Olympic Community of Schools

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Olympic Community of Schools
Established 1966
Type Public
Principal Jerry Brown (Biotech)
Matthew Hayes (Global)
Todd Pipkins (Business)
Rudolph Ayinde (METS)
Melody Sears (Renaissance)
Students approx. 1,850 (2006)
Grades 9–12
Location 4301 Sandy Porter Road,
Charlotte, North Carolina Flag of North Carolina, United States Flag of the United States 28273
District Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
Colors Scarlet/Col.Blue/White (sports and shared programs)
Athletics NCHSAA 3A
Mascot Trojan
Information +1 980 343 3800
Website Biotech, Global, Business, METS, Renaissance

Olympic Community of Schools is located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and is one of 19 high schools in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) system. It joined the Coalition of Essential Schools in 2005 with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation[1], and has split into 5 small, theme-based schools. They are:

  • The School of Biotechnology, Health, and Public Administration at Olympic (Biotech)
  • The School of Global Studies & Economics at Olympic (Global)
  • The School of International Business and Communication Studies at Olympic (Business)
  • The School of Math, Engineering, Science and Technology at Olympic (METS)
  • The Renaissance School at Olympic (Renaissance)

Although its name change is official, it is still commonly referred to by its former name, Olympic High School.

Contents

[edit] History

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Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion.


[edit] Students

Olympic is one of a handful of high schools in CMS that straddle the line between a comparable number of low-performing, primarily urban schools and high-performing, primarily suburban schools, and thus its student body largely mirrors the district as a whole. For comparison, Olympic has an ethnic makeup of 44.3% Black, 34.4% White, 14.2% Hispanic, 6.0% Asian and 1.2% Other (in the 2005-06 school year).[2] CMS' demographics are 42.4% Black, 36.2% White, 13.6% Hispanic, 4.3% Asian and 3.5% Other.[3] Its pass rate on the 2006-07 North Carolina End-of-Course tests, used to sample knowledge and mastery of subject areas most students take as freshmen and sophomores, was 63.2%, near the CMS average of 65.7%.[4]

The graduating class of 2006, around 300 students, received $2.3 million in scholarships.[5]

[edit] Extracurricular

[edit] Athletics

Olympic is in the Queen City 4A/3A split conference. It is a member school of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association. It was a 4A school until 2005, when it was moved down to 3A after the opening of Waddell High School gave it lower projected Average Daily Membership (ADM) numbers.

The football program recently introduced its 8th head coach in 2007. Notables coaches include Dave Johnson (1980 - 88), who remains a teacher and is the "Voice of the Trojans" as long-time announcer at football games, and Joe White (1967 - 79), the current chairman of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education. The football team has made the NCHSAA Playoffs in the following years: 1970, 1991, 1993, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006. The best season Olympic had was in 1970 when they finished 10-3, losing 14-0 in the 4A state championship game. Olympic has only had 2 seasons of 10 wins, in the years 1970 and 2006, finishing 10-3 each year.

Other sports include boy and girl's soccer, boy and girl's basketball, volleyball, boy and girl's track, boy and girl's cross country, softball, baseball, wrestling, boy and girl's tennis, golf, and boy and girl's swimming. Both varsity and junior varsity teams have won a number of conference championships and 2 state championships over the years.[6][7]

[edit] Programs

Olympic's U.S. Army JROTC has an "honor unit with distinction" gold star, which it has held for 18 consecutive years. The gold star is worn by students and staff, and is the highest honor a high school JROTC can obtain. It is received when a 95% or more is given in what is known as the Annual Formal Inspection (AFI), which audits different areas of the JROTC program, and is conducted by a group of officers sent by the Army. It has also routinely won first in the Superintendent's Cup, which is awarded to the 5 JROTC's with the highest overall combined scores from the year's competitions, except for in 2007 and 2008 when it won second to Hopewell High School.[8][9]

The Olympic Marching Trojan Band supports the varsity football team at its games, and competes regularly with other schools in CMS and around the region. It has been known to place well in these competitions despite being a smaller marching band. It also holds its own competition every year, the Trojan Classic, which is its biggest fundraiser for travel and competitions.[10][11]

[edit] Small Schools

The small schools conversion began with the securing of a grant in 2005 from the Coalition of Essential Schools' (CES) Small Schools Project, a 5 year initiative backed by the education arm of the Gates Foundation. An initial $305,000 was received for planning. This planning process involved 5 committees of teachers, parents, and students forging out the specifics of each school of no more than 400 students, such as its themes and what part of the Olympic campus it would be located in. The hiring of principals and visits to other CES affiliated schools across the country were also covered. The results were presented at the end of the 05-06 school year to CES for a further $1.3 million for the next two years.[12]

