Superintendent's Column
When former WCPSS Superintendent Bob Bridges described what students need to succeed, he frequently talked about them standing on a three-legged stool. Those three legs are the home, the church (or other strong community support system), and the school.
If any one of those legs were short, Dr. Bridges would say, a student would have to actively maintain his or her balance to stay upright. Students with great skill and ability would be able to stand and adjust. If two legs of the stool were short, then the stool would be at such a steep angle that few students can stand. Even the most agile and strong-willed would eventually get tired, and then all they can do is hang on like most students in that situation. Hanging on becomes the focus; learning becomes a distant consideration. And some-times they fall.
Our students depend on all three legs of the stool. As WCPSS’s current Superintendent, I am accountable for whether our schools are healthy, safe and effective learning environments where your child can and will thrive. Our vision is that every child graduates on time, prepared for the future, and everything we do must work toward that vision. For those students who are having trouble balancing on the stool, it’s not enough for educators to ask for more support from the home and community. We also have to ask if we are doing enough ourselves.
And we’re doing that. We are deeply involved in responding to a curriculum management audit that saw room for improvement in our academic programs. We’re also focusing attention on the two vital behaviors that students must adopt in order to graduate on time, prepared for the future:
• Attend school regularly
• Learn the Standard Course of Study
We are constantly reviewing how our students are learning, what we teach, how we teach it, and how our school system supports learning and teaching from the cafeteria to the athletic field to the Superintendent’s Office. What we are discovering is that while WCPSS is doing a good job preparing most students for the future — better than most comparable school districts in our nation — we have many more opportunities for
improvement.
It’s not just about more resources, although our growing student population needs them. It’s not just about parental and community involvement, although we are actively and enthusiastically welcoming businesses, faith communities and families to our school
doors. It’s about accepting that WCPSS must be there for every child from kindergarten to 12th grade: the one bound for Harvard, the one struggling in a broken home, the one overcoming a disability, the one new to Wake County, and the one whose family has been here
for generations.
We stand in support of every child in the Wake County Public School System. We stand in support of
your children. Please help support them in their studies and attendance. Please let your school know what we can do to support you. And thank you for entrusting their education to us. It is a responsibility that we are proud to bear.