Board reviews magnet plans

Plans for the magnet programs at Wendell Elementary and Zebulon Elementary were discussed in the committee of the whole meeting of the Board of Education this afternoon.

Over the summer, the board voted to change the two elementary schools from equity gifted and talented magnets to application magnets.

Laura Evans of the WCPSS Growth and Planning Department said there is capacity for application students at Zebulon Elementary now and will be capacity for Wendell Elementary with the opening of E34, a new elementary school, in the Wendell area in 2009-10.

With space already available at Zebulon, WCPSS has moved forward on making Zebulon Elementary an application gifted and talented magnet beginning in 2008-09. The school staff had a booth at the recent WCPSS Magnet Fair where they encouraged families to consider them for 2008-09.

Evans said Growth and Planning worked with the WCPSS Magnet Office to review the areas of the county where students have been applying to three existing gifted and talented application magnet elementary schools: Powell, Underwood and Washington.

The Zebulon application area will be created from the eastern part of the area that had been applying to Powell. Evans says there are currently 39 students from Powell in that area of the county. She said their plans would allow those students to continue at Powell.

WCPSS staff recommended waiting to take action on Wendell Elementary until 2009-10 when the school will have capacity to accept students with the opening of E34. In that time, they want to explore other magnet themes, instead of duplicating a second gifted and talented magnet in the same area.

Evans said they hope to explore magnet themes for Wendell in January to August 2008, work on marketing and recruiting students from September 2008 to January 2009, and accept applications in February 2009 from students to attend Wendell Elementary in 2009-10. She said Wendell will have a different magnet theme, but the same magnet application area as Zebulon Elementary.

Posted by Bill Poston at 04:38 PM on November 20, 2007 | Leave Feedback

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