GrowthCast Archives

GrowthCast #28: What's Next?

The last GrowthCast of 2006 takes a look at what happens next in light of the November 7 referendum's passage.

The GrowthCast is taking a break, but will be back in early 2007 to resume our regular look at issues related to our student population's growth and its effect on teaching and learning in our schools.

Posted by Chip Sudderth at 06:39 PM on November 09, 2006 | Leave Feedback

GrowthCast #27: The Big Picture

This week's GrowthCast summarizes many of the topics covered in previous GrowthCasts. All the previous episodes are archived here.

Posted by Chip Sudderth at 05:58 PM on October 30, 2006 | Leave Feedback

GrowthCast #26: Reducing the Cost

In March and April of 2006, the Wake County Board of Education made some decisions in an effort to reduce the overall cost of the Blueprint for Excellence 2006 capital improvement program. This week's GrowthCast looks at the steps they took.

Posted by Chip Sudderth at 12:49 PM on October 23, 2006 | Leave Feedback

GrowthCast #25: Paying for Growth

What about impact fees, or transfer taxes, or other means of funding school construction? This week's GrowthCast looks at those issues while exploring the connection between Wake County's economic growth and the need to serve a rapidly growing number of students.

Posted by Chip Sudderth at 09:40 AM on October 16, 2006 | Leave Feedback

GrowthCast #24: That Number You've Been Seeing

Here's a look behind the number that was a front page headline last week: this year's 20th-day enrollment of 128,070 students.

Posted by Chip Sudderth at 04:18 PM on October 09, 2006 | Leave Feedback

GrowthCast #23: Comparing the Cost of Construction

This week we take a look at the cost of building schools in Wake County compared to the rest of the state of North Carolina. We've got more details in our Blueprint for Excellence 2006 FAQ as well.

Posted by Chip Sudderth at 04:42 PM on October 02, 2006 | Leave Feedback

GrowthCast #22: Sources of Growth

Here's a quick look at some of the sources of our student population growth.

You can find the report this GrowthCast was based on here, and don't forget our Demographics Resource Center.

Posted by Chip Sudderth at 09:41 AM on September 25, 2006 | Leave Feedback

GrowthCast #21: Technology

The last installement in our series on the Blueprint for Excellence 2006 looks at our technology needs.

Posted by Chip Sudderth at 08:05 AM on September 19, 2006 | Leave Feedback

GrowthCast #20: Older Schools

The third part of our look at the Blueprint for Excellence 2006 looks at renovations and other solutions for maintaining our older schools. Next week: technology.

Posted by Chip Sudderth at 06:19 AM on September 12, 2006 | Leave Feedback

GrowthCast #19: Additional Land for Future Schools

One day later due to the Labor Day holiday, here's the second installment of our look at the Blueprint for Excellence 2006.

Posted by Chip Sudderth at 03:22 PM on September 05, 2006 | Leave Feedback

GrowthCast #18: New Schools in the Blueprint

Here's the first in a series of four GrowthCasts on the Blueprint for Excellence 2006, the newly-named capital improvement plan.

The total funding for new school and crowding solution projects in the $1.056 billion Blueprint is $675,631,413. This week, we're talking about all of those projects except for "land banking," a $33 million item which we'll tackle next week.

Posted by Chip Sudderth at 04:34 PM on August 28, 2006 | Leave Feedback

GrowthCast #17: The Impact of Class Size

State limitations on class sizes have an impact on our ability to respond to growth. We saw this most recently when the legislature mandated third-grade class size reduction in 2004, requiring us to create an additional 90 classes.

You can find out more in this week's GrowthCast.

Posted by Chip Sudderth at 01:24 PM on August 21, 2006 | Leave Feedback

GrowthCast #16: Two New High Schools

Christy Barnett, host of The School Connection, visits our two newest high schools in this week's GrowthCast.

Posted by Chip Sudderth at 02:41 PM on August 15, 2006 | Leave Feedback

GrowthCast #15: The Impact on Teaching and Learning

This week's GrowthCast is a conversation with Dr. Donna Hargens, WCPSS's new chief academic officer, about the impact of growth on teaching and learning in Wake County.

Posted by Chip Sudderth at 04:54 PM on August 07, 2006 | Leave Feedback

GrowthCast #14: From Grocery Store to Ninth-Grade Center

Here's another different approach: taking a former grocery store, leasing it, and turning it into a ninth-grade center that not only reduces crowding at a high school but also has educational benefits.

This isn't the first time WCPSS has taken advantage of opportunities for "adaptive reuse." In 1997, WCPSS purchased the former office and manufacturing facility for American Sterilizer Company and renovated it for Lufkin Road Middle School. In February 2006, the Wake County Board of Education purchased the former Bespak Industrial Building (approximately 92,000 square feet) and 15 acres for a new elementary school to open in 2008 in Cary.

