SCHOOL CONNECTION
March 21, 2003
2003 Goal: By 2003, 95 percent of students tested will be
at or above grade level as measured by NC End-of-Grade testing
at grades 3 and 8.
SCHOOL SYSTEM BUILDING NEEDS DISCUSSED
Wake County Public School System staff discussed student growth
and school building needs from July 2004 through June 2008
with the county commissioners and the Board of Education during
their monthly joint luncheon Wednesday (March 19).
The Wake County Planning Department projects WCPSS enrollment - which is already over 104,000 - will reach 160,000 students by 2020. WCPSS continues to add more than 3,000 new students each year.
WCPSS developed a list of school building needs based on the county's enrollment projections, a professional architect/engineer's building assessment of 61 existing campuses, and internal assessments from principals and facilities and maintenance staff. Most of the schools on the list - mainly those built in the 1950s and 1960s - need building systems replacements which may include heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC), mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems.
Based on the presentation, the school system and county staff will recommend a PLAN 2004 building program scope and bond program amount. A bond referendum is tentatively scheduled for fall 2004.
BOARD APPROVES LAND PURCHASE
At its Tuesday (March 18) meeting, the Board of Education
agreed to join the City of Raleigh and Wake County in the
purchase of 20 acres at Brier Creek Parkway and Globe Road.
The site will be purchased from Brier Creek Associates Limited
Partnership. The site will provide space for an elementary
school and community park in northwest Raleigh. The school
district and Raleigh each will pay $780,000. Wake County would
pay the remaining $200,000. The school proposed for the site
would be included in the PLAN 2004 building program.
BOARD STUDIES STUDENT ASSIGNMENT PLAN
At its work session Monday (March 17), the Board of Education
reviewed student assignment questions raised by parents and
citizens who have voiced their concerns in public hearings
and by communicating with board members. Board members spent
hours discussing the concerns and seeking consensus on assignment
recommendations to fill two new schools, Holly Ridge Elementary
and Holly Ridge Middle in Holly Springs, and make best use
of current facilities as another 3,000 students enter school
next year.
Board members may vote on the plan at the April 1 board meeting.
WAKE STUDENTS NAMED PARK SCHOLARS
Eight seniors from the Wake County Public School System have
earned North Carolina State University's prestigious Park
Scholarship.
The eight students include Mitchell Scott Danforth and Mary
Margaret Williard of Enloe High, James Peyton Hassinger and
Caitlin Sara Kelleher of Broughton High, Joel David Mikkelsen
of Cary High, Danielle Hope Speller of Millbrook High, Anita
Gopal Unnithan of Apex High, and Saket R. Vora of Green Hope
High.
The Park Scholarship is a full-expense, four-year, undergraduate
merit scholarship worth about $12,000 per year. The award
covers tuition and fees, books and supplies, room and board,
personal/miscellaneous expenses and transportation. In addition,
each Park Scholar will receive a one-time stipend for the
purchase of a personal computer.
WAKE STUDENTS NAMED MOREHEAD SCHOLARS
Two Wake County Public School System seniors earned the University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's prestigious Morehead Scholarship.
Damian Anthony Cannon and Zachary Scott Clayton, both of
Broughton High School, were among 40 young leaders from high
schools across the nation and Great Britain to have been named
Morehead Scholars.
Among the nation's largest and most competitive scholarship
programs, the Morehead pays all expenses for four years of
undergraduate study, including costs of a laptop computer
and four summer enrichment programs. For in-state students,
like Cannon and Clayton, the scholarship is valued at approximately
$72,000.
EXTENDING SCHOOL TOBACCO BAN TO BE STUDIED
At its Tuesday (March 18) meeting, the Board of Education
directed the board's Policy Committee to review a proposal
made by a group of health advocates and students who spoke
during public hearing. Students from Sanderson and Wakefield
high schools as well as representatives from Tobacco Prevention
Control Branch of the N.C. Department of Health and Human
Services, community health office of Wake Human Services and
Project Assist, an anti-smoking program run out of N.C. State
University called for the board to extend its ban on tobacco
use. Current policy prohibits use of tobacco at all times
inside school facilities and on school campuses during the
school day, as well as in school system vehicles. The anti-tobacco
advocates proposed making school campuses 100 percent tobacco
free. Board member Susan Parry asked that the issue be studied
and the board directed the issue to the Policy Committee.
PROJECT ENCOURAGES HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS TO REGISTER TO
VOTE
The Wake County Public School System, in conjunction with
the Wake County Board of Elections, is encouraging all eligible
high school students - primarily seniors - in Wake County
to register to vote in preparation for the fall elections.
The Seniors Voting Project, which will take place in each
WCPSS high school from March 26 - April 2, seeks to register
students who will be 18 years of age prior to the November
elections.
Superintendent Bill McNeal and the Wake County Board of Education
expressed their support for the project with a resolution
that was read and approved during the board's meeting on March
18.
"The Wake County Public School System believes that
students learn about their roles as citizens through education
and participation," McNeal said. "By enabling students
to register to vote at their schools, we are reinforcing the
lessons of civics and personal responsibility taught in our
classrooms. Voting is our most basic right, and it is a responsibility
and a privilege of citizenship in a democracy. Through this
project, we hope to educate our students and encourage them
to become involved citizens who vote in each and every election."
