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As the Trinity 8th Grade continues to study needs in Charlotte, from mental health resources to affordable housing, students heard from a panel of speakers who are working to address those needs.

The panel, which took place on Dec. 17, was part of the 8th Grade’s Social Issues Seminar class, in which students are studying advocacy and will soon select topics to discuss with lawmakers during upcoming class trips to Raleigh and Washington, D.C.

While they study how to be advocates, students should send “a clear message that (these issues are) important to your community, and you’re not just going to stop advocating at the end of the school year,” said Meg Fencil, director of engagement with Sustain Charlotte, which engages local leaders on policies dealing with the climate and urban development.

Students also heard from:

• Joe Hamby, Director of Community Education at Roof Above, a service-learning partner of Trinity’s 3rd Grade. The organization serves Charlotte’s unhoused population.
• Erin Chantry, a Trinity parent who is an urban planner with the City of Charlotte
• Joe Bruno, a government reporter for WSOC-TV, whose reporting covers the issues discussed by the panelists.
• The Rev. Emily Parker, executive director of Galilee Ministries of East Charlotte, a service-learning partner of 5th Grade that offers space for community organizations and houses a Nourish Up food pantry.
• Laura Meier, a Mecklenburg County commissioner representing District 5 south Charlotte.

A recurring theme during the discussion was the intertwined nature of the challenges facing Charlotte. For example, the city’s affordable housing crisis is deeply connected with efforts to preserve green space and balancing the need for housing with maintaining natural resources. Speakers also discussed the intersection of mental health resources with public safety and homelessness.

“To solve one means solving the others,” said Meier, adding that the solutions also require funding, which adds a new layer of complexity.

Assistant Head of School for Academics Stephanie Griffin, who moderated the discussion, asked the panel to identify what they considered to be Charlotte’s most pressing issues:

• Bruno: public safety, affordable housing, transportation, including the build-out of a new transportation plan voters approved in a referendum the 8th Grade studied in the fall.
• Chantry: displacement of residents and loss of neighborhood character as Charlotte grows and existing communities become unaffordable.
• Meier: affordability to live in Charlotte-Mecklenburg and land preservation - “our green space is disappearing daily”
• Fencil: affordable transportation options that don’t require a vehicle, such as transit or bicycling, which would allow residents to budget for other necessities, including housing and healthcare.
• Hamby: expanding access to mental health care and deemphasizing the use of jails for providing mental health resources.
• Parker: food insecurity, pointing to the surge in demand for the Galilee Ministries food pantry after cuts to federal food benefits.

As they learn to advocate, the panel reminded students that it is essential to build relationships with the stakeholders they will meet in Raleigh and Washington, D.C. “That is how you make a difference and really move the needle in this world,” Chantry said.

The discussion provided students with a foundation for their further studies of Charlotte’s needs and for representing Trinity on the state and national stage later this school year.
 

In honor of retired Trinity teacher Cary Dufresne, an endowment has been established to support Trinity's teacher retention initiatives.

The endowment was the result of an anonymous donor's generosity and commitment to ensuring Trinity recruits and retains excellent educators.

“It is a meaningful investment that honors the incredible impact of one teacher while inspiring the next generation of outstanding faculty who will follow in her footsteps,” said Chief Advancement Officer Katie Keels.

Mrs. Dufresne dedicated 14 years of service to Trinity, retiring in June 2025 as a 2nd Grade teacher. She is also the parent of two Trinity alumni: Louise TES ‘05 and Mason TES ’09.

Keels said the endowment donor shared that Mrs. Dufresne made an impact on their family and wanted to honor her with a gift that would impact other Trinity educators.

Teacher retention is one of the priorities of the True North capital campaign, which will grow Trinity's existing endowment and provide the financial framework to increase teacher salaries at Trinity. To learn more about True North, click here.

Sarah Jane Jarmosevich’s first decision as a voter was an easy one.

As Charlotte voters went to polling places across the city, Sarah Jane and her Middle School classmates lined up at ballot boxes in the Dickson Upper Commons to decide the election for best Halloween candy. The “candy-dates” were Kit Kat and Nerds Gummy Clusters.

  

The balloting had all the trappings of an Election Day. Students had to vote at their assigned precincts and make sure they were registered correctly. They left their precincts with “I Voted” stickers. When the polls closed, Sarah and her fellow 8th Grade students counted the votes and phoned in the results to other classrooms. The winner was decided by an Electoral College rather than a popular vote.

  

Sarah Jane’s vote? “Kit Kat — obviously,” she said. (Kit Kat won an Electoral College landslide.)

The next question on Sarah Jane’s ballot was a little more complicated to decide: Should Mecklenburg County raise its sales tax to fund an expansion of transit and transportation projects?

While the entire Middle School voted in the candy election, 8th Grade had a specific ballot that included the proposed tax increase, a topic the grade had been studying in its Social Issues Seminar class. Their mock referendum was a simulation of the real voting taking place that day as Mecklenburg residents also elected local leaders in municipal races.

In the weeks leading up to Election Day, the Seminar class studied the transit measure, explored the pros and cons of a tax increase to fund the projects, and assigned students to interview an adult about the referendum. 

The transit vote was “one that affects their day-to-day lives as students who ride to school with their grownups every day,” said Stephanie Griffin, Assistant Head of School for Academics and one of the Seminar teachers.

At the end of their studies, students wrote persuasive letters to voters, urging them to either approve or reject the tax increase. Their campaigning was another component of the election unit as students learned about the formation of political parties and how parties appeal to voters' values through electioneering. 

Like many adults who followed the transit debate, Sarah wrestled with how she would vote. She was initially a “no” vote, but studying it more closely “showed how much it would help my future and my friends’ futures.”

When the ballots were counted, 8th Grade approved the referendum by a more than 2:1 margin — a larger victory for the pro-transit side than the actual election results. 

Griffin said the goal of the mock election – and of the Seminar course — is for 8th Grade students to leave Trinity with “the skills and habits and understandings they need to engage socially and civically.”