Posted by Chip Sudderth at 02:46 PM on July 31, 2006 | Leave Feedback

GrowthCast #13: Public-Private Partnerships

They may not be a panacea, but our latest GrowthCast shows that public-private partnerships could put new schools on the map faster. This is the second in a series of GrowthCasts discussing "Different Approaches" to addressing growth.

Posted by Chip Sudderth at 11:12 AM on July 24, 2006 | Leave Feedback

GrowthCast #12: Modular Schools

The first in a series of GrowthCasts looking at some innovative solutions to crowding is online now!

Posted by Chip Sudderth at 05:46 PM on July 17, 2006 | Leave Feedback

GrowthCast #11: A Further Look at Year-Round

With the beginning of the school year for our year-round programs, it's time for another look at the advantages and challenges of the calendar for families in this week's GrowthCast.

Posted by Chip Sudderth at 02:50 PM on July 10, 2006 | Leave Feedback

GrowthCast #10: How Does Year-Round Work?

Did you know students on both the traditional and year-round calendar attend class the same number of days and receive the same curriculum? Did you know that at year-round elementary schools, students stay with the same teacher for the entire school year?

This week's GrowthCast examines the basics of year-round schools and how they compare to schools on the traditional calendar.

Posted by Kristin Flenniken at 04:21 PM on July 03, 2006 | Leave Feedback

GrowthCast #9: Soliciting Your Feedback

The Wake County Board of Education is soliciting public feedback on the criteria it should use in determining which schools to convert to year-round calendars. This week's GrowthCast has more information.

Posted by Chip Sudderth at 02:28 PM on June 26, 2006 | Leave Feedback

GrowthCast #8: The Other Side of Growth

Supporting teaching and learning in a time of rapid student population growth isn't just about building schools. It's also about ensuring that our academic and support programs continue to meet the needs of Wake County students. This week's GrowthCast takes a brief look at the impact of growth on the WCPSS operating budget -- the 2006-07 Plan for Student Success -- recently adopted by the school board and funded by the county commissioners.

Posted by Chip Sudderth at 10:04 AM on June 19, 2006 | Leave Feedback

GrowthCast#7: The Citizens' Facilities Advisory Committee

Who are they? What will they do? Find out more about the school board and county commissioners' Citizens' Facilities Advisory Committee in our seventh GrowthCast. We've got more details at the Growth Resource Center as well.

Posted by Chip Sudderth at 02:50 PM on June 12, 2006 | Leave Feedback

GrowthCast #6: Better Long Range Planning

This week's GrowthCast spotlights WCPSS's working relationship with N.C. State University's Operations Research and Education Laboratory to better predict and respond to Wake County's population growth and development. We have more details on this effort, which brings together WCPSS, Wake County government, the 12 municipalities, and the Capital Area Municipal Planning Organization, in our Growth Resource Center.

Posted by Chip Sudderth at 10:59 AM on June 05, 2006 | Leave Feedback

GrowthCast #5: Renovations

There are 13 major renovation projects and other systemwide improvements in the Wake County Board of Education's Capital Improvement Plan for 2006. Find out more about those projects, and how changes in our local economy impacted the scope of renovation projects over the years, in this week's GrowthCast.

Posted by Chip Sudderth at 09:11 AM on May 30, 2006 | Leave Feedback

GrowthCast #4: The Capital Improvement Plan

This week's GrowthCast is a recap of the Wake County Board of Education's Capital Improvement Plan which was passed last Tuesday.

Posted by Chip Sudderth at 05:07 PM on May 22, 2006 | Leave Feedback

GrowthCast #3: Multi-story Schools

"Why don't you build multi-story schools?" Well, we do. This week's GrowthCast takes a look at the benefits and costs of building up rather than building out.

Posted by Chip Sudderth at 09:51 AM on May 15, 2006 | Leave Feedback

GrowthCast #2: The Lottery in Wake County

Our second GrowthCast tackles the question of the North Carolina Education Lottery's impact on school construction in Wake County.

Posted by Chip Sudderth at 11:58 AM on May 08, 2006 | Leave Feedback

Weekly GrowthCasts Begin

Today, we debut the Website's newest feature: the Weekly GrowthCast!

Each GrowthCast is a short (3 minutes or less) QuickTime video covering some aspect of Wake County's record-setting growth and its impact on the school system.

GrowthCast #1 on Year-round Schools

GrowthCasts are also available through the Growth Resource Center.

Posted by Paul Cory at 03:36 PM on May 01, 2006 | Leave Feedback