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

ParentVision: Your Options After the Calendar Conversions

At its March 2 meeting, the Wake County Board of Education changed the calendars of Leesville Elementary, Leesville Middle, Mills Park Elementary, and Mills Park Middle from year-round to traditional. As a result, the magnet/calendar application period has been extended for families directly affected by the calendar changes, and consequently the notification date and date for families to decline their magnet/calendar offering have been moved as well.

In this ParentVision video podcast, I take you through the details. More information is available in a letter sent to roughly 4500 families who are eligible for the new magnet/calendar application period.

Posted by Chip Sudderth at 6:13 PM on March 9, 2010 | Leave Feedback

Project Enlightenment Offers Kindergarten Information Sessions

Parents enrolling their children for kindergarten for 2010-11 are invited to a free information session about kindergarten in the Wake County Public School System. The 90-minute sessions are being held across Wake County on Mondays and Thursdays during March by Project Enlightenment, a WCPSS early childhood education and intervention program. Learn how to help prepare your child for the new and exciting experiences in kindergarten. The workshop will include: information about helping your child get ready for kindergarten and useful tips to ease the transition into kindergarten. No reservations are necessary. This workshop is intended for adults only and is in addition to any school-sponsored meetings.

Click on this flier for meeting times and locations. Call Project Enlightenment for more information at 856-7774.

Posted by Bill Poston at 4:07 PM on March 9, 2010 | Leave Feedback

Heritage Middle Students Win Southeast US Design Competition

A team of students highlighted in a WCPSS School Connection video story for participating in the Future School Competition have made their way to the national finals.

Susanne Rhodes Killian, CTE Teacher at Heritage Middle, and her 7th grade student Design Team are headed to the National CEFPI School of the Future Competition in Washington, DC. This means that they won the Southeast Regional competition most recently, and in the process defeated middle school teams from other southeastern states.

Sheri Green, WCPSS Facilities Design and Construction Director, says its great news. Green offered her thanks to WCPSS Facility Planners Larry Sherrill and Marcella Rorie.

She praised the staff from Moseley Architects for volunteering as mentors to work with Killian and her students on this project. The Moseley Architects volunteers include Nick Lash, Ashley Dennis, Emily Earl, Melissa Herald, John Nichols and Jim Copeland.



Posted by Bill Poston at 3:33 PM on March 9, 2010 | Leave Feedback

Wakelon Students Send Teddy Bears to Haiti

When a class of Wakelon Elementary second-graders began to ask a lot of questions about the earthquake in Haiti, teacher, Marta Whitehouse used the teachable moment to help them grasp concepts in geography and social responsibility. Students located the island of Haiti on a map and used the map scale to measure the distance from North Carolina to Haiti. They found it was approximately 1,421 miles.

In discussing their concerns for Haiti's children and their needs, the students began to brainstorm ways they could help the victims. The students remembered when they had brought their bears to school to support the Hugs Not Drugs program and how they had discovered that most felt better when they could hug their bears whenever they had unpleasant things happen to them. That was when several students came up with the idea to collect stuffed bears to send the children in Haiti. They decided to call it the Hugs of Hope Program. The children prepared speeches to share the project with all school's teachers and students and began to create collage posters to display throughout the school encouraging others to get involved. Collections took place during the month of February. The NC Baptist Men left for Haiti on Feb. 25 with the stuffed animals and plans for distributing them to children.

Posted by Bill Poston at 4:10 PM on March 8, 2010 | Leave Feedback

Superintendent's Journal: A Declining Dropout Rate

In this week's journal, Dr. Burns reflects on the good news of WCPSS students' declining dropout rate in 2008-09.

A transcript is also available.

(Downloadable in QuickTime)

Posted by Chip Sudderth at 11:04 AM on March 5, 2010 | Leave Feedback

Board Names Principals

At its March 2 meeting, the Board of Education named James Sposato principal at Wakefield Middle School and retired principal Craig T. Matthews as interim principal at Rolesville Elementary.

Sposato has served as principal of Powell Elementary since 2003. Prior to that, he was assistant principal at Powell Elementary. Earlier he worked as an assistant principal intern in Newland, NC.

Matthews retired after serving as principal of Jones Dairy Elementary and Wake Forest Elementary. He served as an interim principal at Wendell Elementary and as an interim assistant principal at Lockhart Elementary.

The board named as assistant principals, Rhonda Izzard at Laurel Park Elementary and Stephen Harrington at Holly Grove Middle and Douglas Cox at Turner Creek Elementary.

At its February 16 meeting, the Board of Education named James Overman as Senior Director, Curriculum and Instruction - Elementary Education and Shane Barham as principal at Wendell Elementary.

Overman has served as principal of East Garner Elementary since 2007. Prior to that, he was principal at Creech Road Elementary. Earlier he worked as an assistant principal at Leesville Road Elementary and an assistant principal intern at Timber Drive Elementary. He was a high school teacher in Smithfield, NC.

Barham has served as principal of Rolesville Elementary since 2007. Prior to that, he was an assistant principal at York Elementary and a teacher at Wendell Elementary.

The board named as assistant principals, Ginger Wooten at Apex High, Jody Hinds at Heritage High, Delvin Vick at East Wake Middle, James Barnes at Carroll Middle and. Derrick Evans at Cedar Fork Elementary

Posted by Bill Poston at 4:52 PM on March 3, 2010 | Leave Feedback

Parents can apply for the Title 1 Pre-Kindergarten program

To have your child considered for the Title 1 Pre-K Program:

Your child must be screened at one of the following sites.

