Early Childhood Education Update

School is in session across Charlotte-Mecklenburg, and this year marks a milestone for some of our youngest learners.

The County’s publicly funded pre-kindergarten program, known as MECK Pre-K, begins this fall and will reach approximately 600 children previously not served on other local pre-k programs.
Smart Start of Mecklenburg was selected to administer the program with close collaboration and oversight by the County Manager’s Office. Smart Start hired a program director in July and has been working hard on marketing, provider recruitment and selection, and collaboration with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools on NC Pre-K standards and family recruitment.

Smart Start held a meeting with interested child care centers who wanted to open Meck Pre-K classrooms in June. In July, 55 applications (representing 80 potential classrooms) were received. An independent site selection team trained by the NC Division of Child Development and Early Education used the NC Pre-K rubric to visit and score provider applicants. Working with County GIS, mapping software was used to identify the location of potential centers and their proximity to neighborhoods with high poverty, poorly performing elementary schools, and current NC Pre-K classrooms so that 33 sites could be strategically selected to positively impact early learning outcomes.

Enrollment is live on the Smart Start web site and applications are being accepted until Aug. 31. Active efforts throughout the County to recruit students have begun and will continue.

Classrooms will open in cohorts. The first set will likely open mid- September. The second and third set are likely to open in October.

For more information, click here or contact Tameika Leslie at 980-314-6124 or Tameika.Leslie@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov.

 

Livable Meck’s ‘Voice of the Community’ Continues with Upcoming Community Forums in September

Livable Meck’s “Voice of the Community” series is in full swing. The series features in-person forums, online surveys and other engagement opportunities designed to help
community leaders discover what matters most to Mecklenburg County residents.

The most recent community forum was held on Sunday, Aug. 26 at Davidson United Methodist Church in Davidson. Additional forums are listed below.

  • Sept. 13 – Southminster Retirement Community hosting at 8919 Park Road, Charlotte.  Register here to attend.
  • Sept. 25 – The Town of Pineville hosting at “The Hut” 413 Johnston Dr., Pineville, NC  28134.  Register here to attend.

The series runs until April 2019. There is still lots of opportunities for community organizations, private businesses, neighborhoods and faith-based groups to host a “Voice of the Community” event.

More information is available here.

If you have questions, please contact Rebecca Herbert at 980-314-3631 or Rebecca.Herbert@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov.

 

County Announces Labor Day Schedule

Mecklenburg County government offices and agencies will be closed on Monday, Sep. 3, 2018 in observance of the Labor Day holiday.

This excludes the Sheriff’s Office and other essential services.

Residents needing assistance on Labor Day will still be able to call CharMeck 311.

Due to the holiday, our next Board Bulletin will be sent on Tuesday, Sept. 4. The next Board of County Commissioners regular meeting will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 5.

I hope that everyone has a safe and happy Labor Day.

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