Superintendent Taylor delivers 2025 State of the Schools Address

 

Dr. Robert P. Taylor, superintendent of the Wake County Public School System, delivered his 2025 State of the Schools address on Feb. 26 at Southeast Raleigh Magnet High.

 

The event drew hundreds of students, families, educators, civic and political leaders, and community supporters.

 

Dr. Taylor highlighted recent successes while sharing details about how our district’s new Learning Model will improve outcomes for all students.

 

“I can state with confidence that the state of the Wake County Public School System is very strong indeed,” Dr. Taylor said. “Tonight we’re of course going to look back at our most recent successes. But we are mainly going to be looking forward to our plan for building on these successes. Specifically, we’re going to walk you through our new 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.”

 

His speech was enriched and enlivened by four student performances that demonstrated various aspects of this new model.

• Sandra, a 2nd grader at Hilburn Academy who immigrated from Kyrgyzstan last year, and one of her teachers, Ms. Drakeford, spoke about how she overcame a language barrier with support from her teachers and classmates.

• Members of the Apex Middle School Cougarbots robotics team demonstrated one of their creations.

• Two members of the Broughton Magnet High School debate team debated the use of AI in public education.

• And Faith Daniels of Knightdale High School performed a stirring rendition of “I’m Here” from the musical “The Color Purple.”

 

Dr. Taylor also took a moment to share how we are responding to recent federal actions affecting education.

 

“While we must follow the law, we will not abandon our values, specifically our belief that every child is uniquely capable and deserves to be challenged and engaged in relevant, rigorous, and meaningful learning each day,” Dr. Taylor said. “Our most important obligation is to the students and families of Wake County. Serving their needs will remain our highest priority. We will do everything in our power, within the law, to mitigate any negative impact of funding or policy changes.”

 

Below is a summary of the 2025 State of the Schools. Watch the entire event.

 

Successes

Our hard-working students and teachers have bounced back from the pandemic by nearly all measures, both formal and informal. 

 

Auditoriums are packed once again for performing arts, stands are packed at basketball games, and WCPSS students are winning awards in national and statewide public speaking contests! 

 

Last school year, 85% of our schools met or exceeded expected growth for their students! 

 

Students’ overall proficiency on standardized tests is nearly back to pre-pandemic levels, and they’ve even surpassed pre-pandemic levels in many subjects.

 

While COVID-19 brought unprecedented disruptions, it also revealed the resilience and adaptability of our students and educators. 

 

Our most recent graduating class, which began high school in Fall of 2020, achieved the highest four-year graduation rate in our district’s history - 91.4%.

 

That’s well above the state and national average.

 

More importantly, it means that more than 12,000 students stepped with confidence out of the uncertainty of the pandemic into bright futures. 

 

Additionally:

• 40% of high school students are now enrolled in rigorous coursework such as Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) courses, up from 35% in the 2022-23 school year.

• Career and Technical Education, or CTE, enrollments have grown in the last three years, with thousands of our CTE students earning industry certifications.

• And we earned a $15 million grant to launch five new STEM-focused magnet programs in eastern Wake County to support early exposure to engineering and computer science.

 

We know that we need high-quality teachers in place for students to be engaged. 

 

Due to intentional recruitment and retention efforts, our teacher vacancy rate so far this year has remained below 2%, the lowest since we began tracking this data.

 

And our community has consistently given us strong feedback that preparation for many post-secondary options is of utmost importance.

 

We have seven early college programs focused on everything from health sciences, gaming, and information technology to leadership, child development, and welding!

 

We also offer 24 career academy programs in our comprehensive high schools that feature work-based learning activities, job shadowing, and internships. 

 

Our magnet schools continue to be recognized as national leaders in promoting innovative curriculum and diversity. 

 

Fifty-one magnet schools earned national merit awards from Magnet Schools of America. 

 

Of those, 18 received that organization’s highest honor - out of only 24 top winners in the entire country.

 

We’ve also expanded middle school elective offerings to include coding, global studies, and entrepreneurship, exposing students to real-world.

 

Response to federal actions

This is an evolving situation, and we are working diligently to understand the implications of executive orders and policy proposals that may impact federal education funding and regulations.

 

But one thing remains clear: a strong public school system is the foundation of a thriving, prosperous community.

 

Dr. Taylor made three points about these changes:

"First, we will follow the law, period. As a government agency, this is non-negotiable. So we will continue to stay in daily communication with our legal counsel to ensure we are in compliance with the law. 

 

“Second, while we must follow the law, we will not abandon our values - specifically our belief that every child is uniquely capable and deserves to be challenged and engaged in relevant, rigorous, and meaningful learning each day. Our most important obligation is to the students and families of Wake County. They are our constituents and the reason our school system exists. Serving their needs will remain our highest priority. And we will do everything in our power, within the law, to mitigate any negative impact of funding or policy changes.

 

“Third, in this new environment, we as educators and policymakers need to seek common ground. We need to listen with an open mind to all concerns. And we should look for ways to be responsive to such concerns - as long as we can do so in a way that is consistent with our objective of supporting the needs of every student. 

 

“I have no illusions that there will be unanimous agreement about any actions we take - but when has that ever been the case? Public service demands the courage to navigate differing viewpoints and make decisions in the best interest of our community. My expectation is we will meet this new reality with courage, compassion, wisdom, and grace. This is our moral and professional duty as educators. This is what our students and families expect and deserve. And the long-term health and prosperity of Wake County depends on a well-supported Wake County Public School System.

 

“The work will continue, because it must continue.”

New Learning Model

 

As pleased as we are with this progress, we also have to acknowledge how far we still have to go.

Specifically, outcomes for Black, Hispanic, and low-income students still lag far behind their peers.

 

The good news is we have put in place some new structures that we believe will go a long way toward helping reach that goal. 

 

The cornerstone of these efforts is our new Student-Centered Learning Model.

 

In essence, the new model encourages administrators, teachers, and staff to view everything they do through a student lens.

 

We break it down to four pillars: See Me! Challenge Me! Engage Me! Know Me! 

We believe this model will help us reduce disparities in student outcomes, but it isn’t designed solely to support students who may have fallen behind academically.

 

All students benefit when the entire classroom is actively and enthusiastically engaged in meaningful learning.

And 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.

 

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 also may 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 now can 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. 

 

And 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. 

 

That’s why we’re expanding high-impact instructional strategies, career pathways, and hands-on learning opportunities that make education meaningful.

 

Of course, 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.