When Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools introduced its PACE Academy last summer, the principal described it as a model for North Carolina schools trying to put teenagers new to the United States on the path to success.

Last year, CMS had more than 30,000 students learning English, more than any other place in the state. The new academy at Waddell High in southwest Charlotte is designed to help high school students learn English, adapt to American culture and prepare for graduation.

The plan was to enroll 250 students in the first year and 375 this year. But when the school opened in August last year, there were only 59 students.

This summer, 116 students registered. However, when CMS staff contacted families to confirm their travel plans, they learned that number had dropped to 89 – assuming everyone actually showed up.

Reducing teaching staff is not an option, deputy head teacher Melissa Balknight told the school board on Tuesday.

“You have to have certain things in place to have all the components of a high school. And so we have assigned 24 staff members to the PACE program, which is funded with $2.8 million,” she said.

Last minute scramble

Transportation costs were settled in late July. Balknight and Superintendent Crystal Hill made a last-minute suggestion that they said would better utilize teachers and provide more support to students: move PACE Academy to the other side of town, to Garinger High in east Charlotte.

When the board approved the PACE Academy in 2022, it was intended to be part of a larger school that also included an aviation magnet program. In reality, the only other program at Waddell is the CMS Virtual Academy, meaning PACE students won’t have English-speaking peers to learn from.

Garinger, located in the heart of Charlotte’s international community, expects to have 166 students eligible for PACE – that is, those new to the U.S. and with limited English skills. Hill’s plan called for relocating Waddell’s PACE faculty and students and merging them with Garinger’s English-learning program, which is not yet fully staffed.

“More students will have access to the full spectrum of the high school experience, including sports, performing and visual arts, other activities, clubs and services that promote their social and academic development.”

But time was running out. The teachers started classes on Friday and the students arrived on August 26.

On Monday, CMS informed staff and families that the relocation plan would be up for a vote at Tuesday night’s school board meeting. Balknight says they’ve gotten mixed reactions from parents.

However, board members said those who contacted them were not happy about it.

No time to adapt

Greg Asciutto, Managing Director of CharlotteEAST, addressed the board. The Eastside Community Development Group has long been a supporter of Garinger High, and Asciutto was a former teacher there.

“Having PACE at Garinger makes sense. Absolutely, it makes sense,” he said. “However, this is not an acceptable rollout.”

Board members shared those concerns, saying they had received emails from students and parents who were stunned when they were told of a major change shortly before classes began.

“I understand the numbers. But is this the right time?” asks Vice Chair Dee Rankin.

“I just feel like there’s still a lot of unknowns and it’s really, really late to introduce this to multi-language learners,” said board member Summer Nunn.

Board member Lenora Shipp noted that Waddell High was presented as an ideal location in 2022, in an area that is also seeing a growing international population. This community was promised a full-fledged high school in Waddell, she said, but that promise has not been kept.

“We have moved programs in and out of EE Waddell and we have not yet developed a plan for this high school that would make a difference in an overcrowded community,” Shipp said.

The short-term commitment was a ray of hope, said CEO Stephanie Sneed.

“I’m very impressed by the fact that we have all these non-English speaking parents and first generation students who are engaging in this way, with passion, with knowledge, with facts,” she said. “It amazes me and is an example of what government is. I can tell you that my decision is based on that.”

To make it work

The original plan for Waddell’s PACE Academy was approved in November 2022, when CMS was in the midst of a leadership transition. Interim Superintendent Hugh Hattabaugh had just announced his plans to leave early, Hill was slated to succeed him in January, and new board members had been elected but not yet sworn in.

The new leadership team canceled the promised flying magnet at Waddell before school opened in 2023 because of low student interest. However, the PACE program continued. It was described as a magnet program, but Hill said Tuesday that was not an accurate description.

Like other high school magnets, PACE offers transportation only from express stops at schools throughout the county. This means students must travel several miles from their homes to a bus stop, which can be challenging for newcomer families.

Hill and Balknight told the board they could make the transition to Garinger in the short term, but also said they would find a way to keep the program alive at Waddell if the board wanted that. Last year, CMS continued recruiting and had 130 PACE students in January, more than double the number in August.

The board voted 8-1 to delay the relocation plans, clearing the way for the program to remain in Waddell. Melissa Easley voted no—not, as she later said, because she wanted to approve the move to Garinger, but because she wanted to abandon it altogether.

Unclear future

The motion does not indicate when the Board will reconsider the plans for PACE. CMS plans to Start a review of all magnet programs and neighborhood schools in September, spanning the next few months. Several members said the plans for PACE and for Waddell as a whole should be part of that.

Meanwhile, the PACE Academy will open in an environment that several members acknowledged was not cost-effective.

Board member Thelma Byers-Bailey, whose district includes Waddell, said that “students’ lives are more important than the money we spend.”

But she and other board members told Hill they appreciated her offering them an option.

“It is your responsibility to tell us, the decision makers, what the situation is and how much it costs,” said Byers-Baiey. “The responsibility is ours.”