School Connection

WCPSS efforts to encourage high school students to take challenging courses are having an impact. The number of WCPSS students taking Advanced Placement exams and the number of exams taken increased significantly.

In 2005-06, 3,621 WCPSS students took 7,176 Advanced Placement exams. WCPSS had 3,212 students take 6,365 AP exams in 2004-05.

WCPSS students have been encouraged to take more challenging courses such as AP classes, International Baccalaureate classes and Honors classes. By taking more rigorous classes, students get a head start on college-level work, improve writing skills and sharpen problem-solving techniques, develop the study habits necessary for tackling rigorous course work and stand out in the college admissions process.

While the number of students and the number of AP exams increased, the percent of students who scored 3 or higher on the exam was 74.7 percent in 2005-06. The average exam score last year was 3.30. Students earn a grade of 1-5 on the exam. With a score of 3 or higher, students can often obtain course credit from the colleges or universities they attend.

The 3.30 exam average of WCPSS students is higher than the 2.90 worldwide exam average and the 2.76 exam average of NC students. While 74.7 percent of WCPSS students who took AP exams scored 3 or higher, 54.8 percent of NC students scored 3 or higher.

At its Oct. 17 committee of the whole meeting, the Board of Education heard from WCPSS Magnet Schools Director Ken Branch about plans for changes at three schools.

Branch talked with board members about developing Forestville Elementary as a leadership magnet. The leadership theme was developed at Combs Elementary. It is based on the principles of Stephen Covey, author of "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People." Root Elementary began offering the leadership theme in 2005.

Forestville will work to implement the leadership theme beginning in 2008. The school board will vote Nov. 7 on making Forestville a magnet school that could begin accepting students by application for the 2007-08 school year.

Branch continued discussions with the board about plans for the middle schools in Garner. Both East Garner and North Garner middle schools have served as non-application magnets offering International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme. The board has agreed to make changes at both schools.

North Garner will become a multi-track, year-round middle school to serve the increasing number of year-round students with the opening of East Garner Elementary in 2007-08 and the transition of Rand Road and Vance elementary schools to multi-track, year-round for 2007-08. With the change in calendar, the board suggested replacing the IB program with a new academic program or magnet theme at the school.

East Garner will continue to offer the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme. The board agreed the school would change to an application magnet, allowing families to apply to attend the school.

Wake County Public School System will host its annual Magnet Schools Fair on Saturday, Nov. 4 at Southeast Raleigh High School from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m.

Families interested in educational choice should explore the innovative programs offered in the system's 36 magnet schools.

For 24 years, WCPSS's award-winning magnet schools have enhanced the North Carolina Standard Course of Study with innovative approaches to learning that empower students. Magnets open doors of opportunity and spark the imagination of students, preparing them to become responsible citizens in a global society.

The magnet fair is open to the public and creates a venue for parents and students to visit interactive display booths and inquire about such magnet programs as Gifted and Talented, International Baccalaureate, Museums, University Connections, Leadership and Technology, and the newest magnet school, Wake Early College of Health and Sciences. While there, families can collect information about future recruitment events; meet with representatives from WCPSS's Office of Growth and Planning, Year-Round Education, and Transportation as well as enjoy performances by students attending magnet schools.

To find out more information about WCPSS magnet schools and other upcoming recruiting events visit us online at www.wcpss.net/magnet, stop by the Magnet Resource Center located on the campus of Millbrook Elementary or call us at 919.501.7900.

At its Oct. 17 meeting, the Board of Education heard from David Rockefeller, WCPSS Director for Career and Technical Education. Rockefeller reported on the more than 450 Career and Technical Education teachers who served over 58,000 students in WCPSS middle and high schools during 2005-06. He said the students represented a full range of abilities and needs; from students receiving special education services to those enrolled in Honors and AP courses.

Rockefeller introduced Southeast Raleigh High CTE teacher John Geraghty who talked about their national pre-engineering program, Project Lead the Way. Broughton High CTE teacher Nan Alexander was recognized for her impact on her former student, Tiffany Koury, who recently formed her own fashion design label. Koury credits Alexander with getting her started.

