STEELE CREEK NEWS
Community has
Opportunity for Input into New Elementary School Name
(Revised March
14, 2014)
A new 39-classroom elementary school is under construction
on York Road across from the entrance to McDowell Nature
Preserve. It will open to students in fall 2014 and relieve
Winget Park Elementary School.
The
school's Naming Committee selected six names to appear
on a ballot for voting by families of its future students as
well as by other members of the community. After further
review, one name was replaced.
The names
that will appear on the ballot are
1.
Lake Pointe
2. McDowell
3. Palisades
4. Riverside
5. Walker Branch
6. York Road
(preferred by the Steele Creek Residents Association)
Also on
the ballot will be two other questions: Should the school
name include the term STEM? (The school will
include a
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math magnet
program.) And should the school name include the word
"Academy" rather than be called an elementary school?
Students who
will be assigned to the new school will receive ballots to
take home on Tuesday, March 18 and return on Wednesday,
March 19. Other members of the community can vote on
Tuesday, March 18. A table will be set up inside the main
entrance to Winget Park Elementary School. Ballots will be
available from 8:30 AM to 7:30 PM. Each family gets one
vote. (Do not enter through the bus parking lot entrance.
Enter Winget District Park and circle around to the front of
the school.)
The names
with the most votes from parents and community members will
be presented to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Board.
Unless there is a controversy or conflict with another
school name, the School Board should accept the name with
the most votes, Once the school name is adopted, the Naming
Committee will help select a mascot name and school colors.
For more
information and updates, see the temporary
Winget Park Relief School web site or contact
Principal Gina O'Hare at
gina.ohare@cms.k12.nc.us.
The
school is located on York Road. This road name used to
extend up Highway 49 all the way into the present central
part of Charlotte. The city has renamed pieces of York Road
to South Tryon Street as it has progressively annexed
southwest into Steele Creek. Now only the 3.7-mile section
west of Shopton Road West retains the name York Road. Many
old time residents still refer to South Tryon Street as York
Road. The name
York Road Elementary School
would help preserve that legacy.
The name also
would recall the name of the former York Road High School,
which was located where Marie G. Davis school is now
located.
The name York
Road Elementary School is the name preferred by the Steele
Creek Residents Association.
Another name
suggested is
McDowell
Elementary School.
This name recognizes the location of the school across from
McDowell Nature Preserve, which is more commonly called
McDowell Park. The McDowell Nature Preserve and Nature
Center are major assets to the community. The McDowell
family was one of the earliest families in Steele Creek. The
nature preserve was named for John McDowell, who lived to
the north in Steele Creek near Beam Road. He was an
long-time advocate for parks in Mecklenburg County.
The name
Walker
Branch Elementary School
would relate to the Walker Branch Greenway which runs next
to RiverGate Shopping Center behind Best Buy and Pet Smart.
A primitive trail, called the Walker Branch Dirtway has
recently been opened south from RiverGate to Smith Road.
Eventually greenway trails will be constructed along other
sections of Walker Branch as part of a network of trails in
Steele Creek. However, Walker Branch is closer to River Gate
Elementary School than it is to the new school.
Palisades
Elementary School
would recognize the significance of the Palisades community,
the largest development within the school's attendance area,
as well as Palisades Park, a neighborhood park currently
under construction adjacent to the school. Rhein Medall
Communities, the developer of the Palisades, helped
facilitate the acquisition of the school site and has shared
in significant development costs. However, several
committee members preferred that names of individual
neighborhoods not be used for the school name since children
from many neighborhoods will attend it.
The committee
had discussed several names that related to water
since the school is near Lake Wylie and the Catawba River.
Two of these names were selected to appear on the ballot:
Lake
Pointe Elementary School
and
Riverside
Elementary School.
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