A Fresh Approach to Learning: Putting Students at the Center

We are transforming the way we serve students with a bold, student-centered Learning Model, which entails a renewed and sharpened focus on personalized learning, data-driven instruction, and addressing the needs of the whole child.  The new model encourages administrators, teachers, and staff to view everything they do through a student lens. We break it down into four pillars: See Me! Challenge Me! Engage Me! Know Me! 

These pillars work together to help every student meet or exceed state standards while reaching their fullest potential. We believe this model will help us reduce disparities in student outcomes, and it isn’t designed solely to support students who may have fallen behind academically. All students will benefit when the entire classroom is engaged in meaningful learning. This individualized approach is aimed at meeting students where they are - whether they need to catch up or whether they need to be challenged more.

Our Why: The foundation of our learning model

Our commitment to this new Learning Model is rooted in a simple but powerful belief: Every student deserves to be seen, understood, and supported on their unique educational journey.

Personalization and Rigor - Aligns practices with student needs, ensuring personalized learning and upholding high instructional standards.

Empowering Educators - Equips educators with tailored strategies and supports their growth through continuous professional learning

Excellence for All - Ensures that all students have access to consistent, high-quality learning experiences that support their success.

Guiding Success - Acts as a roadmap, guiding educators to excellence and ensuring students are comprehensively supported -- seen, known, challenged, and engaged.

This is more than just a new approach—it’s a commitment to reimagining what learning looks like in Wake County.

Superintendent Dr. Robert Taylor focused his 2025 State of the Schools Address around the implementation of the Learning Model. View his address online, or read more about our efforts of implementing the Learning Model below.

See Me!

Every student deserves to be recognized for who they are - their strengths, their challenges, their potential.  See Me compels us to foster a sense of belonging for all students by focusing on their social-emotional needs and making sure class activities and discussions include everyone. Student well-being is being integrated into daily classroom instruction, with structured lessons focusing on self-awareness, emotional regulation, and relationship-building skills. 

See Me also asks teachers to identify the individual learning needs of students and take the necessary steps to make sure each student gets what they need to reach their full potential. That may mean differentiating lesson plans to meet each student where they are. It may also mean connecting students with specialized services to address challenges such as learning disabilities or language barriers.

We are offering ongoing professional development for teachers to help them put this approach into practice, equipping them with strategies to foster a supportive learning environment. Research and our own experiences tell us this is a winning strategy.

As we worked our way out of the pandemic, we prioritized addressing the mental health needs of students. We knew that had to happen before real academic recovery could begin. A major part of that strategy was using federal pandemic relief dollars to hire more school counselors, social workers, and psychologists, and I’m grateful to our county commissioners for allowing us to retain those positions this year even as the federal funds expired.

We’ve also expanded access to mental health services through our School-Based Mental Health program. Students and families in about half of our schools can now connect with licensed therapists, and we hope to expand that access to all of our schools within the next two years. This renewed emphasis on our students’ mental health has a direct positive impact on classroom performance.

Challenge Me! 

For students to reach their full potential, they often need a supportive push out of their comfort zone. To make sure that happens consistently, we as educators are pushing ourselves out of our comfort zones by reinforcing our belief that all students are capable of meaningful and rigorous learning. We’re challenging our students with an expanded curriculum, advanced coursework, and specialized academies that prepare them for high-demand careers. We’re taking steps to make sure we remove any subconscious tendencies that steer historically underrepresented students away from high-level courses.

Engage Me! 

This pillar is rooted in the idea that learning isn’t just about memorizing facts; it’s about making connections, getting involved, and making a difference. We’re expanding high-impact instructional strategies, career pathways, and hands-on learning opportunities that make education meaningful.

This is simply building on an approach that we’ve employed for years, emphasizing the development of the essential “4 Cs” skills of critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication. We’re doubling down on this approach because we know that students who are actively engaged in their learning are more likely to succeed. 

We are asking our community to find ways to engage with our schools and provide real-world learning opportunities for our students. Anyone interested should contact a principal or teacher you know and ask how you can support existing programs or facilitate new ones.

Know Me! 

A theme running through all these pillars is that effective education can’t be one-size-fits-all.  Every student has different needs, different goals, different stories.  Our job is to ensure we know them well enough to help them thrive. 

That’s why we are using:

• Personalized Learning Plans, or PLPs, for all students with academic intervention needs.
• Data-driven processes, identifying students who are falling behind and providing the support they need to recover.
  
  

When students feel known, they flourish. Ultimately, the Know Me pillar goes beyond any one data point. It speaks to the heart of our new Learning Model, namely that personal connections are the key to unlocking student potential.