WCPSS high schools are working to personalize the high school experience by providing opportunities for students to learn in a variety of smaller learning communities within existing high schools. There are currently seven WCPSS high schools with Career Academies focusing on topics such as:
· information technology at Apex High School;
· medical science at Athens Drive and Enloe;
· finance at Sanderson;
· construction at Wake Forest-Rolesville; and
· bioscience at Knightdale.

Other WCPSS high schools are in the process of developing smaller learning communities with career themes.

At its Oct. 3 meeting, the Board of Education approved plans for the Forestville Elementary Blended Preschool to duplicate the model for preschoolers with hearing impairments, which is currently being implemented at Lacy Elementary. The program offers hearing-impaired preschoolers the opportunity to learn in an environment that includes non-hearing impaired children.

Based on early childhood research, Federal and State guidelines encourage blended programs for preschoolers. Students with hearing impairments benefit greatly from being exposed to the language models of typically developing children.

The program can serve up to 12 children: six being assigned by Special Education Services on the basis of the hearing impairment and six as pre-school tuition students. Tuition for non-hearing impaired students is $150.00 per month for 5 half-days of preschool per week following the WCPSS school calendar.

Buddy Stewart, who served 22 years as athletic director and coach at Enloe High School, received a standing ovation at the Oct. 17 Board of Education meeting. Stewart and his wife were recognized as the board approved the school's request that the football stadium press box be named in Stewart's honor.

Coach Stewart served as an educator for more than forty years, until he retired on June 30, 2005. He began his career at Broughton High in 1968, served at least five Raleigh and Wake County public schools, and served as Enloe's athletic director from 1983 to 2005.

At its Oct. 17 meeting, the Board of Education gave first reading approval to revisions of Policy 2570 on the Naming of Schools. Language was added to provide clarification regarding the criteria used in naming of schools. The policy was presented to and approved by the board's Policy Committee. The board will vote on final approval for the policy change at its next meeting.

More than 600 people gathered Oct. 12 to remember the courageous founding of the Wake County Public School System 30 years ago and to call for continued courageous leadership in meeting today's education challenges at the annual meeting of the Wake Education Partnership.

Senator Vernon Malone, chair of the 1976 Wake County Board of Education presents award to John Murphy, first superintendent of Wake County Public School System.

School board members, school administrators, county commissioners and county lawmakers from 1976 were recognized as special guests and applauded at the meeting for their work to unite the Raleigh City and Wake County schools districts into the Wake County Public School System.

As part of the 30th anniversary celebration, a special award was presented to John Murphy, first superintendent of the Wake County Public School System in 1976. This was Murphy's first trip to Raleigh since moving to Florida after his tenure as superintendent.

"Wake County's current prosperity is due to the leadership of a highly visionary Board of Education that had the courage to remain steadfast in the face of strong opposition and create a new system that focused on the need of Wake County's children," said Murphy. "The outstanding leadership of Vernon Malone, the late Mary Gentry, and the late James Atkins should be valued by Wake County citizens. Their courage and the courage of their colleagues built a strong foundation for Wake County that has endured and will continue to endure for generations to come."

The event featured a dramatic performance about the merger by Wake Forest-Rolesville High sophomore Ariana Debose whose staged "report" about the merger included live comments from Senator Vernon Malone, chair of the 1976 Wake County Board of Education; Wade Smith, attorney with Tharrington Smith and 1976 N.C. legislator; current Wake County Board of Education Chair Patti Head; former WCPSS Superintendent Bill McNeal, a teacher at Carroll Junior High School in 1976; and Smedes York, president of The York Companies.

The meeting's theme, "A Community United: Celebrating 30 Years of Courageous Leadership," focused on the anniversary of the merger. The 1976 merger of the two districts was a significant moment in the community's history, peacefully integrating schools in Wake County despite initial resistance in the community. Since then, WCPSS has become a national leader in academic achievement and has played a key role in the area's phenomenal growth.