CIS receives $150,000 from Spangler Foundation 

In a surprise announcement just before Christmas, The C.D. Spangler Foundation awarded more than $4.5 million to several educational institutions and nonprofit organizations, including $150,000 to Communities In Schools of Charlotte-Mecklenburg. The grant to CIS is specifically designated to support the CIS program and dropout prevention efforts at West Charlotte High School. 

Mr. Spangler, a Charlotte native and former Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education member, made the announcement himself. In addition to the $150,000 for CIS, one of the largest gifts went to West Charlotte High School– $1 million each was awarded to the UNC system and Central Piedmont Community College to provide $1,000 college scholarships for male African-American students who graduate from West Charlotte High School. Spangler named the scholarship program for Anthony Foxx, Charlotte’s new mayor and a West Charlotte graduate. In his announcement of the Anthony Foxx Scholars program, Spangler said he told the mayor, “This is not to honor you personally, but to help motivate students to follow the lead you set.”Spangler has a special connection to West Charlotte: his two daughters are graduates of the school, and as a young man working for his father’s construction company, Spangler helped build West Charlotte High during the summer between his freshman and sophomore years in college.

Bill Anderson, executive director of Communities In Schools of Charlotte-Mecklenburg, said the gift to CIS came as a complete surprise. “We are deeply moved by the Spangler family’s generosity,” said Anderson. “West Charlotte High School has faced a number of challenges in recent years, but it has a strong, proud tradition. CIS is grateful to have these additional funds to help us provide the students, parents, and staff at West Charlotte with the support they need and deserve.”

Other gifts announced during the media briefing included:
 
• $1.5 million for Teach for America
• $100,000 to New Leaders for New Schools to provide training for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools administrators
• $100,000 to CMS’s Parent University
• $100,000 to Bright Beginnings, a CMS program aimed at pre-schoolers
• $250,000 to Superintendent Peter Gorman for personal growth and development
• $176,000 to be divided equally among CMS’s 176 principals
• $250,000 to the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County to support early childhood literacy
• $50,000 to West Charlotte High to pay for college entrance fees for students