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Wake County Public School District:
Overview, 2008-09

DISTRICT:
OVERVIEW

SCHOOLS:
QUICK FACTS

bullet ENROLLMENT
bullet SUMMARIES
bullet NEW SCHOOLS
bullet BY LEVEL
bullet CALENDAR

bullet YEAR-ROUND
bullet MAGNET
bullet AREA SUPERINTENDENT TEAMS
bullet BOARD OF EDUCATION
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9 ENROLLMENT/SCHOOL DISTRICT RANKING
The Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) continues to grow at a rapid pace.  There were 3,704  more students enrolled at 20th day in 2008-2009 than in 2007-2008.  With the 2008-2009 enrollment of 137,706, WCPSS remains the largest school district in the state, and moved past the San Diego Unified School District to become the nation's 18th largest school district.

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8 SUMMARIES BY LEVEL
1. Enrollment and Facility Utilization:
137,706 students are enrolled in 156 schools (99 elementary, 30 middle, 23 high and 4 special/optional schools). The annual school campus capacity is for 146,706 students (including 1,171 mobile  classrooms), resulting in an overall crowding of 93.9 percent.
2. Race/Ethnicity
While WCPSS tries to keep up with enrollment growth, it also must recognize student diversity  in terms of ethnicity and special needs.  Enrollment of white students and black or African-American students is declining slightly as  a percentage of total students, while Asian, Hispanic and Multi-Racial student enrollment is increasing as the state of North Carolina itself becomes more diverse.
3. Limited English Proficiency and Free and Reduced Lunch Program
The need for specials services also continues to increase. In the current school year, approximately 9.3% of students are classified as LEP or Limited English Proficiency and 5.1% required ESL (English as a Second Language) services.  In addition, 28.4% of WCPSS students qualify for free or reduced (F&R) lunches with the majority of these being kindergarten students.
4.Academically Gifted Program and Special Education Programs
Academically Gifted Programs are offered in grades 4 through 12. As of April 1, 2008, there were 22,882 students, or 26 percent, enrolled in academically gifted programs. In addition, 17,614 of WCPSS K-12 grade students were enrolled in Special Education Programs. WCPSS is serving 1,206 Pre-School students bringing the total of special education students to 18,820, or 13.9 percent of the total student population.
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7 NEW SCHOOL OPENINGS
With this growth comes the need for more schools to accommodate the increase in enrollment. WCPSS opened three elementary schools, two middle schools, two non-traditional high schools, and two 9th grade centers at the beginning of this school year. In addition, one high school expansion was completed and three elementary schools moved into their permanent locations.

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6 SCHOOLS BY LEVEL
The new schools result in 99 elementary schools, 30 middle schools, 23 high schools and 4 special/optional schools in WCPSS for a total of 156 schools in 2008.

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5 CALENDAR SCHEDULE
Of 156 schools total:
-49 schools operate on a year-round calendar (41 elementary schools and 8 middle schools),
-5 schools operate on a modified calendar (2 elementary schools, 2 middle schools and 1 high school),
-1 school operates on WECHS Calendar (Wake Early College of Health and Sciences high school), and
-101 schools operate on a traditional calendar (56 elementary schools, 20 middle schools, 21 high schools, and 4 special/optional schools).

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4YEAR-ROUND SCHOOLS

There are 49 year-round schools in the district: 41 elementary schools, 8 middle schools.

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3 MAGNET SCHOOLS
There are 31 schools with magnet programs in the district: 17 elementary schools, 9 middle schools, and 5 high schools.

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2 AREA SUPERINTENDENT DISTRICTS
Seven area superintendents provide regional leadership to Wake County's 156 schools.
The area superintendents are: Central Wake County: Cathy Moore , Eastern Wake County: Danny Barnes, Northern Wake County: Ann Hooker, Southwestern Wake County: Julye Mizelle, Southern Wake County: Lloyd Gardner, Western Wake County: Kathryn Chontos, Northeastern Wake County: Andre Smith.

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a WAKE COUNTY BOARD of EDUCATION
The school system is governed by a nine-member board of education whose members are elected from nine separate districts in the county and serve staggered four-year terms.

|Board Districts| |BOE Members| |School Membership| |School List|

a School Board Members:
District 1-Mrs. Lori Millberg, District 2-Mr. Horace J. Tart, District 3-Mr. Kevin L. Hill, District 4-Ms. Rosa Gill, Chair, District 5-Dr. Anne McLaurin, District 6-Ms. Beverley Clark, Vice Chair, District 7-Mrs. Patti Head, District 8-Mr. Ron Margiotta, District 9-Mrs. Eleanor Goettee.
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site contactSite Contact: , AICP, GISP; Director, Demographics, (919)-431-8194