Possible changes coming to North Carolina Mandarin immersion school

Big changes could be coming to Glenwood Elementary School under a proposal to convert it into a magnet school in time for the 2019-20 school year.

The magnet conversion would mean students, both those inside the school’s attendance zone and those outside it, would have to place their name into a magnet lottery, then hope to be chosen for a seat at the school.

“It would be 100 percent magnet with a small attendance zone, but students living in the attendance zone would have first choice,” said Rydell Harrison, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) assistant superintendent for instructional services. “But, determining what that would actually look like will be some of the work that’s remaining.”

CHCCS leaders said the move to a magnet program at Glenwood would help to ease crowding at the school which is popular because of its two-track Mandarin-English Dual Language Program. With the magnet designation, enrollment would be capped. The school currently has an enrollment of 497 students, 74 over capacity.

If the conversion is approved by the CHCCS Board of Education, Glenwood would operate under a yet-to-be determined magnet theme, but keep its two-track Mandarin program, which means it would continue to offer two classes of Mandarin in each grade level.

About half of the school’s students are enrolled in the Mandarin program and the other half are on a traditional school track.

In November, the school board heard from nearly 40 parents and teachers about the benefits of the program. Some said they moved to Chapel Hill from other states because of the program. Many expressed support for the Mandarin program while expressing a desire for so-called traditional students to remain as well.