User:Jiffy.morton/sandbox

Despite the claim of an early head of the xxxl parent teacher organization that "accreditation is immaterial,"

park cites

https://www.newspapers.com/image/621930008/?terms=%22providence%2Bday%2Bschool%22

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In 1970,  James Bryan McMillan, a District Judge for the for the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, issued busing orders to hasten desegregation of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School system. This decision was ultimately upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in the landmark Swann case in 1971. These decisions led to a substantial increase in interest in both new and existing schools in the Charlotte area. xxx saw an influx of hundreds of new applications after the Swann decision. In 1976 journalist and author David Nevin found that: "xxx...is an old line high quality prep school that had to struggle until Swann. Now, though it does not see itself as a haven, it prospers..." By the 1974-75 school year, xxxy had grown to total enrollment of 873 students in grades K-12.

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Development of Charlotte Latin School began in 1967, when a group of Charlotte citizens led by businessman Frank Thies undertook the planning of an independent, college preparatory school that would focus on traditional teaching methods and classical curriculum. The founders believed that the growing Charlotte area needed another school of the caliber of Charlotte Country Day School, which was at capacity and had a waiting list at the time. In January 1970 the group incorporated under the name Charlotte Latin School with a 13 member board of trustees: Carol Belk, Patrick Calhoun, Tom Creasy, Jr., Alan Dickson, Cam Faison, Catherine Faison, Betsy Knight, Bob Knight, John Pender, Howard Pitt, John Stedman and Janet Thies. The Latin name was chosen as a reference to the Boston Latin School, a New England school considered one of the best in the country that placed a strong emphasis on a traditional liberal arts education.

In early 1970 the trustees mailed out 2,000 brochures to gauge community interest in the new school. After receiving adequate response the trustees secured approximately 50 acres of land near the intersection of Providence Road and Highway 51 in suburban Charlotte. Two buildings were constructed on the new Charlotte Latin campus in the summer of 1970. An advertisement seeking new faculty members yielded 200 applicants for 25 open positions.

Charlotte Latin opened for its first school year in the fall of 1970 with 425 students in grades one through nine and Jeremiah Splaine as its first headmaster. In October 1970 a standard review by the Internal Revenue Service granted the school tax exempt status after it printed its non-discrimination policy in the local newspaper.

Over the ensuing 3 years, the school added 10th, 11th, and 12th grade classes. By the end of 1975 enrollment had grown to 812 students with 60 faculty and the school was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Many independent schools in the Charlotte area experienced rapid growth in the early 1970s as a result of the controversy around busing in the Charlotte Mecklenburg School system. While Charlotte Latin had been in the planning stage for several years prior and was not founded in response to desegregation, journalists have found it likely that a portion of its early growth was attributable to parents seeking to avoid busing in the public school system. One member of a local anti-busing group enrolled his children in the school, stating "I've simply taken my children off the battlefield while I fight the battle."

Both the founders and administration expressed non-discrimantatory views early in the school's history. Founding board member Frank Thies told The Charlotte Observer that the Charlotte Latin would not exclude anyone based on race and that its formation was not connected to desegragation of the public schools: "We've been working on this school...for three years. If we wanted to create a segregation academy, we could open tomorrow with all the money and students we could take." Headmaster Jeremiah Splaine told The Charlotte News that the school has an open door policy and "is interested only in providing education" and to meet the areas' need for "a great indepenent school." While the student body was primarily white, records indicate Charlotte Latin was desegregated from from its inception, with African American students enrolled in the early 1970s.

Dr. Edward J. Fox, Jr. was named Charlotte Latin's 3rd headmaster in 1976. Over his 25 year tenure, the school experienced a period of sustained growth, with enrollment increasing to 1,320 sudents, the size of the campus increasing from 50 acres to 112 acres, and the addition of several new facilities. In 2000 the school's 30,0000 sq ft Science, Art, and Technology Building was opened, followed by the 45,000 sq ft Beck Student Activities Center a year later. The middle school building was named the "Edward J. Fox, Jr. Middle School" upon his retirement in 2001.