Students, at first skeptical and not wanting to be separated from friends, have taken a liking to Olympic's more intimate atmosphere that has afforded principals to get to know them by name.[13] There have been challenges, however, like setting up channels of communication among the 5 schools.[5]

Critics say the small schools movement is new, and few schools have produced long-term academic results. They also emphasize the importance of reform not stopping at smaller settings. For instance, generic courses driven by multiple-choice tests being replaced with challenging projects linked to real-life results. This involves a certain degree of experimentation and creativity that can be hobbled by district mandates, too many teachers relying on routine, budget restraints, and a test-driven culture instituted by an array of local and national achievement exams.[14]

Most agree that dealing with these obstacles at Olympic will require extraordinary leadership and leaps of faith by all parties involved. There has been a noticeable increase in involvement by parents and the community. It is the hoped that enthusiasm like this can be sustained and even grow as Olympic's success is measured in the coming years.[15]

[edit] 2006-07

Attendance for athletic events was the highest since 1982.[16]

Parents and community residents organized an effort to bring attention to Olympic's aging facilities and lack of funding for improvements. A capital campaign was started to work with community and local business leaders in raising money. The ultimate goal is $10 million. Presentations by both students and adults were made to the Steele Creek Residents Association and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education.[17][18]

Students, going by the name "Trojan Teams with a Cause", partnered with United Way of the Central Carolinas, and awarded a $5000 grant to the renovation of The Relatives youth homeless shelter, lead by Providence Day School students.[19]

A 1,150-square-foot, three-bedroom house for Habitat for Humanity was built on school property by advanced construction students in Olympic's METS school, with the $70,000 required for the project raised by students in the Business school. The house will be transported to a site in northwest Charlotte by a professional mover.[20]

Pamela Espinosa, principal from 2000 to 2006 and executive principal since 2006, relinquished her position in full to the 5 Olympic small school principals.[21][22]

[edit] Future

CMS may build a new high school near The Palisades in coming years. Former Executive Principal Pamela Espinosa and others worry that it could lead to a "have and have-not school". They say that they are otherwise hopeful that innovation and pride will lead the school into an exciting future.[5]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Olympic celebrates its community. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.
  2. ^ School Profiles. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.
  3. ^ Facts Facts on CMS (PDF). Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.
  4. ^ Smolowitz, Peter. (2007, 26 June). CMS tests scores a mixed bag. The Charlotte Observer.
  5. ^ a b c Valle, Kirsten. (2007, 4 March). Principal: 'We have a lot of work to do'. The Charlotte Observer.
  6. ^ Olympic High School. CarolinaVarsity.com Wiki.
  7. ^ Olympic High School Athletic Booster Club.
  8. ^ Olympic High School JROTC.
  9. ^ Ceremony held for JROTC cadets. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.
  10. ^ Olympic Marching Trojan Band.
  11. ^ Smith, Celeste. (2007, 9 November). Cancellation upsets band supporters. The Charlotte Observer.
  12. ^ Core Schools Project. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.
  13. ^ Helms, Ann. (2007, 31 May). Big hopes poured into small settings. The Charlotte Observer.
  14. ^ Helms, Ann. (2006, 5 February). Caution urged in shift to smaller high schools. The Charlotte Observer.
  15. ^ Helms, Ann. (2006, 5 February). Fresh teaching methods also part of reform. The Charlotte Observer.
  16. ^ Trojan Torch. Volume 41 (2007).
  17. ^ Valle. Kirsten. (2007, 25 February). Residents' goal: Raise money for Olympic High. The Charlotte Observer.
  18. ^ Valle, Kirsten. (2007, 5 April). Volunteers, money coming from Olympic. The Charlotte Observer.
  19. ^ Wayman, Michele. (2007, 28 June). Youth shelter receives a makeover. The Charlotte Observer.
  20. ^ Valle, Kirsten. (2007 10 May). Kids build a real house at school. The Charlotte Observer.
  21. ^ Lyttle, Steve. (2007, 27 June). 5 CMS principals named. The Charlotte Observer.
  22. ^ Espinosa to lead McClintock Middle. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
High schools … full list Ardrey Kell | Berry Academy | Butler | East Meck | Garinger | Harding | Hopewell | Independence | Mallard Creek | Myers Park | North Meck | Northwest | Olympic | Providence | South Meck | Vance | Waddell | West Charlotte | West Meck
Middle schools … full list Alexander Graham | Cochrane | Piedmont | Quail Hollow
Elementary schools … full list Albemarle Road | Shamrock Gardens
Alternative and Exceptional schools … full list Metro School | Morgan | Derita | Hawthorne | Midwood | Morningside at Graham
v • d • e
Queen City 3A/4A
Charlotte Catholic • Garinger • Harding • Olympic • Phillip O. Berry • Waddell • West Meck