This year Charlotte Mecklenburg school (CMS) district made some major changes. It closed several schools and created new ones. Some schools now go from kindergarten to 8th grade while the Military and Global Leadership Academy goes from kindergarten to 12th grade. It's the first of its kind in CMS.
The principal Lawrence Mayes said there were challenges this year. One challenge was adding elementary school students to a school that already had middle and high school grade.
The other challenge was getting all the teachers on the same page.
"Trying to get teachers at the elementary level to connect with the middle and high schools," Mayes said. "As you talk about the spiraling up of elementary - tying some of the core subjects as well as the languages with the middle and high schools."
Mayes says there will be changes next year. Middle and high schoolers will be in separate parts of the building while some teachers will be reassigned.
Parents weighed in on how well the school year went for the military academy.
"I think it went pretty good," CMS Parent Lunette Reese said. "I just feel like they could have done a little more for the middle and high schools - it's like the elementary took over."
Resse recommends some changes for the older students.
"8th grade graduation," the mother said. "Socials, after school things other schools would do so middle and high school would feel more important."
The principal says not many disciplinary problems happened at the school this year, and he reports no major issues with the little kids riding the same bus with the older students.
"Many of our high schoolers," Mayes said. "Pretty much have paired themselves with the little kids."
Mayes believes next year will be better, but he's giving himself a grade for making it through the first year of leading a K-12 school.
"I'd like to say we are at least a B," Mayes said. "Not less than a C."
CMS is also assessing how well things went this year. The district should have a report by July.
Copyright 2012 WBTV. All rights reserved.
