WCPSS Overview
The Wake County Public School System, now in its 26th year, is devoted to maintaining academic excellence for every child, offering parental choice through our magnet programs and keeping and retaining quality teachers.
Created through the merger of the former Wake County and Raleigh Public School Systems in July 1976, WCPSS serves the entire county including Apex, Cary, Fuquay-Varina, Garner, Holly Springs, Knightdale, Morrisville, Raleigh, Rolesville, Wake Forest, Wendell and Zebulon.
The school system serves more than 108,000 students from kindergarten through 12th grade in 80 elementary schools, 27 middle schools, 16 high schools, and six special/alternative schools. The system also has a strong network of magnet schools that offers options for students and families, maximizes building capacity, and promotes racial diversity in all schools. The magnet program consists of 50 schools, offering a wide variety of programs including year-round, gifted and talented, international baccalaureate, Montessori, creative arts and science, global communication, accelerated studies and other models.
WCPSS is led by Superintendent Bill McNeal and the Board of Education. The board consists of nine elected members, representing geographical districts of the county, who serve four-year terms. The board establishes policy for the system. The superintendent and his senior administrative team are charged with the responsibility for implementing policy, establishing procedures, and managing system-wide operations. Principals are legally responsible for the operation for each of the 129 schools in the district.
WCPSS and its school board are committed to providing the highest possible quality of education to Wake County students, while maintaining fiscal responsibility and accountability. The mission of the WCPSS is to educate all students to become productive citizens who can effectively manage future challenges. Student performance is the number one priority in all schools in WCPSS as evidenced by the goal adopted by the Board of Education in 2003:
By 2008, 95 percent of students tested will be at or above grade level as measured by North Carolina End-of-Grade testing at grades 3 through 12.
By meeting every child where they are and helping them move to the next level, Wake County's teachers help below grade level children move to grade level and challenge above grade level students to be even more successful.
Over the past few years, student performance in WCPSS has continued to improve while dropout rates have declined. Students posted the highest End-of-Grade scores in the district's history during the 2002-2003 school year, proof that the school system's concentrated efforts to reach Goal 2008 are working. 91.3 percent of students scored at or above grade level, compared with 81.0 percent five years earlier.
Especially significant in the 2002-2003 results was the progress made to close the acheivement gap with gains being made by all groups including African-Americans, Hispanics, special education students and students receiving free and reduced lunches. The achievement gap in math for students on free or reduced lunch shrank from 35 percentage points in 1998 to 16 percentage points in 2003. The achievement gap in reading for students on free and reduced lunch shrank from 35 percentage points in 1998 to 21 percentage points in 2003.
Wake County Schools also posted outstanding performance under the 2002-2003 ABCs of Public Education, a state accountability program that examines student performance school-by-school. WCPSS has 49 Schools of Excellence and 61 Schools of Distinction. No schools were low performing. Twelve of Wake's schools achieved composite scores of more than 95 percent.
SAT scores also tied with 2001-2002 scores to reach their highest levels ever in 2002-2003. The average SAT score for Wake students in 2002-2003 was 1067, a 13-point gain from 2000-2001, and a six-point gain from the previous high score of 1061 achieved in 1999-2000. The average national score was 1026 and average North Carolina score was 1001.
Such success has made WCPSS one of the fastest growing districts in the nation. The school system has averaged an increased student enrollment of 4,000 students a year for the past several years. To keep up with rapid enrollment growth, WCPSS is building new schools and expanding existing schools. In October 2003, voters approved a bond referendum that will fund a new building program called PLAN 2004, an ambitious plan to meet the tremendous needs facing our system - a system that will house over 112,000 students by the end of 2004. With Wake County voters' approval of the referendum for $450 million in school bonds, WCPSS will build 13 new schools, one pre-kindergarten center, provide comprehensive renovations at 16 schools and re-roof or provide minor repairs to 61 campuses.
WCPSS is currently the second largest school district in the North Carolina, the 25th largest in the country and the third largest employer in the Raleigh-Durham area with 12,977 full-time employees in 2002-2003. A total of 665 WCPSS teachers currently hold a certification from the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards. WCPSS leads the state in the number of certified teachers.
Over the years, WCPSS has welcomed audits and studies performed by a number of professional organizations and citizen groups. The latest study, Quality Matters 2004, was released by the Wake Education Partnership. Conducted by local businesspersons, the report supported the findings of previous audits: The Wake County Public School System continues to spend less per pupil than most other similarly sized school districts while achieving better results.
With the support of the community, WCPSS remains committed to meeting the Goal 2008 challenge, closing the achievement gap, and bringing educational opportunity - and hope - to every last child in Wake County.