Dear Families:

It is an exciting time of year! We have really enjoyed the fabulous family events planned by our PTSO these past couple weeks and weekends; special thanks to all who volunteered their time and talents. We are also pleased to have secured our middle school location and were able to open the space this morning for a sneak preview for our rising 6th graders and their families. And finally, we are relieved to have completed our admission lottery for the coming year and are proud to report that we received over 1,200 applications for our limited openings in grades k-6.

Thanks to parent-led efforts on our Diversity Committee, we also appreciate that so many of you made time to complete the recent survey to share your support or raise questions and concerns about our efforts to increase the socioeconomic diversity of our student body. As a direct result of your feedback, we have planned an important Town Hall Panel Discussion event this Wednesday, April 5 and hope that you will make the time and effort to attend. 

Here are a few highlights of the event:

• Dr. Amy Hawn Nelson, Director of the Urban Institute at UNCC, will speak about Charlotte school history and the research that supports both racial and socioeconomic integration of schools; 
• Jon Heffernan, Principal at Central Park School in Durham (the first charter school in NC to implement a "weighted" lottery), will speak about his school's process and lessons learned from their implementation of a lottery similar to Charlotte Lab's;
• Janeen Bryant, former VP of Education at Levine Museum of the New South, will moderate the discussion; and
• Two Charlotte Lab School parents who participated in CMS "busing" in the 80s will share their perspectives on what it was like to go to school and learn alongside those who were different from them.

Finally, I will be sharing more context around Charlotte Lab School's diversity efforts and amended lottery procedures and will offer responses to some of your frequently asked questions, including:

• Why do diversity, equity and inclusion matter so much at Lab?
• Can Lab afford this initiative? Will families with financial means be expected to make up the difference to pay for the cost of lunch, transportation, and field trips for those who can't afford it?
• Is Lab ready? Are teachers trained and equipped to handle greater diversity? and
• How can Lab manage all of these changes when there is still much to be worked out both operationally and academically?

Thanks, as always, for your continued support of the Lab vision.