Charlotte Observer: Black, Hispanic Enrollment Grows In CMS; White Students Under One Third

White students now make up just under one-third of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools' student body, as African American and Hispanic enrollment continues to grow at a faster clip, new CMS numbers show. The official count for 2011-12 shows just over 58,000 of 138,000 K-12 students, or 42 percent, are black. That's an increase of 2,223 over last year. White enrollment grew by 300, and now accounts for 32.5 percent of students. The district added more than 1,800 Hispanic students, for 17.4 percent. The numbers continue the trends of the last several years, with steady growth in African American and Hispanic enrollment while white enrollment stays virtually flat, inching up some years and down in others. School-by-school enrollment reports give a look at a district reshaped by school closings and mergers. About 40,000 students now attend 51 schools that are less than 10 percent white. Among those are seven of the eight preK-8 schools formed when CMS closed three struggling middle-schools. Bruns Avenue, a preK-8 school with just over 700 students, had one white student as of the September tally. Eleven schools are at least three-quarters white, with Davidson Elementary the highest at 82 percent. Seven schools are at least 50 percent Hispanic, with Montclaire Elementary at 69 percent. Elon Park Elementary has the highest Asian enrollment, at 20 percent. Copyright 2011 The Charlotte Observer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.