John Gilbert, chairman of the Wake County Board of Elections
and a former member of the Board of Education, initiated the
Seniors Voting Project last year in response to an alarming
decline in the number of young voters in the 30 years since
18-year-olds were given the right to vote. According to Gilbert,
only 31 percent of 18-year-olds voted in the last presidential
election, a steep drop from the 50 percent of 18-year-olds
who voted in 1972.
Student council presidents at each of the high schools have
agreed to lead the registration drive at their respective
schools with assistance from a teacher volunteer at each school.
Last year, nearly 2,000 eligible seniors registered to vote
during the project.
BOARD APPROVES BIDS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
At its Tuesday (March 18) meeting, the Board of Education
approved bids to build two new elementary schools. The board
awarded a single-prime contract to Barnhill Contracting Company,
in the amount of $8,006,300 for the construction of Highcroft
Drive Elementary. Funding for the total project budget is
$11,163,901, of which $11,152,391 is from the PLAN 2000 School
Building Program, and $10,700 is from Wake County Parks and
Recreation, which will fund the irrigation system of the multi-purpose
field. The board awarded a single-prime contract to R.N. Rouse
& Company, Inc. in the amount of $10,087,105 for the construction
at Forestville Road Elementary. Funding for the total project
budget is $12,888,710 of which $11,152,391 is from the PLAN
2000 School Building Program, and $1,736,319 is from the Town
of Knightdale.
BOARD APPROVES CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENT
At its Tuesday (March 18) meeting, the Board of Education
approved construction documents designed by Davis-Kane Architects,
P.A. for additions and renovations at Kingswood Elementary.
BOARD APPROVES SCHEMATIC DESIGN
At its Tuesday (March 18) meeting, the Board of Education
approved the schematic design documents prepared by Brown
& Jones Architects, Inc. for the construction of Rolesville
Elementary gym renovations.
LES MISERABLES - SCHOOL EDITION
Back by popular demand for a return engagement is Les Miserables
- School Edition featuring students in grades 4-12 from 23
Wake County schools. Here's your opportunity if you missed
the production last October or loved it and want to see it
again.
Performances will be at Memorial Auditorium in Raleigh on:
April 10 at 7:00 p.m.
April 11 at 7:00 p.m.
April 12 at 11:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.
Les Miserables - School Edition is a student version of the
famous Broadway musical Les Miserables, the 2nd longest running
Broadway musical. This theatrical masterpiece is based on
Victor Hugo's novel and has been developed into an extraordinary
opera-inspired work unfolding a tale of man against man and
the difficult decisions made surrounding war, poverty and
desperation. The musical has been adapted for student voices
and some scenes have been shortened.
Les Miserables - School Edition is a cooperative effort of
the Wake County Public School System and the BTI Center for
Performing Arts.
Tickets are on sale from $10.00 - 40.00. For tickets call
the Memorial Auditorium Box Office at 831-6060
COMMUNITY TO MEET ON STUDENT ASSIGNMENT
The Apex, Cary and Garner Chambers of Commerce along with
the Wake PTA Council, Wake Chapter of the North Carolina Association
of Educators and Wake Education Partnership will host a community
meeting on issues of growth and student assignment in Wake
County on April 3, 2003 from 4:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. The
event will take place at the Embassy Suites in Cary and will
feature speaker and panel discussions. Contact Cyndi Soter
O'Neil at (919) 821-7609 or at coneil@wakeedpartnership.org
for more information and to reserve your spot. More information
is also available at http://www.wakeedpartnership.org/Events/MakingChoices_meeting.html.
INSIDE THE NEWS
U.S. Department of Education reports "Paige Blasts "Soft Bigotry of Low Expectations""; "Paige, Ridge Unveil New Web Resource to Help Schools Plan for Emergencies" and "Helping Your Child Become a Reader"
North Carolina Department of Public Instruction provides information on "No Child Left Behind" federal education law
The Washington Post reports "States Cutting School Funding"
The Beacon of LEARN NC reports on education
Time Warner News 14 reports School News
CNN reports on education
The National School Board Association reports the School Board News
CALENDAR
|
April 1 |
2 p.m., Committee of the Whole; 4 p.m. Board of Education meets in the board room at 3600 Wake Forest Road |
|
April 8 |
12:30 p.m., Policy Committee Meeting; 2 p.m., Community Relations Committee Meeting; 3:25 p.m., Finance Committee Meeting |
|
April 10-12 |
Les Miserables - School Edition at the BTI Center for Performing Arts |
|
April 15 |
2 p.m., Committee of the Whole; 4 p.m. Board of Education meets at Garner Senior High School, 2101 Spring Drive, Garner |
|
April 16 |
12 p.m. Board of Education and County Commissioners luncheon, County Office Building, 336 Fayetteville Street Mall |
|
April 18 |
Good Friday, all school offices closed |
|
April 23 |
8:30 a.m., Principals meeting at Webster Center |
|
April 23-24 |
Board of Education retreat to discuss student assignment |
|
April 24 |
5 p.m., Healthy Schools Task Force meeting at Webster Center |
|
May 1 |
Wake Education Summit at McKimmon Center |
You can find more information on school events at http://www.wcpss.net/Calendars
School Connection is published electronically every other week for everyone interested in the Wake County Public Schools. Is what you read in this edition helpful? What information would you like to see in future editions? Contact me by calling 850-1829 or e-mailing bposton@wcpss.net.
Bill Poston
Wake County Public School System
Communications Department
3600 Wake Forest Road
Raleigh, North Carolina 27611
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