This is your regular source for a look at the people, places, and behind-the-scenes workings of the Wake County Public School System.

Update on Wake Early College of Health and Sciences

The Wake Early College of Health and Sciences has more than 200 students working during five years of school to earn both a high school diploma and an associate's degree. Wake Early College is a partnership between WakeMed, Wake Technical Community College and the Wake County Public School System. Teresa Pierrie is the new principal of the Wake Early College.

Click here to listen to Update on Wake Early College of Health and Sciences

This is a 10 minute mp3 file

Posted by Bill Poston at 03:44 PM on October 06, 2008 | Leave Feedback

Wake PTA Council Holds 5K Run/Walk, Focuses on Healthy Lifestyles

As part of the National PTA's Healthy Lifestyles Month in November Wake County PTA is holding the first annual Wake PTA Healthy Lifestyles 5k Run/Walk at the NC State Centennial Campus on Sunday, Nov. 23. The race begins at 3:30 p.m. and is geared towards individuals and families of all ages and all skill and experience levels. Packet pick-up will take place from 12:30 until 3 p.m. at the race site.

For registration and race information, please see www.PTA5k.org . You can register online or you may print and mail-in a registration form to the race director. Early Bird Registration fees are $20 through Nov. 9 and $25 after that date. Volunteer registration is free of charge, regardless of registration date. Early Bird registrants will receive a race t-shirt.

Healthy Lifestyle Workshops
The Wake PTA Council has partnered with Advocates for Health in Action to provide free of charge workshops on statewide efforts to reduce childhood obesity while helping children achieve success in school.

• Thursday, Oct. 9, 10 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. at WakeMed Cary Hospital Conference Center, Cary
• Wednesday, Oct. 15, 6:30 p.m. until 8 p.m. at Lake Wheeler Park, Raleigh

While, there is no charge to attend the workshops, an RSVP is requested. Please call 350-7132 to reserve your spot at the workshops .

Posted by Bill Poston at 04:29 PM on October 03, 2008 | Leave Feedback

WCPSS Schools Earn PBS Honors

Ten WCPSS schools taking part in the NC Positive Behavior Support initiative will be recognized at the state PBS conference in November.

Swift Creek Elementary will be recognized with a plaque as an Exemplar School, the top PBS recognition. Mt. Vernon School and River Oaks Middle will be recognized as Banner Schools. Apex Elementary, Carver Elementary, Kingswood Elementary, Reedy Creek Elementary, Underwood Elementary, York Elementary and Heritage Middle will be recognized as Green Ribbon Schools.

Participating schools across the state are being honored for successfully implementing PBS as measured by school wide evaluation tool scores, implementation inventory scores, achievement data and discipline data.

The Positive Behavior Support Initiative helps schools develop more effective strategies for working with challenging student behaviors. This is achieved through working with schools to develop school-wide positive behavior support plans; to provide professional development on best practices; to work with teachers to master new strategies; and, to provide assistance in developing individualized plans for specific students.

WCPSS introduced the PBS program in 2005 at 14 schools. Additional schools have begun using the program including 30 this year bringing the total number of WCPSS schools using PBS to 102.

The state PBS conference will be held in Greensboro on November 19 and 20.

Posted by Bill Poston at 04:27 PM on October 03, 2008 | Leave Feedback

ParentVision: Attending School Board Meetings

Typically every first and third Tuesday, the Wake County Board of Education holds its regular meetings at 3600 Wake Forest Rd. in Raleigh. The school board also meets in several committees during the month. If you want to attend or participate, this ParentVision video podcast helps you find your way around, including tips if you want to speak at a full board meeting.

As always, board meeting schedules, agendas, minutes and contact information are available on the school board's page.

Update: Remember that Wake County Board of Education meetings air on local cable access channels, including RTN 11 in Raleigh (usually the following Wednesday) and Cary TV 11 (usually live). Check your local government channel for schedule information.

Posted by Chip Sudderth at 11:57 AM on September 30, 2008 | Leave Feedback

Chalk Street Drawings Earn East Millbrook Students Recognition

East Millbrook Middle School students in Advanced Visual Arts took part in the 10th annual Visual Art Exchange Street Painting Festival at Moore Square in Raleigh earlier this month. The students of teachers Andrea Croom and Farrall Davis designed four 6 x 6 squares using chalk pastel.

At the end of the day, an awards ceremony was held where East Millbrook students were recognized for their work.

Eric Bleckhorn received the Best in Design category for the Middle School level while Tatiana Brown, Zadey Feliciano, and Sorena Dadgar earned Honorable Mention among participating middle schoolers.

Elisabeth Frasch and Grace Hallman created a beautiful Lily pastel and afterwards they assisted Ms. Croom and Ms. Davis in completing their chalking to earn an Honorable Mention Award.

Scott Drewitt, Christopher Lockard, and Ryan Schultz executed a drawing of a Tiger's eye that stopped onlookers. The Advanced Visual Art students spent their Saturday working hard and created works of art that made East Millbrook Middle School staff and students proud.

East Millbrook business partner Closure Medical supported the school by sponsoring two of the squares.

