The Charlotte Mecklenburg School District is the main school district for the city of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. The Charlotte Mecklenburg School District is composed of one hundred fifty schools: ninety one elementary schools, thirty two middle schools, seventeen high schools and ten alternative programs. There are one hundred twenty six thousand nine hundred three students enrolled in the Charlotte Mecklenburg School District. The District has the top 10% students in the state of North Carolina and in the nation. The ethnic distribution of the school district is nearly 45% African-American.

Charlotte Mecklenburg School District's CMS-TV3

In order to better serve the students and parents of the Charlotte Schools the school district has created its own television channel. CMS-TV3 is designed to support the Charlotte Mecklenburg School District by broadcasting professional looking programming that can inform, educate, and entertain the parents, students and teachers of the Charlotte Mecklenburg School District. CMS-TV3 meets this goal by providing a variety of programming.

Current programs that address the needs of the students are the telecasts of the Board of Education meetings, Math Extra and Diversity Matters. The Board of Education Meetings are live broadcasts of the Charlotte Mecklenburg School District's twice monthly meetings on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month. This allows parents and teachers to know what is going on in the District. The meetings are rebroadcast on Wednesday nights. Math Extra is a live call in mathematics help show that allows students to get math help from math teachers throughout the school district. The show airs Monday through Thursday in the evening. The show aims to provide homework help to the middle school math students in the school district. Diversity Matters is a character education program aimed at high school students and their parents. This show examines different topics related to the issues about diversity within the Charlotte Mecklenburg School community. These are only a few of the many regular and special programs that aim to educate and connect all the members of the school district.

New Programs on CMS-TV3 for the Next School Year

There are a host of new programs that are being added to the line-up of programs already on CMS-TV3. The first special event to air on CMS-TV3 is the graduation ceremonies for the Charlotte Mecklenburg School District's 6,500 graduating seniors for 2006. Then starting with the new school year, there are a number of new programs. These programs, like those currently running, aim to help and enlighten the Charlotte Mecklenburg community. Financial Fitness is a new program aimed at teaching students the value of money and how to practice financial responsibility. This is an important show that illustrates the perils of credit and interest. Hands On Crafts For Kids is a new program that is created to teach elementary school students how to make easy and fun projects. It also gives advice on room decorations and party planning. Stuff is a cross-subject program that involves the use of sciences, arts, and athletics to teach about health and character. The program uses a variety of subjects in order to better relate to the students' personal interests. Stuff is geared toward middle school students.

Working in Broadcasting

CMS-TV3 gives high school students in Charlotte Mecklenburg School District the chance to intern in television production. The internships give selected students the chance to gain practical experience in radio and television production. Interns have the opportunity to apply for several positions like studio floor directors, camera operators, sound assistants, lighting technicians, phone call screeners, writers, and assistant producers.