March 20, 2009

Top News

Seniors Named Park Scholars

Eight WCPSS high school seniors are among 55 students North Carolina State University has named Park Scholars for the Class of 2013.

The WCPSS students named Parks Scholars include Ryan Alexander Collinsworth of Middle Creek High School, Tyler Confrey-Maloney of Broughton High School, Adam Carswell Dunnof Holly Springs High School, Alyse Cristen Flick of Athens Drive High School, Ebunoluwa Ololade Olaleye of Wake Forest-Rolesville High School, Patrick Joseph Shortof Sanderson High School, Gretchen Louise Stokes of Apex High School and John Michael Turner of Middle Creek High School.

The Parks Scholarship awards are valued at nearly $75,000 for North Carolina residents. More than 1,200 applications were received for this year's class, and 200 NC State faculty and alumni reviewed the candidates in a three-stage selection process. More than 100 finalists were invited to participate in final selection activities.

School Calendars Approved

At its March 17 meeting, the Board of Education approved 2010-11 instructional calendars for WCPSS traditional calendar, multi-track, year-round calendar and modified calendar schools. The calendars were recommended by a panel of educators and citizens who met state requirements and scheduled 180 days of instruction for students. You can read about the standards the calendar committee must follow here and see the calendars approved by the board here.

The board gave approval to the 2009-10 Wake Early College of Health and Sciences Instructional Calendar which meets all requirements of the calendar law as well as blending with the Wake Technical Community College. Wake Early College students attend classes on Wake Tech campuses as they seek to complete five years of study earning a high school and associate college degree. You can see the school’s calendar here.

ISSUE: New Schools Opening as Growth Continues Raleigh-Cary, N.C., was the nation’s fastest-growing U.S. metro area between 2007 and 2008, according to July 1, 2008, population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. Raleigh-Cary saw its population climb 4.3 percent between July 1, 2007, and July 1, 2008, to 1.1 million. Raleigh and Austin are Fastest-Growing Metro Areas U.S. Census Bureau News Release Residential Building Permits and Student Enrollment in Wake County YEAR NEW RESIDENTIAL PERMITS WCPSS TOTAL ENROLLMENT 2003 8,748 108,969 2004 10,314 114,068 2005 11,879 120,504 2006 11,222 128,072 2007 10,378 134,002 2008 5,187 137,706 WCPSS School Statistics and Maps, 2008-09 WCPSS.net Demographics Center Schools Construction Project Directory WCPSS.net Facilities Center Future Schools WCPSS.net School Directory More than 10,000 building permits were issued per year from 2004-2007. With the downturn in the economy, permits dropped to 5,187 for 2008. There's been another significant drop. Permits for all of Wake County for January and February 2009 total 439 compared with 1,061 for the same period last year. These reports reflect the WCPSS enrollment increases of 7,568 in 2006, 5,930 in 2007 and 3,704 in 2008. With the downturn in the national economy, 2,300 additional new students are expected for 2009-10 at WCPSS. WCPSS is opening new schools in 2009-10. Three multi-track, year-round elementary schools - Banks Road, Herbert Akins Road and Lake Myra - will open July 7. Banks Road Elementary Banks Road Elementary is being used as swing space for Smith Elementary while the Smith campus is renovated this year. Banks Road has a 103,000 square foot building on 17 acres at 10225 Chambers Road, Raleigh. It is a reuse of the PBC&L two-story elementary school prototype. The site will feature Wake County Parks and Recreation open space and a future Town of Fuquay-Varina ball park. The board has named Franklin Creech principal at Banks Road. He has served as principal of Fuquay-Varina Elementary since 2003. Herbert Akins Road Elementary has a 103,000 square foot building on 44 acres at 2255 Herbert Akins Road, Fuquay-Varina. It is a new larger elementary prototype adapted from the Cedar Fork design by Small Kane Architect. Work continues in multiple areas. Interior finishes are being installed for building 100, 200, and 300. Interior painting continues with ceiling grid and tiles being installed. Exterior work for the school building is 99 percent complete. The board has named Mark K. Warren principal at Herbert Akins. Warren has served as principal of West Lake Elementary since 2005. Lake Myra Elementary has a 103,000 square foot building on 17 acres at 1300 Elk Falls Drive, Wendell. It’s the first re-use of the Mills Park Elementary prototype. The final coat of paint and VCT will be completed in all areas and then carpet installation begins. The board has named Jim Argent principal at Lake Myra. Argent has served as principal of Swift Creek Elementary since 2005.

