Recognizing success

Schools Recognized

2003-2004

Bugg Elementary has been named the best magnet school in the nation by Magnet Schools of America, the national association of magnet school educators. Bugg Elementary Principal Mary Page was presented the award, known as the Ronald P. Simpson Distinguished Merit Award, at the International Magnet School of America Conference today in Raleigh. Along with the award, the school received a $5,000 honorarium.

2003-2004

The Southeast Raleigh High School robotics team won the top honor at the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics International Championship. The student-led team from Southeast Raleigh High, nicknamed the "Robodogs", is composed of 32 students, two teacher/advisors, and engineering mentors from team sponsors North Carolina State University and Cisco Systems, Inc. Working with their professional mentors, the students designed and built an original, remote-controlled robot for the FIRST robotics competition.

2003-2004

The Green Hope High School team won the state's United States Academic Decathlon last month. Team members are Victor Zhu, Jessica Geiss, Faisal Hussain, Aras Kabaca, Megan Morrison, Jacob Karpel and Tyler Shelton. Coaches are Deborah Kramer and Kathleen Benningfield. The team will compete nationally at the finals in Boise, Idaho, April 14-17, 2004.

2003-2004

Moore Square Middle School students were top ten finalists in several events at the 25th Annual State Technology Student Association Conference in Greensboro. Moore Square students earned honors in Electrical Applications, Career Challenge, Computer Applications, Technology Bowl, and Technology Challenge. At the awards ceremony, the students were thrilled to bring home two trophies. Mo Chen and Brian Serow placed third in Structural Engineering Challenge, and Valerie Voight placed first in Technical Writing Challenge.

2003-2004

The Model United Nations team from Fuquay Varina High School finished in first place at the competition held at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill last month. Students on the team included Jason Tuell, Jeff Maloney, Stephanie Ashworth, Sarah Young, Erin O'Donnell, Jay Atkinson, Rachael Hoch, Cameron Neal and Jay Frisbee. Social Studies teacher Sandy Allen was the team's coach. Several students earned individual honors. Hoch was declared best delegate in the UNEP committee. Neal was declared best delegate in the General assembly. Tuell was declared first runner up in the Security Council. Young received honorable mention in the Security Council.

2003-2004

Two teams of students from West Lake Middle School participated in the North Carolina FIRST LEGO League State Tournament. The school's Robohawks team got the tournament's second highest score and were awarded the 'Against All Odds Award." The Robohawks included Teddy Belles, Rigo Torres and Jerry Koontz. The Martian Icecaps team included Mark Julis, Ben Johnson and Justin Willick.

2003-2004

Leesville Road Middle School students were awarded the "2004 Rookie of the Year" trophy at the Junior Solar Sprint Regional Competition. The award is granted to the middle or high school that enters the most innovative and competitive designs in their first year of competition at the EV Challenge. The trophy stands 3.5 feet tall. Leesville Road Middle's Team "Solar Scoob" won a trophy for their use of unique design elements. Teacher Bunny Thompson was recognized for sponsoring the teams.

2003-2004

The Magnet Schools of America, the national association for magnet schools, has named three WCPSS magnet schools as 2004 Magnet Schools of Excellence and four WCPSS magnet schools as 2004 Magnet Schools of Distinction. Bugg, Douglas and Washington elementary schools were among 12 magnet schools in the U.S. named 2004 Magnet Schools of Excellence. The association will honor one of the 12 schools with its Simpson Distinguished Magnet School of Merit Award as the top magnet school in the nation. The Hogan and Hartson Magnet School of Merit Award will be presented to one of the schools recognized for its leadership, expertise and commitment to magnet schools. Combs Elementary, Farmington Woods Elementary, Martin Middle, and Ligon Middle were among 40 schools in the U.S, named 2004 Magnet Schools of Distinction.

2003-2004

Eleven Wake County schools advanced to the state Odyssey of the Mind competition this month by winning at the Eastern Regional Tournament held at Wakefield Middle and High schools. There were 94 teams in the regional competition. Winners from Wake County included Davis Drive Elementary, Durant Road Elementary, Joyner Elementary, Olive Chapel Elementary, Stough Elementary, Carnage Middle, Durant Road Middle, Martin Middle, Wakefield Middle and Enloe High. The WCPSS teams will go on to compete in the state finals April 17 at Appalachian State University.

2003-2004

The Southeast Raleigh High School FIRST Team won the Chairman's Award and Leadership in Control Award at the NASA Langley/VCU Regional in Richmond, Virginia. The students work with engineers from Cisco, IBM, NC State University and they attended the competition with parents, former team members and their families The Robodogs earned the FIRST competition's highest honor, the Chairman's Award, and the Leadership in Control award.

2003-2004

Enloe High School students won the N.C. Department of Transportation Regional Model Bridge Building Competitions this month. The Enloe team won the Region 2 high school event and will go on to compete next month in the state finals against the seven other regional winners.. Each school team was judged in four categories: written report, oral presentation, design drawing and model efficiency. The competition is designed to create a greater awareness of careers in and the services provided by the transportation industry.

