COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Make Your Mark on the Board (1995, 1997, 2001, 2003)
A community awareness campaign designed to inform the community about the candidates for school board and to educate the candidates on the responsibilities of being a quality school board member. Takes place every other year.

Awards and Events

Haworth H. Haworth Award for Education Advocacy
Award annually given to a Charlotte-Mecklenburg citizen who demonstrates extraordinary voluntary service to improving local PreK-12 public education. This award seeks to recognize, strengthen and support education volunteers and advocates, and to highlight the importance of public involvement in improving the educational well-being of children.

Volunteer Opportunities

Join our Advocates for Education Team! We want your input on our work teams and initiatives.

If you are interested in volunteering with Charlotte Advocates for Education please contact us at (704) 335-0100.

Communications

The Advocate
A weekly electronic newsletter designed to inform the community of relevant local, state and national education news. (Click above to download the newsletters)

Annual Report
Charlotte Advocates for Education “year in review.” The report highlights our programs over the past year and recognizes our many supporters.

Speaker’s Bureau
Designed to inform, empower and engage businesses and community groups around public education. Contact us if your organization is interested in viewing this presentation (704) 335-0100 x-12.

North Carolina State School Board Meetings
For brief highlights of the NC State School Board Meeting click here. For more detailed meeting information concerning the agenda and reports from each meeting, visit the North Carolina State Board of Education website.

Partnerships

Catalyst/North Carolina
Provide proven technical assistance over the next five years and start-up funding over the next three years to help ensure North Carolina’s public schools are second to none. Catalyst will stive to effectively articulate the challenges facing public schools and point to solutions that only the private sector can contribute in every North Carolina media market. Partners include the Public School Forum of North Carolina, North Carolina’s corporate and private foundation community, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, community education organizations and LEA superintendents and school systems. For more information: http://www.ncforum.org

Public Education Network (PEN)
The mission of the Public Education Network (PEN) is to build demand and mobilize resources for quality public eudcation for all children through a national constituency of local education funds (LEFs) and individuals. [Advocates for Education is an LEF]. For more information: http://www.publiceducation.org

West Meck CERI (Collaborating for Educational Reform)

In 1998, six partner organizations, from Charlotte to Raleigh, received a one-year planning grant from the Ford Foundation as part of their national “Collaborating for Educational Reform Initiative (CERI).” Through this national initiative the Ford Foundation seeks to help urban districts develop K-16 collaborative partnerships that have the leverage to create sustainable systemic educational reform. The one-year planning grant funded a) the creation of the West Mecklenburg – Collaborating for Educational Reform Initiative partnership, b) an in-depth study of the 10 West Mecklenburg Schools, and c) the development of a partnership plan to create lasting systemic reform in the West Mecklenburg Feeder Area schools.

The Partners:

• Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
• Charlotte Advocates for Education
• Central Piedmont Community College
• Johnson C. Smith University
• University of North Carolina at Charlotte
• N.C. Education and Law Project
• Project Public School Forum of N.C.

After a year of study, the partners – with support from over 150 educators, families, students and community members – created a comprehensive plan to improve schools and raise student achievement.

They received a second grant award to carry out the plan, which links the school district, community-based, non-profit organizations, colleges and universities – including state and national groups.

With a primary focus on the West Mecklenburg schools, the initiative will ultimately offer successful strategies and lessons learned for other schools in Charlotte and across the country.

The Schools:

• Allenbrook Elementary
• Oakdale Elementary
• Paw Creek Elementary
• Pawtuckett Elementary
• Thomasboro Elementary
• Tuckaseegee Elementary
• Westerly Hills Elementary
• Coulwood Middle
• Wilson Middle
• West Mecklenburg High