School Year Starts for Year-Round Students
July 9 2010 – Approximately 40,000 students began the 2010-11 school year this morning as the Wake County Public School System’s 49 year-round elementary and middle schools opened their doors for the start of the new school year.
Wake County’s two newest year-round schools, Alston Ridge Elementary and Holly Grove Middle schools, both experienced smooth openings today after months of planning.
Alston Ridge Elementary is a 103,806 square-foot school located in Cary that is expected to serve more than 400 students this year. Holly Grove Middle is in Holly Springs and is expected to serve approximately 975 students this year in 197,071 square feet.
“The opening of Holly Grove was smooth sailing,” said Principal Ken Proulx. “After many months of planning and establishing our opening day procedures, the staff did a great job of acclimating the students to the new building. We welcomed over 600 students on Tracks 1, 2, and 3. From carpool to dismissal, the day went without a hitch.”
Proulx arrived at Holly Grove Middle before sunrise to greet Interim Superintendent Dr. Donna Hargens who visited the new school this morning along with news crews from the local television stations who arrived to do live remotes for their morning newscasts.
 Principal Proulx at new Holly Grove Middle |
At 8:45 a.m., Alston Ridge Elementary opened its doors to parents and students who had lined up outside, eager to check out their brand new school and find their new teachers and classrooms. Members of the school’s safety patrol were on-hand to open car doors and greet their fellow classmates while parents of kindergartners chose to park their vehicles and walk their children to their classrooms hand-in-hand.
Principal Fran Venezia said after months of hard work, she was excited to see the first day of school finally arrive.
“We prepared for weeks – actually months – and the opening was smooth,” she said. “The bell rang at 9:15, and instruction began right on time.”
Venezia welcomed the school’s new “alligators” and thanked the students who voted on the school’s colors of green and blue.
 Families arrive at new Alston Ridge Elementary |
At Pleasant Union Elementary, students in the safety patrol carefully unfolded the U.S. flag and raised it on the flagpole as their new school year began. After raising the flag, they went to work opening the car doors and greeting parents and fellow students dropped off in the car pool.
Some parents were parking and walking their children into school. Often these were parents of the school system’s newest students, kindergartners arriving for their first day. There was a sign in table for parents in the school entry and Principal Kevin Biles was in the hallway greeting families and steering them to the kindergarten hall. Teachers were waiting to greet them, explaining where students would put their backpacks and getting parents to fill out contact information. Then teachers took family photos and put students to work coloring. Parents encouraged their children, talked with other parents and asked the teacher questions.
There were small groups of students in the kindergarten classrooms because schools have staggered entry for assessment. Teachers meet with small groups of their students in the first few days of school to acquaint them to school, get to know them better and get a first look at the skills they bring to school.
 Pleasant Union Elementary students raise flag |
At Durant Road Middle School, older students were more independent. Principal Ian Solomon circled the hallways as students made their way to class. Some students were in the hallway stowing items in their new lockers. At 8 a.m., the seventh grade went to the auditorium. Mr. Solomon welcomed students and told them academics were a priority. He introduced Assistant Principal Patti Clinton who recognized honor roll students and called on students to work together for academic success. Solomon held up a copy of the school’s student handbook and encouraged students to study over the weekend and know the rules. He and other key leaders then discussed the importance of bus safety, positive behavior and rules for student use of electronic devices like cell phones. Solomon and the school leaders spent time with each grade level during the morning sharing the importance of following school rules.
 Durant Road Middle students check new lockers |
Bus transportation is always a little challenging at the start of a new school year, but Bob Snidemiller, senior director of transportation for WCPSS, said everything went as expected for the first day today.
“The first day of year-round schools was very successful for transportation,” he said. “History repeated itself with heavy carpool traffic and lower ridership on buses.”
Transportation planners create routes for the new year by looking at the students who were transported the prior year and obtaining new information from WCPSS Growth Management on students enrolled for this school year. New routes are created based on their expectation of student ridership. As families make decisions about their use of buses the first few weeks of school, the transportation department adapts routes to meet the riders' needs and finalizes bus routes.
“We encourage parents to get their students on the bus,” Snidemiller said. “This will help us make adjustments to routes early, so all riders will know what to expect as far as the time the bus will arrive at their stop. Also, parents of kindergarteners and first-graders need to make certain that their children continue to use their name tags for the first 20 days of school to help the bus driver get familiar with their child’s stop. The transportation department wishes all Wake County students a rewarding and successful year!”