2003-2004

Lockhart Elementary was one of two North Carolina elementary schools recognized as 2004 Distinguished Title I Schools at the National Title I Conference in New Orleans, La. Lockhart Elementary was recognized for its exceptional student performance for two or more consecutive years.

2003-2004

Carnage Middle School Varsity and Jr. Varsity Science Olympiad teams both won second place in their divisions at the Region 4 competition on Feb. 7 at Garner High School. The varsity team will move on to compete at the State Science Olympiad competition to be held in April at the College of Textiles at NCSU.

2003-2004

Zebulon Middle health and physical education teacher Barnanne Creech was named Teacher of the Year by the North Carolina Alliance for Athletics, Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance conference in Greensboro. Zebulon Middle Principal John Wall received a PEP (Physical Education Principal) Award from the alliance for his leadership and support for his school's physical education program.

2003-2004

Combs Elementary has been asked to participate in the 12th Annual Model Schools Conference June 25-28 in Washington, D.C. held by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Council of Chief State School Officers and the International Center for Leadership in Education. The conference seeks to present schools that are among the best in the nation in having all students complete a rigorous and relevant curriculum and provide their leaders a chance to share their stories. Principal Muriel Summers has been asked to talk about Combs' focus on leadership and instruction using the concepts Stephen Covey teaches in his book "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People." You can read more about the conference at http://www.daggett.com/model_schools.html

2003-2004

Swift Creek Elementary students collected 435 pounds of items they delivered to the NC Food Bank to help the victims of Hurricane Isabel. Each grade level was responsible for brining in different food or personal items. Third grade teacher Gwen Graham coordinated the effort as part of the school's character education program.

2003-2004

Students at Zebulon Middle more than doubled their goal of collecting 100 coats to donate to children. Students began collecting coats in September. Seventh grade teacher Jacquie Jeffers coordinated the effort. Coat collection sites were set up at the school and several locations in east Wake County. Jeffers said community organizations and churches will distribute the coats.

2003-2004

Moore Square Middle received a 2003 Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Community Appearance Oct. 2. The ceremony was held at the NC Museum of Art. The school will also be featured in the architectural portfolio section of American School and University magazine in their November 2003 edition.

2003-2004

Combs Elementary is one of ten schools in the nation named a 2003 National School of Character by the Character Education Partnership of Washington, D.C. Combs was recognized for the school's exemplary work to encourage the social, ethical and academic development of their students through character education.

2002-2003

Sanderson High School's Air Force ROTC was honored this year. The headquarters program at Maxwell Air Force Base selected the unit as "Distinguished AFJROTC Unit" for 2002-03. Only 89 units of the 700 worldwide were selected as distinguished.

2002-2003

The Wake Forest-Rolesville Middle School Orchestra and the Wake Forest Elementary School Orchestra were awarded Superior Ratings at the NC Eastern Region Orchestra Contest/Festival. Both groups are under the direction of Jeremy Gibbs. The WFR Middle School Orchestra performed two pieces, March of the Meistersingers by Richard Wagner and Sandra Dackow and Highridge Overture by Elliot Del Borgo. The Wake Forest Elementary Orchestra performed Happy Hoedown by Bruce Chase and Bow-Regard's Parade by John Caponegro. Each of the three contest judges gave both groups a rating of superior.

2002-2003

Washington Elementary has been named the best magnet school in the nation by Magnet Schools of America, the national association of magnet school educators. Washington Elementary Principal Allynna Stone was presented the award, known as the Ronald P. Simpson Distinguished Merit Award, April 8 at the International Magnet School of America Conference held in Long Beach, California. Along with the award, the school received a $5,000 honorarium. The school serves nearly 600 students in kindergarten to fifth grade.

2002-2003

At its Tuesday (April 15) meeting, WCPSS Magnet School Director Caroline Massengill recognized principals of nationally award winning magnet schools before the Board of Education. Massengill said six Wake magnet schools were recognized by the Magnet Schools of America at its annual conference last week. Of the 18 schools from across the nation the association recognized as Magnet Schools of Excellence, WCPSS had five including Washington Elementary, Combs Elementary, Farmington Woods Elementary, Daniels Middle and Ligon Middle. Of the eleven schools recognized as Magnet Schools of Distinction, WCPSS had one, Douglas Elementary. Board members applauded the schools for their success and the strength of the magnet school program in Wake County.

