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STEELE CREEK NEWS
"We
Believe in Olympic Community of Schools"
(February 19, 2007)
Scott Whitfield and Lauren Seborowski, students at the Olympic
Community of Schools, spoke before the
Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Board on February 13 at the Public
Hearing on the Ten Year Capital Project Plan. Costs for improvements
to Olympic athletic facilities were included in the bond issue that
failed in 2005, but Olympic athletic facilities are not among the
highest priority projects that currently are proposed to be funded
by the 2007 bond.
Here is what Scott
and Lauren said before the School Board:
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Good
evening. My name is Scott Whitfield. I am here along with
several other students representing the five schools known
as the Olympic Community of Schools.
We are here to voice our concerns regarding the physical
needs of our school building.
Some of the goals of the Olympic Community of Schools are to
provide personal learning experiences among teachers and
students and to initiate a better understanding of students
interest.
Olympic is, and will continue to be a huge asset to our
community. We have demonstrated this by helping the homeless
in our Hidden Valley Project by donating coats, and other
necessities. Students from Olympic have walked to fight
Autism, donated money to clinics that speak about teen
pregnancy, and are involved in the Big Brother Big Sister
Program where we mentor elementary school students at a
neighboring elementary school.
We believe in Olympic Community of Schools and believe we
would be able to maximize our potential with better
facilities and equipment.
I will now introduce Lauren Seborowski to speak a little
more on the needs of our facilities.
Thank you very much. |
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Good
evening. My name is Lauren Seborowski and, along with my
classmates I am here to represent the Olympic Community of
Schools.
The leadership at Olympic High School worked very hard and
won a large grant from the Gates Foundation so that the
students would receive, among other things, a more
personalized educational experience.
While the money has been used for the good of our
educational experience, no money went to improving our
facilities. As a member of the Coalition of Essential
Schools, we have divided our school up into 5 smaller
schools. This is a unique undertaking and a challenge that
the staff, students and community of Olympic welcome as we
work to create a better and more effective learning
environment. Being a member of this Coalition, and given our
uniqueness, the eyes of the nation are upon us and many
visitors from around the country will be visiting our
school.
With this said, our school building is in need of many
repairs and upgrades. The school was built in 1966; it is
older than many of our parents. Some of my fellow students
have walked around our campus and taken photographs of the
areas needing repair and renovation. Each board member has
received a copy of the CD with those photographs.
Some of the photos include
leaky roofs, mold problems, very large wholes in our floors
covered by plywood, damaged and unsightly athletic
facilities, and disabled bathrooms and lab areas.
We also need an upgrade on the books in our school library.
The average age of our book collections goes back to 1984.
Also, due to the importance of being in step in the age of
technology we ask the board to please look into finding some
way to adequately supply the Olympic Community of Schools
with the proper technology. Computers and more Internet
access are crucial to our education and our future.
Thank you very much for your time and consideration. The
students at the Olympic Community of Schools look forward to
working with you to address these issues together. |
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Also read what Blaine
Wallace, President of the
Olympic High School Sports Booster Club, said at the Public
Hearing: "Please Don't Forget
Olympic!"
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