Wray Stephens Reflects on 20 Years on the Board of Education
March 30, 2001 - The pinnacle of his 20-year stint on the
Wake County Board of Education was the creation of the 95
percent goal for 2003, according to Wray Stephens honored
last night (March 29) in a reception after stepping down from
the board in February.
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"The 2003 Goal focuses the entire system and it focuses the community," said Stephens. "It's not only a school system goal. It's a community goal. That's the way public education ought to be. The whole community ought to be engaged in the effort and committed to it. The fact that we have brought so many of the non-profits and support groups into working to achieve the goal and now, churches, the faith community being engaged, it's all very exciting."
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In 1998, community leaders took part in an education summit that recommended establishing the goal. Acting on that recommendation, the board including Stephens created the goal, "By 2003, 95 percent of students tested will be at or above grade level as measured by the N.C. End-of-Grade testing at grades 3 and 8." The goal has focused students, teachers, parents, administrators, and the community on student success in the classroom.
"And it's doable," said Stephens. "We may
or may not hit 95 percent by 2003, but what we will have done
will have made a dramatic improvement for kids. I look forward
to what is beyond the goal. What will we discover about that
five percent and how will we fashion new strategies for the
five percent we haven't gotten to grade level."
Stephens said the community and school system were able to
establish such a demanding goal because of the work that had
been done for years to strengthen academics, support teachers,
and care for children.
"We worked hard to promote building a strong infrastructure
that would undergird our primary mission, educating children,"
said Stephens. "I think we kept a strong focus on the
school system being a single system and focused decision making
on doing what was best for the whole system, trying not to
allow us to be provincial. I believe we kept the board from
being politically partisan. In my 20 years, I saw little partisan
politics outside of election time. One of the things I believed
in strongly was the clear distinction in the roles between
the board as policy makers and the administration in implementing
that policy. We didn't succeed in all cases in doing that,
but we worked hard at it."
Stephens served as chairman of the school board in 1999-2000
and in 1989. Before joining the board, he worked in the classroom
teaching first in Harnett County. After earning a masters
degree, he moved to the Wake County Schools where he worked
as a special education teacher. He empathized with teachers
and wanted to address the isolation he felt as a special education
teacher.
"We're doing that much, much better," said Stephens.
"There are probably many changes that have improved that.
The movement to site-based decision making has resulted in
teachers being more engaged with each other and participating
in decision making in the schools. The other side of that
is there is more demand on their time. I see a lot of evidence
of more teaming and organizations for teachers."
And Stephens said special education teachers now have an
acknowledged role working with classroom teachers to help
children with special needs. There is now a team approach
to helping the child.
While the community saw advances in the school system as
a result of the school board's work over the last 20 years,
Stephens said he also benefited from serving on the board.
"It was a way to continue that involvement in public
education, something that I believed in," he said. "It
was gratifying to be involved. I want to continue that. It
was an enormous growth experience for me. Being associated
with the caliber of professional staff, especially those in
the central office, was a unique opportunity. I'm grateful
for that. A lot of people had a very positive impact on my
life. I learned a great deal about public education and the
way schools work and about the board and community issues."
In addition to serving on the school board and working as
a teacher, Stephens had other connections to the school system.
He was a businessman, community leader and parent. He ran
his family's hardware and building supply business, directed
the Fuquay-Varina Chamber of Commerce, and served on the board
of the Fuquay-Varina Education Foundation. He and his wife
raised four children. Today he works as the Executive Director
of the North Carolina United Methodist Commission on Outdoor
and Camping Ministries. As he leaves the school board to devote
more time to his family, Stephens is proud of the school system.
"We have an extraordinarily good Board of Education, and a fantastic administration, principals and teachers, a fine system," said Stephens. "The Wake County Public School System deserves a great deal of trust and respect."
Wray Stephens looks back over 20 years on the Board of Education |
Wray Stephens - articles over the years |
Wray Stephens and a history of the Wake County Board of Education |