CHCCS Board to Vote on Revised Glenwood Magnet Plan Wednesday

It has been a turbulent year for the Glenwood Elementary School community. But some parents and school staff say a new plan – and the process that brought it forward – have helped to build back some trust and momentum.

Backlash came quickly last fall when the Chapel Hill – Carrboro City Schools Board of Education voted 4-3 to transition Glenwood to a Mandarin Dual Language magnet program. The discussion on how to continue the Mandarin program but fix nagging overcrowding issues at the district’s oldest and smallest elementary school has been a discussion point for years. But parents of students on the traditional track at Glenwood argued against the full transition and alleged ethics concerns against multiple board members. The board ultimately voted to delay implementation of the program and work to find a solution that could allow the traditional track to remain at Glenwood, at least in part.

A proposal brought forward by the Glenwood Magnet Implementation Committee at a board work session on May 21 seemed to split that difference in a way that more board members and the public were more comfortable with.

“I didn’t know the process could be this thorough; I didn’t know the process could be this thoughtful. So, thank you. I feel like this is a model process for how we maybe approach these things in the future,” board member Pat Heinrich said at last month’s meeting. Heinrich has a child in the Mandarin program and was a target of complaints following last fall’s vote.

The new proposal would have a lottery system for both the traditional track students and the Mandarin program, and it would focus the school on being a STEAM² magnet school, saying this would prioritize community desires, leverage resources and prepare students for the workforce.

For the lottery system, all currently enrolled students in either the traditional track or Mandarin program would be guaranteed placement moving forward and rising kindergartners with older siblings in either program at Glenwood would be guaranteed placement. From there, the traditional track would prioritize families in the modified Glenwood attendance zone.

Both tracks would then prioritize neighborhood segments across the district for economically disadvantaged students before opening up to all students across the district.

Closing the achievement gap was listed by the implementation committee as the number one goal of the program.

District assistant superintendent Jessica O’Donovan said closing that gap was a focus of staff work across Chapel Hill – Carrboro Schools.

“These are research-based strategies, they certainly informed our work in developing the proposal, but they also inform our work across the district. We recognize that the Glenwood magnet program has 490 students; that’s a drop in the bucket about the work we need to do districtwide to close our achievement and opportunity gap.

“However, we want it to be one important piece in that work. And so we want to make sure that we’re making the connections very explicit about these positive practices that will be at the core of the work at Glenwood and also the core of the work that we’re doing across the district.”

O’Donovan said there are some startup costs expected with the proposal, including the belief that there will be a need to purchase an additional school bus.

District officials said having a focus on providing support for students would be a key to avoid unnecessary attrition in the program and help all students be successful.

The proposal also recommends professional development for the Glenwood staff, placing markers in common areas of the school in English and Mandarin to promote biliteracy and community, and filling support positions with bilingual staff as positions come open.

One parent said she felt that the progress made during the last few months helped ease tensions among the Glenwood community.

“I have been involved in many implementation meetings so far,” she said. “And I really can tell that there’s a very good shift in momentum and attitude in all these conversations just since last year.”

The board is scheduled to vote on the implementation plan at Wednesday’s board meeting at the Lincoln Center beginning at 7 p.m.