ M 4 ^ . $179 W Oi. - W/S«ftMtr Fab Detergent n 99* ' It Of. • Uf|9 Je«wPtea^L 4/*1 \1 7.« Oi. Fni Tom Macaroni ft Chooco i 4/*1 • Ot. • Uobooo Instant Potatoes r r - g 99 I H OiIIm - Fm4 T**« H Fabric Softener 3/99. <4 o i. - miiip'i Pork & Beans
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Jan. 20, 1983, edition 1
15
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