Posted by Bill Poston at 06:14 PM on September 29, 2008 | Leave Feedback

It's Elementary: What is Being Taught in my Child's Classroom?

Editor's note: Here's the first in a series of blogs exploring what's happening in our elementary classrooms. Your host is Nancy Mangum, a coordinating teacher in our Curriculum and Instruction Department. If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to hit the "feedback" link below. -- Chip Sudderth

You might be wondering what your child is learning each day when you send them off to school.

In Wake County the teachers teach the objectives outlined in the North Carolina Standard Course of Study for their grade level. To provide consistency from school to school, WCPSS has developed a pacing guide for all teachers to help them know when each objective from this standard course of study should be taught. Assessments are built into this guide to assist the teachers in gathering data about your child's progress.

The assessments are an important piece because they allow teachers to differentiate upcoming instruction so that each child gets what they need. For some students, they might need to review the objectives assessed because they have not yet mastered them. This might be done in small groups or one-on-one with the teacher or teacher assistant. For students who have mastered the objectives, the teacher knows that they are ready to move on and might even provide them with some enrichment or extension activities.

By teaching the objectives and assessing student mastery of the objectives, WCPSS's plan for teaching the North Carolina Standard Course of Study insures that all students learn the objectives and are prepared to go on to the next grade.

Next week's question: What should I ask about at a parent-teacher conference?

If you have any questions that you would like answered about your child's elementary classroom let us know!

Posted by Nancy Mangum at 04:45 PM on September 29, 2008 | Leave Feedback

Fall 2008 Parent Newsletter

Parent Matters, a newsletter for parents, has been posted on our website in both English and Spanish. This fall, separate versions have been produced for the parents of our elementary students and for parents who have children in our middle or high schools.

The newsletter contains information to help parents better support their children's education. Articles on multi-year assignment, new schools, online learning, career and technical education, Kids Voting, and school meal prices and payment options can all be found in the Parent Matters newsletter.

Printed copies of the elementary issue are being sent home with all elementary students. The secondary issue is available electronically. Parents can download the entire newsletter from our website or they can view individual stories online.

Posted by Ashley Smith at 01:14 PM on September 29, 2008 | Leave Feedback

Teachers Use Book Studies in Professional Development

Professional development efforts at Salem Middle School earned the WCPSS school a mention in the Sept. 10 issue of Teacher Magazine. The magazine has an article "Hitting the Books," about teacher book groups gaining traction as a way for educators to reflect on ideas and create change in schools. Salem Middle is one of eight schools from across the US mentioned in the article that uses book studies as a professional development tool. A group of teachers at the school have been reading Classroom Assessment for Student Learning by Rick Stiggins, Judith Arter, Jan Chappius and Steve Chappius. Salem teacher Bill Ferriter said a learning team of teachers used parts of the book as a guide as they broke each social studies standard into measurable parts and wrote assessments for each. The magazine article describes book study as easily localized professional development that can be shared among a team of teachers that's economical at a time of rising costs and declining revenue.

Posted by Bill Poston at 03:55 PM on September 26, 2008 | Leave Feedback

Athens Drive Publishes Arts Newsletter

Athens Drive High arts teachers created Sparks, a monthly newsletter showing the Athens Drive community what the school's artsy people are creating in the Fine Arts Department. The newsletter includes news, events, and congrats to all of the visual and performing arts. You can find information about the band's participation in a competition in Clayton on Sept. 27, see the giant chicken being decorated for the state fair and a list of upcoming performances by students in area stage productions. Teachers Pat Goldsmith and Lora Stager edit Sparks.

Posted by Bill Poston at 03:39 PM on September 26, 2008 | Leave Feedback

High School Seniors Are Preparing College Applications

High school seniors are hearing from school counselors about the importance of keeping pace with the college admission process. By this point in the college search, seniors have often begun to narrow the search and visited a number of college and university campuses to get a first hand look and determine if they can picture themselves studying there. Students may be taking the SAT again to strengthen their resume. Students usually develop a list of possibilities that include colleges that will be easy, difficult and challenging to gain admission. Each college will have its own admission and scholarship timeline; some may have early, regular and late admission options. The college applications may require letters of recommendation from high school teachers and counselors. Families may find it helpful to create a timeline that tracks all the applications, visits and deadlines.

Families may want to become familiar with the website for College Foundation of North Carolina. The webpage promotes the use of its online application process where students can fill out applications online that will be accepted by many North Carolina colleges and universities. It is a one-stop-shop for parents and students on careers, post-secondary planning and financial aid. Each high school also has a Financial Aid Advisor, one day a week starting in October.

Now is the time for families of high schools juniors to begin discussions about college; develop plans for college campus visits; and look at SAT preparation materials. Sophomores and freshmen need to consider their plans and think about activities they can take part in to strengthen their resume for college.

There are several websites that may be helpful in the college search such as cfnc.org and collegeboard.com. Counselors at your high school can provide some great ideas and will be offering programs to help families navigate the complex process of finding the next step after high school. You can also check out the district's Post-Secondary Planner for seniors.

Posted by Bill Poston at 03:00 PM on September 25, 2008 | Leave Feedback