Please bring your child during the time corresponding with the first letter of your child's last name.
A-G 9:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m.
H-L 10:00 a.m.-11:00a.m.
M-Q 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
R-Z 12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m.

Saturday, February 27
Carver Elementary
291 Liles-Dean Road
Wendell, 27591

Saturday, March 13
Aversboro Elementary
1605 Aversboro Road
Garner, 27529

Saturday, March 20
Harris Creek Elementary
3829 Forestville Road
Raleigh, 27616

Saturday, April 10
Turner Creek Elementary
6801 Turner Creek Road
Cary, 27519

Saturday, April 24
Lynn Road Elementary
1601 Lynn Road
Raleigh, 27612

Saturday, May 15
Project Enlightenment
501 South Boylan Avenue
Raleigh, 27603

There will be a Walk-In Session on Saturday, May 1 at Millbrook High School. Please bring your child anytime between 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.

Millbrook High School
2201 Spring Forest Road
Raleigh, 27615

Posted by Bill Poston at 4:51 PM on March 3, 2010 | Leave Feedback

NCPTA Offering Scholarship

The North Carolina PTA is offering a $1,000 grant to a teacher seeking a Master's degree in Education. Applicants must:

  • Be currently teaching in North Carolina public schools with a PTA in good standing (Dues paid, Bylaws up-to-date, Financial Review submitted for 2008-09, and members entered into the NCPTA database);
  • Be an instructional classroom teacher (not a media specialist, guidance counselor, etc.);
  • Have a minimum of three years' teaching experience;
  • Work towards a Masters Degree in a subject or grade level area, not administration;
  • Continue/return to teaching in a public school classroom; and
  • Be a current member of the local PTA.
The application deadline is April 30, 2010. For more information, visit www.ncpta.org, click on "PTA Information," and then click on "Awards/Grants."

Posted by Chip Sudderth at 4:15 PM on March 3, 2010 | Leave Feedback

Dr. Burns Reports: March 2, 2010

In speaking to the Wake County Board of Education, Superintendent Burns offered congratulations to the 24 teachers selected as WCPSS Teacher of the Year semi finalists and a Wake Forest student recognized as one of the state's top teen volunteers.

Click here to listen to Dr. Burns Reports

This is a 3.5 minute MP3 file.

Posted by Bill Poston at 6:56 PM on March 2, 2010 | Leave Feedback

WCPSS Teacher of the Year Semi-Finalists Named

WCPSS has named 24 semi-finalists for the Wake County Public School System's 2010-11 Teacher of the Year. WCPSS schools selected a Teacher of the Year and from those honored, the selection committee determined 24 semi-finalists to be recognized for their dedication to children and quest for personal and professional excellence. The semi-finalists include:

Louann Bradsher, Rolesville Elementary School
Carole Barber, Fuquay-Varina High School
Douglas Steve Clark, West Lake Elementary School
Stephanie Compton, Moore Square Museums Middle School
Stephanie Crocker, Lynn Road Elementary School
Heather Feducia, Wildwood Forest Elementary School
Margaret Feldman, Salem Middle School
Paul Bissell Graves, Daniels Middle School
Breanna Harrill, Athens Drive High School
Anne Huffman, Cary Elementary School
Jennifer Hunter, North Forest Pines Elementary School
Davida Jenkins-Tatum, Harris Creek Elementary School
Calandra Johnson, Wake Forest Rolesville Middle School
Lauren Joyce, Yates Mill Elementary School
Sara Kohler, Millbrook High School
Lynne Petersen, River Oaks Middle School
Elizabeth Plotkin, Fuller Elementary School
Christina Rudd, Cary High School
James Ryan, Knightdale High School
William Shipp, Middle Creek High School
Alice Verstrat, Garner High School
Catherine Walker, Oak Grove Elementary School
Steven West, Panther Creek High School
Carol Wooten, Hunter Elementary School

The next step in the process for the semi-finalists is a classroom observation by committee members to determine the 12 finalists. A reception will be held in April to honor the semi-finalists and name the finalists. The 2010-11 Teacher of the Year will be named at the Teacher of the Year banquet on Thursday, May 13.

Posted by Bill Poston at 4:26 PM on March 1, 2010 | Leave Feedback

School Assignment Resolution to be Discussed March 2

The Wake County Board of Education has a Resolution Establishing Board Directive for Community Based School Assignments on the agenda for its March 2 meeting.

Here is the latest version of the resolution with slight modifications made by board members after the initial release of board materials on Friday.

Posted by Bill Poston at 11:03 AM on March 1, 2010 | Leave Feedback

Superintendent's Journal: Assessing Achievement

Dr. Burns discusses assessing student achievement and learning, both while students are in the Wake County Public Schools, and when they move on to the University of North Carolina system.

(Downloadable in QuickTime)

Posted by Paul Cory at 9:17 PM on February 26, 2010 | Leave Feedback

Wooten is Award Winning Science Teacher

Hunter Elementary teacher Carol Wooten received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.

Wooten is a fifth-grade teacher at Hunter Elementary, a magnet school with the gifted and talented program. She's been working with WCPSS since 1998.

Winners of the Presidential Teaching Award receive $10,000 awards from the National Science Foundation to be used at their discretion. They also receive an expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C. for a White House awards ceremony and several days of educational and celebratory events, including visits with members of Congress and science agency leaders.

Click here to listen to Wooten is Award Winning Science Teacher

This is a 14 minute mp3 file.

You can find more information at:

Posted by Bill Poston at 3:52 PM on February 26, 2010 | Leave Feedback

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