News from the Smarty Education Corner: We’re wrapping up Open Houses and Enrollment for the 2014-15 School Year. We bring you our friends at Charlotte Christian School. Meet By Cathie Broocks, Director of Admissions, Charlotte Christian School
Often the admissions process for private schools can seem overwhelming: applications, testing, recommendations. Parents need to know what curriculum the school uses, what age cutoffs do they follow, what co-curricular activities are available and at what grade levels? At Charlotte Christian School our goal is to use the full admissions process as an opportunity to provide answers for a family’s questions as well as for our faculty and staff to get to know a family – their hopes and their goals for their students. For each of us, family and school, the question is, “Will this be a good fit?”
Parents want to know, will my child thrive academically, socially and spiritually in this environment? Will our family feel welcomed? Are there programs and co-curricular opportunities that Charlotte Christian has which will meet the needs of my child in their specific area of interest or giftedness? The school wants to know, “Can we position this student for success for the breadth of their academic journey? Are we adequately presenting to each family the depth of our programs?” We want to align the needs of the whole child with the talents and abilities of our faculty. Equally important, inquiring families and school personnel seek to understand, what does partnership, between home and school, look like to you?
Charlotte Christian goes beyond the open house, the personal tour and the student visit to answer these questions, for both groups. Visiting families, those inquiring and those applying, are encouraged to return to campus to enjoy a fine arts performance, watch an athletic event or join parent seminars led by school leadership. To foster these opportunities the admissions department provides continual notification of campus events and provides free tickets to applicant families. Activities this year, for visiting families, have included attending the middle school production of My Son Pinocchio, a Lower School Basketball Family Night (starting with a pizza dinner and including a locker room visit with the varsity head coach) and joining Charlotte Christian parents in an Apologetics class led by an upper school Bible teacher. At Christmas applicant moms were partnered with current moms during a Christmas Tea. The program included music and a seasonal message, provided by a member of our Board of Trustees and his wife. Each of these settings is designed to provide one to one fellowship opportunities to learn from (and sometimes with) our families, in a relaxed setting, what life at Charlotte Christian is like for students and for parents.
Even the wait period during the junior kindergarten and kindergarten assessment visit becomes an opportunity to answer the pragmatic questions of young parents more fully. How does carpool operate? How does Extended Care work? The admissions team provides a parent panel to answer these and other questions families may have. Additionally current students are also on the panel and share with visiting parents their own memories of time in our early education program as well as their upper school experiences and college plans. Our department continues to hear that these informal interchanges provide the kind of community life insights families want to add to their understanding of our school’s program outcomes and community spirit.
We invite you to attend our upcoming admissions Open House on Thursday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. for parents and prospective students interested in grades junior kindergarten through grade 12. The open house will include a brief presentation allowing parents and students to learn more about Charlotte Christian School and our more than 60 year tradition of excellence in Christ-centered, college preparatory education. Families will also have the opportunity to visit classrooms and meet the faculty. Families interested in attending are encouraged to make a reservation by contacting the admissions office at (704) 366-5657, ext. 6510 or admissions@charchrist.com.
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Charlotte Christian Open House
Thursday, January 30, 2014 at 7:00 pm
Grades JK-12 Open House
Charlotte Christian School
7301 Sardis Road
Charlotte, NC 28270
(704) 366-5657
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