We're No. 19! Charlotte must have greeted this week's news from the U.S. Census with joy. The city rose from the nation's 20th-largest city to 19th. (Allow me to mourn that it had to pass my hometown of Baltimore to do it. I guess killer crab cakes and a harbor view are no longer enough.) Modern Charlotte has been on a mission, to take its place among America's top cities, with all the accompanying bells and whistles. But Charlotte has also been proud that its schools have never been thought of as “just another urban system,” with all the accompanying woes. So it's bittersweet that the growth story broke on the same day as news that Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools – in an effort to meet budget expectations – announced it will eliminate 331 jobs, including 66 elementary school teachers. City grows – though not as fast as Cary, apparently – school system shrinks. Will that ruin our chances for No. 18? It's been decades since Charlotte's brightest day in the national education spotlight, the 1970's “city that made desegregation work.” The system – with its magnet programs, Newsweek rankings and diverse student body – has continued to impress with its commitment. Superintendent Peter Gorman has focused on what works, whether it's giving successful principals more freedom or transferring creative teachers to schools in crisis. But even good news brings challenges. Rising test scores come with the caveat of achievement gaps between urban and ...
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