Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools reveals new details about magnet school shuffle

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools announced plans in February to restructure its magnet offerings, and revealed more plans on Tuesday for arts, STEM and foreign language programs.

Plans involve increasing the number of specialized teachers at magnet campuses, extending language immersion through grade 12 and partnering with businesses and STEM organizations to pair students with career opportunities.

The magnet overhaul also involves reducing the district’s current 17 magnet programs into six K-12 pathways: arts, Montessori, STEM, International Baccalaureate & Learning Immersion/Talent Development, world languages and early colleges.

The change would take effect during the 2027-28 school year, though the proposal isn’t final yet. CMS Deputy Superintendent Melissa Balknight will present her official recommendation at the CMS board’s next meeting on April 28. A public hearing will be held May 12, and the board will take a vote May 26.

Approximately 20,000 students apply for the district’s choice lottery each year.

Arts

CMS already created three district-wide arts magnet schools for grades K-12: University Park Creative Arts (elementary), First Ward Creative Arts (middle) and Northwest School of the Arts (high school).

There are currently partial arts magnet programs at Long Creek Elementary, Greenway Park Elementary and Crestdale Middle School. Under the new model, those programs would dissolve.

Balknight told CMS board members Tuesday night specialized teachers at dissolved programs would move to one of the district’s three arts magnet schools to increase capacity.

“One of the things that we’re already doing is working to build capacity at the elementary level, so whether students have resources in the home, if the child has interest in being in the arts program, we’re building that into the school day,” Balknight said.

Students in the arts pathway in elementary school would get a spot for middle school, Balknight said. At the end of 8th grade, they would have to audition for high school programs.

“We believe that, if the child has the will, then we will support them with the skill that’s needed to move through the program K through 12,” she told the board.

Science, technology, engineering and math

Under the new model, the district’s STEM program would take a more specific focus on hands-on learning, critical thinking and career exploration.

CMS would organize field trips and guest speakers from local STEM-related businesses and higher education institutions for students, Balknight said. In high school, those would include Atrium Health’s The Pearl, UNC Charlotte’s High School STEM Research Program and Central Piedmont Community College’s STEM Prep, among others.

High schoolers in the STEM program could also take specialty courses in a few main areas:

• Advanced manufacturing and engineering
• Automotive
• Biomedical science
• Carpentry
• Game art design
• Graphic and digital design
• Software development
• Sport and event marketing

The district plans to open Second Ward High School, a new STEM-focused magnet high school in uptown, during the 2028-29 school year.

World languages

The main change to the district’s current language immersion offerings would be that Garinger High School in east Charlotte would now offer a dual-language program.

The plan for Garinger involves a Spanish dual-language program in which students who are native English speakers learn alongside those who are native Spanish speakers. More languages may be added to Garinger’s offerings, but those plans have not been finalized, Balknight said.

The district currently offers programs in Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, French and German.

“World language and dual language immersion programs strengthen students’ communication skills while fostering cultural awareness and global empathy,” Balknight said. “In a district as diverse as Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, these programs also reflect who our students are and who they’ll need to be in a globally connected workforce.”

This story was originally published April 15, 2026 at 3:16 PM.