More News

Board Continues Review of Austere Budget

In meetings March 17, the Board of Education held its public hearing on the budget and continued budget discussions. Sixteen people signed up to comment on the budget, nearly all offering support for Community in Schools which provides tutoring and mentoring services to more than 1,000 students. The austere school system budget eliminates funding for the Communities in Schools site coordinators who work at 10 schools, most with high percentages of low-income students. Earlier in the committee of the whole, board members heard from Assistant Superintendent Marvin Connelly that WCPSS will fill the Communities in Schools positions if adequate state funding is provided, or existing school staff will be asked to pick up the responsibility of coordinating the volunteer tutors. You can find more information on the school system budget here.

The school system budget is funded from three main sources: 62 percent by the state, 31 percent by Wake County and seven percent by the federal government.

There was another step forward in the state budgeting process, as Gov. Purdue presented her budget to the General Assembly. You can see her proposal here. The legislature will now debate her proposals as they work to finalize the state budget in the coming months.

Board Prepares for Elections

At its March 17 meeting, the Board of Education fixed the filing fee for the school board elections coming up in October. Following guidelines in state law, the board set the filing fee at $148. Four of the board’s nine seats will be up for election October 6. News reports indicate board members Patti Head, Eleanor Goette and Lori Millberg have announced they will not seek re-election.

Board Takes Action on Policies

At its March 17 meeting, the Board of Education gave final approval to Policy 1035, Code Of Ethics For School Board Members as recommended by the North Carolina School Board’s Association. You can see the policy here.

The board gave final approval to revisions to Policy 5600, Program Evaluation Policy in accordance with Recommendation 5 of the Curriculum Management Audit. The revisions provide a new policy format. You can see the policy here.

Board Discusses Foreign Language Instruction

At its March 10 Student Achievement Committee Meeting, Board of Education members heard from Tom Huffstetler and Ruth Steidinger of WCPSS Curriculum and Instruction about foreign language programs. They explained some NC districts use dual language programs where groups of native speakers of English and native speakers of the target language would receive instruction in each of the two languages based on scheduling or academic subjects. Some NC districts use full-immersion programs serving native speakers of English in an environment where the target language is used exclusively. Content is delivered in the target language with the exception of English language arts. Several districts use partial immersion programs where native speakers of English use the target language for some portion of the day. Some content is delivered in English and some in the target language. They note the focus of dual language and immersion programs is to help majority and/or minority speakers become proficient in the target language while mastering subject content from other disciplines. The committee is continuing to examine foreign language instruction in WCPSS.

Board Approves Shift of PSAT To 10th Grade

At its March 17 meeting, the Board of Education gave its approval to shifting the year students are tested with the PSAT to better use the College Board test as a planning tool. Schools use results from the tests to encourage students to take rigorous courses to best prepare them for college.

In accordance with state law, WCPSS pays for students to take the PSAT (Preliminary Scholastic Achievement Test). For the past several years, WCPSS has paid only for 11th graders; however, for the 2008-09 year, the decision was made to switch to paying for 10th grade students. As a result of this decision, WCPSS paid for 10th and 11th grade students for one year. In the future, WCPSS will only pay for PSATs for 10th graders. In 2008-09, 7,017 10th grade students took the PSAT along with 8,231 11th graders at a cost of $13.00 per student or $198,224.00 to WCPSS. An additional 427 students paid individually for taking the test bringing the total cost of the test administration to $203,775.  This change in testing was presented to the Student Achievement Committee.

You can read more about the PSAT here.

Letters to be Mailed to School Applicants

Letters will soon go in the mail to the families who filed 13,081 applications seeking magnet and calendar options for 2009-10. There were 9,758 applications for magnet seats, 3,848 for year-round seats and 2,860 for traditional calendar seats. Once families receive their letters, they will be asked to respond by April 10 if they plan to decline the magnet or calendar school opportunity.