In 2001, Dr. Fox was succeeded as headmaster by Arch McIntosh, Jr. Under McIntosh's leadership, minority enrollment at Charlotte Latin increased more than three-fold, from 3.4% of the student population in 2000 to 11.8% in 2018. At the end of his 18 year tenure, Charlotte Latin opened the Inlustrate Orbem Building, a 50,000 sf facility housing upper school classrooms as well as the admissions, college counseling and development offices. The 100/200 building (formerly classrooms and administrative offices) was repurposed as the "McIntosh Leadership Center" in 2018, shortly before his retirement.

In July 2019 Charles D. Baldecchi ("Chuck") became the 5th head of school in Charlotte Latin's history.

Campus & Facilities
Charlotte Latin's campus occupies 128 contiguous acres in suburban Charlotte, North Carolina. The lower, middle, and upper schools are all contained on a single campus and share many common facilities. Structures of note include :
 * Fennebreque Hall (constructed in 1970) – Original upper school building today houses administrative and business offices. Named in honor of long-time Board Chairman John C. Fennebresque, Sr. in 1995.
 * Claudette B. Hall Lower School (1970, expanded in 1993 and 2010) – Original lower school buidling, named in honor of former lower school head Claudette B. Hall upon her retirement in 2003.
 * Belk Gymnasium (1973) – Original gymnasium, today used primarily for middle school sports.
 * McIntosh Leadership Center (1973) – Originally known as the "100/200" building. Re-purposed and re-named in honor of former head of school Arch McIntosh in 2018.
 * Founders Hall (1973) – Original library, today the school dinning hall.
 * Edward J. Fox Middle School (1978, expanded in 1994) – Named in honor of former head of school Dr. Edward J. Fox in 2000.


 * Patten Stadium (1974) – Natural grass soccer and football field and outdoor track. Named in honor of longtime football coach and athletic director Robert J. Patten in 1989.


 * Thies Auditorium (1985) – 750 seat auditorium, named in honor of founding trustee Frank Thies.
 * SwimMAC (1990) – Olympic sized indoor pool and training facilities. Owned and operated by SwimMAC Carolina, co-located on Charlotte Latin campus.


 * Knight-Dickson Library (1993) – Named in honor of founding trustees Bob Knight and Alan Dickson in 2018.


 * Science, Art & Technology Building (2000) – 30,000 sf facility housing the Charlotte Latin STEAM programs.


 * Beck Student Activities Center (2001) – 45,000 sf facilitiy housing the basketball gymanisum, indoor track, wrestling room, coaches offices, locker rooms, and training facilities.
 * Shelton Hall (2010) – Lower school dining and gathering space.
 * The Nest (2010) – On-site child care and enrichment program for faculty children.
 * Horne Performing Arts Center (2011) – 31,000 sf facility housing music classrooms, practice rooms, black box theater and visual arts gallery.
 * Extended Day Building (2018)
 * Inlustrate Orbem Building (2019) – 50,000 sf facility housing upper school classrooms as well as the admissions, marketing, college counseling and development offices.

A 2020 study by PolarisList found that over the three year period from 2015 to 2018, Charlotte Latin had six students enroll at one of Harvard, Princeton, or MIT. As a result, the organization ranked Charlotte Latin first Mecklenburg County area for sending students to top colleges. The school ranked fifth in the state of North Carolina on this same measure, behind the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, Durham Academy, East Chapel Hill High School, and Cary Academy.

The NCISAA Wells Fargo Cup (formerly the Wachovia Cup) is awarded annually to the independent North Carolina school with the best overall interscholatic sports programs. The competition includes all varsity sports for the entire school year, with points awarded to the schools that finish in the top eight of each state championship tournament. Charlotte Latin won its first Wells Fargo Cup in 1984 and has won the award a total of 17 times, mostly recently in 2019.

Charlotte Latin has won a total of 165 state championships across 21 men's and women's sports programs since the inception of the NCISAA in 1973:

STEAM
Charlotte Latin focuses its scientific curriculum on STEAM, incorporating the arts and humanities into its scientific, technology, engineering and math training. In 2016 the school was designated a Fab Lab and began participating in the Fab Academy program. Founded at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Fab Lab focuses on using engineering and digital fabrication to solve real world problems through use of computers, laser cutters, and 3D printers. In March 2020, a student-led campaign supervised by Fab Lab director and Charlotte Latin teacher Tom Dubick raised in excess of $100,000 and utilized the school's facility to design and print 3D and injection molded face shields for medical professionals in need of PPE during the Covid-19 pandemic.