At its June 16 meeting, the Board of Education named Timothy Locklair principal at Holly Springs High, Chip Mack principal of Davis Drive Elementary, Catherine Yanello principal at Wildwood Forest Elementary and Judy Dudley interim principal at Carver Elementary.

Locklair has been principal at Apex Middle since 2004. Prior to that, he was a middle school principal, high school assistant principal and high school teacher in Silver Springs, Maryland.

Mack has been principal at Root Elementary since 1999. Prior to that, he was an assistant principal at Powell Elementary and a teacher at Conn Elementary.

Yanello has been assistant principal at Wildwood Forest Elementary since 2007. Prior to that, she was assistant principal intern at Yates Mill Elementary and a teacher at Yates Mill Elementary and Lockhart Elementary.

Dudley has served as an interim principal at Knightdale Elementary and Lynn Road Elementary after retiring from WCPSS. Prior to that, Dudley had served as principal of York Elementary and Conn Elementary.

The board named assistant principals including Kenneth Jorgenson to River Bend Elementary, Nanette Lavery to Lake Myra Elementary, Keith Richardson to Sycamore Creek Elementary, Holly Shaw to Timber Drive Elementary, Rossi Wade to Swift Creek Elementary and Samantha Whittington to Banks Road Elementary.

Neel Mandavilli of Southeast Raleigh High and Ashlyn Young of Athens Drive High were awarded the NC Hugh O’Brien (HOBY) Student Representative Award by the Raleigh Jaycees.

The two WCPSS students were among the 10 finalists selected from 226 NC students attending the state leadership program. All finalists were required to write essays, be interviewed by a panel of judges and be nominated by their seminar facilitators.

The award provides a $1,500 scholarship for each student to represent NC HOBY at the World Leadership Congress. The scholarship award was presented on Sunday, June 14 at the closing ceremonies of the three-day NC HOBY Leadership seminar at NC State University.

The 2009 Hugh O’Brien World Leadership Congress will be held at George Mason University in Washington DC from July 25 to 31. The program will host 400 rising high school juniors from all over the world.

The 2009 NC HOBY leadership seminar at NC State University attracted 226 sophomore leaders representing high schools from all across the state. Each sophomore was nominated by their high school for their outstanding accomplishments as a leader, and for their future potential as a leader. During the three-day program, students met with government leaders and entrepreneurs to gain an insight into public service and private enterprise. They were provided with guidance and direction on how to initiate and run volunteering projects that benefit their local communities.

HOBY’s mission is to motivate and empower individuals to make a positive difference within our global society through understanding and action based on effective and compassionate leadership. They are outstanding 10th graders who participate in HOBY programs and return home, charged with providing visionary leadership to their classmates and community. The HOBY program, which was started in 1955, currently has approximately 410,000 HOBY ambassadors.

Superintendent Burns highlighted the accomplishments of the Class of 2009 and saluted the outgoing Chair of the Wake County Board of Education, Rosa Gill, in his June 16 report to the school board.

Click here to listen to Dr. Burns Reports.

This is an 11-minute MP3 file.

Outgoing chair Rosa Gill was recognized by her fellow Wake County Board of Education members for her nine-and-a-half years of service including the past two as the board’s chair. Gill resigned from the board following the board’s June 16 meeting after being selected to serve in the North Carolina House of Representatives representing District 33. She succeeds former Rep. Dan Blue, who was selected to serve out the remainder of the late Sen. Vernon Malone’s term in the N.C. Senate.

New school board chair Kevin L. Hill read the following resolution, which was adopted by the board this afternoon:

In Appreciation of the Dedication and Commitment Provided by Rosa Gill to the Children of Wake County Public School System

WHEREAS, Rosa U. Gill has served the children of Wake County as a member of the Wake County Board of Education since 1999, and as its Chair for the last two years; and

WHEREAS, during that time Rosa U. Gill has been a dedicated member of the Wake County Board of Education, committed to a thoughtful process, willing to address difficult issues by involving and listening to others, and unfailingly focused on the success of every child; and

WHEREAS, Rosa U. Gill’s service as a Board member continues her history of support for Wake County students and citizens as an educator, volunteer and public servant; and

WHEREAS, Rosa U. Gill has been named as the successor to Dan Blue in serving the citizens of District 33 in the North Carolina House of Representatives, and has therefore announced her intention to resign her seat on the Wake County Board of Education; now,

RESOLVED, that the Wake County Board of Education heartily thanks Rosa U. Gill for her service and wishes her well as she accepts her new responsibilities to the State of North Carolina, and respectfully encourages her to continue her life’s work of bringing educational opportunities to every child.

Find out some of the steps we’re taking next year to keep kindergartners and first graders safe on the bus in the latest ParentVision video podcast!

