Neely's News
Learning More About CSS
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Mrs. Neely and Dylan at the egg drop
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November 10, 2011
Getting to Know Charlotte Secondary School’s Middle School
As most of you know, I don’t like to miss an opportunity to speak about Charlotte Secondary School! Today, I’d like to speak to our current families as well as our prospective families. One thing for sure is the importance of finding a school that is the right fit for your student and family. Not every school is going to be the right place for every family, and Charlotte Secondary is no exception to this rule. It is also important to note that a school may have a social environment that is perfect for a student but an academic mission that may not meet a student’s needs.
Many of you have heard my staff and me say that CSS is a “Paideia’ school, but many do not know what that really means day to day for the students who attend CSS. Paideia is derived from the Greek term meaning to “raise or rear children through living experiences.” Current Paideia schools, including CSS, are based on the Mortimer Adler Paideia method and are rooted in inquiry-based learning. Our faculty and staff are trained and receive professional development through the National Paideia Institute located at the Friday Center here in North Carolina.
Paideia Method
As the National Paideia Institute recommends, we provide three forms of instruction. The most common form of instruction you will see at CSS is Intellectual Coaching. These projects are driven by the Common Core, but the depth of the inquiry is driven by our students’ desire to learn meaningful information about the subject and then apply this to their learning projects. The teachers act as coaches or facilitators guiding students to find answers and apply the knowledge to the world. Students begin and end units of study with Socratic seminars that engage students in intellectual dialogue with teacher as moderator stimulating thoughts through strategic questioning. Only a small percentage of instruction is directed by the teachers providing great opportunities for students who have not been challenged in a traditional classroom to think meaningfully and deeply on their own. The responsibility that students have in their own learning is far greater than one would find in a school where teachers are providing a daily lesson and students then practice a skill that the teacher taught during the lesson. You will often hear me refer to them as “philosophers”.
Characteristics of Successful Paideia Students
Parents and teachers have observed certain characteristics present in students who have experienced a high level of academic success at Charlotte Secondary School. The most important of these characteristics is a deep desire to learn – intrinsic motivation. When students are self-motivated and self-directed in their learning, teachers are able to support the development of skills that create life-long learners and problem solvers. These students, without question, become innovative, creative thinkers and problem solvers, necessary and important skills for students who will be the next generation of leaders, citizens, and workers, many in fields and occupations that do not yet exist.
Civics Project
At CSS, we strive to make the learning environment a nurturing and creative climate. We have a weekly civics block where we as a school focus on becoming positive contributing members of society. This year’s project has been, “The Butterfly Project”. All students in every grade are committing an hour of their week to studying the negative impact hatred, bigotry, racism, and ignorance have had throughout history, particularly during the horrible genocide of the Holocaust. Each student was presented with a certificate bearing the name of one of the 1.5 million children who perished during this horrible event. As part of the workshop, each student painted a ceramic butterfly inspired by the memory of this child. This project has been made possible through the generosity of Larry Schwartz in loving memory of his parents Margaret and Lou Schwartz, both of whom were Holocaust survivors.
Code of Conduct
Charlotte Secondary School holds our pupils to a high ethical code, with the expectation that they will act as positive members of our school community. Any action to the contrary receives the natural and appropriate consequences.
Atmosphere
If you have had the opportunity to visit CSS, there is no doubt that our facilities are smaller than those found in our traditional public middle schools, but comparable to or a little larger than our independent and private counterparts. Our intimate environment does allow learning to proceed at a quicker and more rigorous pace than found in other schools.
Learning More about Charlotte Secondary School’s High School
Looking Ahead
Charlotte Secondary will begin adding high school grades in the fall of 2012 beginning with 9th grade followed by 10th, 11th, and finally 12th grade in 2015. The first year our 9th grade class will be closed to the public and capped at 40 seats filled by our current 8th grade students. In each of the following years, we will cap each grade level at 100 students or as space permits. Students can expect a highly rigorous course load with AP (Advance Placement) core classes. Students will be able to take additional core classes in Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, and English to enhance their studies and better prepare for placements into various universities (public and private) in and out of North Carolina.
Parent FAQs
My child is missing some skills. Is CSS willing to adopt a program that will provide my student with these missing skills?
It is not a matter of willingness. As a public charter school, CSS must make every effort to accommodate any student enrolled. At the same time, CSS is governed by its charter that mandates educating students using Paideia instruction. Our mission is “…to challenge students to think critically and creatively, act with ethical and aesthetic awareness, and communicate in a free and open exchange of ideas.” Any other structured program would be outside these parameters and thus in violation of our charter.
Do students take tests at Charlotte Secondary School? What about EOG’s and EOC’s?
Tests are given as a means of assessing student progress, but greater emphasis is placed on projects and other applications of the learning that occurs in the classroom. Charlotte Secondary School is a North Carolina Charter School, so we are required by the state and federal government to administer EOG’s and EOC’s to all of our students at the end of each year or each course.
Warm Regards,
T.H. Neely
Principal
Thursday, July 28, 2012
I hope you all have received your passwords to sign-up for electives and Open House/Orientations. If you have not please send an email to admin@charlottesecondary.org
I wanted you all to know that the Nc Allliance Conference is being held this coming week in Raleigh so we will be gone from Sunday, July 30th until Wednesday, August 3rd. There will be no one in the office during this time. We will return on Thursday, August 4th.
Summer is all but over and while we hope you are rested we have worked hard to ensure that CSS will be better than ever before.
See you all soon!
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
I can't believe that the year has come and gone and we are in the second week of summer all ready. Where does the time go?
Well there are lots of great and exciting topics of news going around the school, and I want to give you a heads up about a few things. First, the state legislature passed a bill that will require all schools to go 185 days. This will add 5 days to our current calendar. We have not officially decided how we are going to handle adding these days, but I anticipate adding 5 half-days at the end of the current 2011-2012 calendar.
With all the splashing and dashing going on, CSS is adding a swim team this fall. You will receive an email with directions for how to sign-up to participate in the fall middle school league. Swimming is not an expensive sport, but there will be a minimal fee for participants. Kari Lawrence our new 7th grade science teacher will also be CSS’s swim coach. Swim team will be open to all grades.
If swimming is not your thing, come out for the after school band. Mr. Artie from Community Charter is willing to organize an afterschool band. If you have ever heard the CCS band, you know of the amazing things he has done with students. If you would like your child to participate in band on Wednesday afternoons after school, please follow the directions for online sign-up that you will receive through an email June 30th.
You will also receive an email in the next few days explaining how to go onto the school’s webpage to sign-up for next year’s electives. Everyone will take healthy living (health and PE), and you will be able to select one elective for each semester for the remainder of the year.
Yes, we will have Thursday clubs this year! We will work hard to have club sign-ups before the end of the summer.
For all of you that are new to our school, welcome, we are so glad that you have joined our school family. We will have all new students come in on August 8th, 9th and 10th for half days to take MAP testing and get to know other students that are new to CSS.
On a different note, I want to mention how important is that all students be at school for the first, 20 days of school. Every North Carolina school’s funding has been cut substantially and federal stimulus money is gone; so, it is more critical than ever that we all be mindful that our school’s funding for the entire year depends on each and every student’s attendance on the first 20 days of school.
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Mrs. Berg and Mr. Sproul going up for the egg drop
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