Keep our kids walking. Welcome Mandarin to our neighborhood schools.
Why CHCCS families support Option 2 for placing Glenwood’s Mandarin programs. Every number here comes from the district’s own July 16 Board presentation.
What’s being decided
Glenwood Elementary closes after 2026–27. Its STEAM² magnet has two lottery pathways that need a new home, and the Board votes on placement by August 20:
Pathway 1
Mandarin Dual Language Immersion (DLI)
Kids learn math & social studies in Mandarin — the 50/50 model.
Pathway 2
Mandarin World Language (WL)
Core subjects in English, with daily Mandarin study.
Option 1 puts both pathways at Rashkis. Option 2 puts one at Rashkis and one at Mary Scroggs, per the district’s July 16 presentation.
Option 2 protects a high-need, diverse school
Rashkis is a Schoolwide Title I school where 48.98% of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals — the second-highest FRM percentage in the district, and the fastest-rising (up nearly 16 points in five years), per the district’s own 2025–26 Title I grant application. It’s also the most racially diverse of the five candidate schools, with no majority group and 1 in 5 students being multilingual learners.
Option 1 doesn’t integrate that school — it dissolves it, scattering the district’s second-highest-need elementary community to other buildings. Option 2 keeps this community intact while bringing a Mandarin pathway into two school communities instead of one, expanding who gets access across the district.
Option 2 wins on the district’s own criteria
Kids forced to change schools (2027–28)
Option 1321 at Rashkis — 100% of assigned students
Option 263–99 per school — a 3–5× reduction
Walk zones (a Policy 4150 priority)
Option 1Eliminated — all 57 Rashkis walkers bused elsewhere
Option 2Preserved at Rashkis (57) and Scroggs (162)
Transportation cost
Option 1Adds busing for the receiving school’s walk zone — kids who walk today become bus riders (district staff, 7/16)
Option 2No walk zones converted; the district’s transportation dept modeled the split as manageable, with satellite-zone fixes freeing up drivers
Room for the programs to operate well
Option 10 flex rooms left at Rashkis
Option 212 K–5 classrooms remain at each school
Satellite boundary cleanup (long-standing district goal)
Option 1Unaddressed
Option 2Addressed at both schools
Sources: CHCCS BOE, “Mandarin Language Program Placement Options,” July 16, 2026 (slides 6, 14–17, 20, 22–24) and district staff testimony at the July 16 board meeting. Option 1 figures reflect the Rashkis placement scenario staff presented.
The message in one sentence
“We welcome the Mandarin programs to our schools. Option 2 brings a Mandarin pathway to two communities while letting neighborhood kids keep walking to school — Option 1 removes every single neighborhood child from Rashkis and buses them elsewhere.”
Tone matters. We are pro-Mandarin-program and pro-neighborhood-schools. We’re not opposing any family or program — we’re asking the Board to pick the option its own data shows disrupts the fewest children.
If someone says “keep STEAM² together”
Some Glenwood families are advocating that both pathways move to one school (Option 1). Respond with respect and with the district’s data: keeping both pathways at Rashkis leaves 0 flex classrooms for the programs to grow (slide 22) and requires redistricting 100% of the receiving school’s students (slide 15). Option 2 preserves both Mandarin pathways with room to thrive, at far lower disruption.
What you can do before Aug 20
Pick at least one. Fifteen minutes makes a difference.
5 min
1. Submit a written public comment
Go to chccs.org › Our District › Board of Education › Written Public Comments. Write 3–5 sentences in your own words: you support Option 2, one reason why, and your school connection. Boards count these — volume matters.
60 sec
2. Email the Board — draft it right here
Tap two choices and we’ll draft an email you can send to all seven Board members. Please edit a sentence or two in your own words — personal emails carry far more weight than identical ones.
Your draft opens pre-loaded — just hit send in the chat, then copy the rewrite back here or into your email. (It’s also on your clipboard as a backup.) The Claude button needs the Claude app installed.
Sends to allboardmembers@chccs.k12.nc.us and CCs all seven Board members individually. Note: emails to the Board are public records under NC law.
Tap any address to open a blank email, or copy your draft from above and paste it in.
Highest impact
3. Speak at the Aug 20 meeting
Lincoln Center, 750 S. Merritt Mill Rd. Sign up for public comment at the meeting. Strongest if speakers cover different points — pick whichever one below speaks to you:
Walk zones: Option 1 eliminates the Rashkis walk zone; Option 2 preserves it (slide 24).
Disruption: 321 Rashkis kids (100%) vs. 63–99 per school.
Busing costs: ask the district to publish the cost difference before voting.
Program quality: 0 flex rooms under Option 1; room for DLI and WL to thrive under Option 2.
DLI or WL family voice: shows this isn’t neighborhood vs. program.
Diversity voice: Rashkis is a diverse Title 1 school — Option 1 dissolves an integrated community; Option 2 preserves it.
5 min
4. Forward this to two families
Neighborhood families and program families together are far stronger than either alone. Ask your PTA to consider a formal position.
Ongoing
5. Stay engaged after the vote
The fall boundary process (Phase 3) decides exactly who is redistricted. The district says Option 2 needs no boundary changes inside walk zones — we’ll hold them to that. Watch for advisory committee openings and feedback sessions this fall.
Key dates
Aug 20 ’26Board votes on program placement (on or before)
Fall ’26Boundary adjustment process
Dec ’26Families notified of reassignments
Fall ’27New assignments & program placements begin