Enloe High graduated 570 students in the Class of 2009 today at the Raleigh Convention Center. This was Enloe’s 46th commencement ceremony.

Each high school organizes its graduation ceremony and has the opportunity to practice with graduates in the Raleigh Convention Center. Enloe students arrived at the Convention Center at 7:15 for their 8 a.m. ceremony. They gathered in an area just behind the stage. Senior Kim Lorella reflected on the excitement just before the ceremony began.

Click here to listen to Senior Kim Lorella just before the graduation ceremony.

One of the parents at the convention center was Rueben Young, NC Secretary of Crime Control and Public Safety. He was proud to see his son, Brandon Young, graduate from Enloe.

Click to listen to Rueben Young on his son’s graduation.

At 8 a.m., the graduation ceremony began with the Enloe High Wind Ensemble directed by Robert Hunter playing Pomp and Circumstance. Student leaders spoke. Then students marched across the stage to receive a diploma and handshake from Principal Beth Cochran. Once all students had received diplomas, Cochran announced them graduates with students and families excitedly celebrating.

Click to listen to Enloe High Wind Ensemble perform Pomp and Circumstance.

Click to listen to Enloe students receive their diplomas

Click to listen to Enloe Principal Beth Cochran announce students as graduates.

Once the graduation ceremony was completed, families and students went to Enloe High where parents of the junior class had prepared a celebration, the Enloe String Orchestra played and the newly graduated students artwork was displayed.

Parents of Enloe graduates Daniel Vitek, Amelia Lumpkin and Roxanne Thompson took a moment during the celebration to talk about the excitement of graduation day.

Click to listen to Enloe Parents Talk about Graduation

The graduating Enloe students agreed with what these parents had to say about the importance of the role that Enloe teachers played in their lives. In the commencement ceremony program, the students noted:

The Senior Class of 2009 would like to express their sincere appreciation for the encouragement, support and guidance they have recieved from the faculty and staff of Enloe Magnet High School.

Continue Reading . . .

In a report looking at the 2006-07 school year, WCPSS demographer Maja Vouk found that 79.6 percent of the 128,260 WCPSS students in that year attended a school within five miles of their home. Of the 102,051 students attending school within five miles of their home, 87,324 were assigned to school and 14,727 by choice.

Students attending a school by choice, such as those going to magnet and year-round schools, or transfers, who use their own transportation, tend to live further from the attending school than “by assignment” students.

In 2003-04, Vouk did the first distance analysis of WCPSS students. In that report, 78.7 percent of the 108,585 WCPSS students attended a school within five miles of their home. Of the 85,468 students attending school within five miles of their home, 71,769 were assigned to school and 13,699 by choice.

In looking at the 2006-07 distance analysis by grade level, the report finds that:

• 89.8% of the elementary school students are assigned to a school within five miles of home, and 99.0 percent are assigned to a school within 10 miles;
• 81.1% of the middle school students are assigned to a school within five miles of home, and 99.0 percent are assigned to a school within 10 miles; and
• 84.2% of high school students are assigned to a school that is within five miles of their home, and 99.5 percent are assigned to a school within 10 miles.

The analysis describes a straight-line distance between the node where the student lives and the student’s school.

You can find the full report online here or the report summary here.

Three school counselors have been named the 2009 Wake County Public School System Counselors of the Year. They are:

• Margaret Ray-Nobles – Holly Grove Elementary School
• Jean Carter – Heritage Middle School
• Tammy Rhye-Butler – Middle Creek High School

“These schools counselors demonstrate the best qualities of WCPSS school counselors and implement an outstanding comprehensive school counseling program at their schools,” said Eric Sparks, WCPSS Director of School Counseling

The School Counselor of the Year is named for elementary, middle and high schools.

Packets are being submitted for these school counselors to the NC School Counselor Association and the American School Counselor Association for consideration for the state and national award processes.

Millbrook High Principal Dana King says the graduation ceremony for the school’s Class of 2009 will be a celebration and recognition of each student’s achievement.

King says Millbrook High has been working with students and the school community to mark this importance milestone in the students’ education careers.

Click here to listen to Graduation Celebrates Each Student’s Story

This is a 10:45 minute mp3 file.

Dr. Donna Hargens, the WCPSS Chief Academic Officer, talked in the Board of Education’s Student Achievement Committee meeting Tuesday about a draft policy on professional learning communities.

Dr. Hargens talked about the importance of providing this time to teachers to improve instruction for students. She said across the school district during the 2009-10 school year, teachers will be meeting on Wednesday afternoons in PLCs.

Click here to listen to Board Reviews Plans for PLC Wednesdays

This is a 6 minute mp3 file.