Data diving with CMS

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board has invited citizens to be part of a five-month study of student assignment, academics, busing, magnets and other hot topics. Folks who want to dive in can review all the data that board members got Tuesday, along with presentations made by staff, by going to the Web site and clicking "documents."
Among the interesting items: A chart that lists how many students live in the zone for each neighborhood school, how many of them attended that school in 2009-10 and how many are choosing other CMS options. There are also several "utilization charts" showing how full CMS considered each school during the year that ends today, though they can be confusing.
An intensive spate of meetings in the next three weeks will focus on big-picture questions, rather than school-by-school data and decisions, officials say. Public forums start June 21; find details and see the guiding principles that will be discussed by clicking "community forums."
The board plans to vote on any revisions to those principles on June 29, then delve into more specific actions starting in July. The goal is to have all decisions made by November so changes can take effect in 2011-12.
Questions, suggestions and comments can be sent to comprehensivereview@cms.k12.nc.us.