2002-2003

Martin Middle School earned first place in the Middle School division of the American Math Competition - 10 (AMC-10) for North Carolina. The team consists of Misha Lavrov, Brandon Williams and Albert Choi. More than 6,000 students from 130 North Carolina schools took the AMC 10 exams. Schools are ranked by the sum of the top three students' scores on the AMC10

2002-2003

Nearly 400 middle school students from 20 different Wake County middle schools competed in the Wake County Public School System Battle of the Books last month. Carnage Middle won the eighth grade competition. The Carnage team included Taylor Coggins, Michael Cyzewski, Nick Garner, Marisa Gilmore, Duncan Hardee, and Smitha Sharma. First runner up was Ligon Middle Second runner up was East Cary Middle. Third runner up was Apex Middle. Martin Middle won the seventh grade competition. The Martin team included Augusta Gudeman, Jenny Levine, Lorna Knick, Katie Ludovici and Tim Waer. First runner up was Davis Drive Middle. Second runner up was Dillard Drive Middle. Third runner up was West Lake Middle. Lufkin Road Middle won the sixth grade competition. The Lufkin Road team included Tyler Barnes, Jared Gritz, Josh James, Shayon Saleh, Laura Wilkinson and Jennifer Yeh. First runner up was Apex Middle. Second runner up was West Millbrook Middle. Third runner up was Daniels Middle.

2002-2003

Carnage Middle School's History Day Teams prepared impressive historical research projects for the District level competition on March 31. The exhibit team placed second in their category with their entry on the Greensboro Sit-Ins, titled "Segregation: A Disgrace to the Human Race." The documentary team placed third in their division with a movie on Quakers in the Abolitionist Movement, entitled "Levi Coffin: President of the Underground Railroad." Both teams qualified to compete at the state level History Day competition on April 26. Exhibit team members included Catinca Bucsan, Jason Hescheles, and Abby Phipps. The documentary team consisted of Sydney Arnold, Spencer Goodall, David Millard, Logan New, and Laura Rucker. The faculty advisor for both groups was Lindsey Ligett.

2002-2003

The Southeast Raleigh High Robodogs team won a number of honors at the FIRST Regional Competition March 6 - 8 at Virginia Commonwealth University's Siegel Center in Richmond. In the competition, teams of students work with engineers to build a robot to compete in a series of tasks. The Southeast Raleigh High School team won the Delphi Driving Tomorrow's Technology Award for an elegant and advantageous machine feature; and the Motorola Quality Award for machine robustness in concept and fabrication.

2002-2003

Six Wake County Public School System schools advanced to the state finals of the Odyssey of the Mind competition. Then schools include Durant Road Elementary, Joyner Elementary, Lead Mine Elementary Stough Elementary, Durant Road Middle and Wakefield Middle. The teams of students advanced by demonstrating their creativity in solving a variety of problems at the Eastern Region tournament held March 1 at Wakefield High School.

2002-2003

For the fourth year in a row, the N.C. Department of Public Instruction recognized Vandora Springs Elementary School as a Super Safe School for providing a safe learning environment for its students and staff. Vandora Springs is one of 37 schools across the state recognized this year as a Super Safe School. The WCPSS school, located in Garner, was the only Triangle school to be selected for the award this year.

2002-2003

Carnage Middle School students recently competed in the 2003 Garner Regional Science Olympiad Tournament. The Junior Varsity Team won First Place and the Varsity Team won second. The coaches for the teams are Mrs. Lucas and Mrs. Weber.

2002-2003

Conn Elementary School received one of six grants awarded by Wake County Solid Waste in January to help implement recycling or composting programs. Conn received the $9,000 grant to pay for compost bins, paper shredders and educational materials, as the school launches a solid waste reduction project. The grants are awarded to innovative recycling programs that promise significant benefits and could easily be adopted by other businesses.

2002-2003

Fuquay-Varina High School held its first induction ceremonies for its Rodrigo de Triana Chapter of the National Spanish Honor Society in January. Charter members include Jessamyn Bowling, Meredith Edwards, Ahdonnia Freeman, Paige Goodwin, Amelia Sprague, Erin Tracy, Kelly Couch, Kristen Finch, Ashley Levy, Robert Montefusco and Jo-Zahn Oliver. Jessica Caro transferred her membership. Students are required to have completed two high school Spanish courses and demonstrate academic achievement in their studies.

2002-2003

Farmington Woods Elementary School became in February the first elementary school in North Carolina to be authorized by the International Baccalaureate to offer the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme. The school joins an elite group of 17 schools nationwide that have been authorized to offer the program by the organization.

2002-2003

Durant Road Middle School is one of four middle schools in North Carolina recognized as a School to Watch by the North Carolina Middle School Association. This is the association's first year for recognizing schools making progress towards, or sustaining, excellence in middle level education. North Carolina is one of three states in the nation chosen to pilot the National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform's "Schools to Watch" project. You can read more about Schools to Watch at http://www.ncmsa.net/

2002-2003

A team of seventh-graders from Ligon Middle School won North Carolina's first Future City competition this month at the NC Museum of History. The students will now compete in Washington, DC, Feb. 17 for the national title. The Ligon team was one of 12 competing in the event where students write an essay, design a model, and make an oral presentation on a city they design using "SimCity 3000" software. The Ligon team included Adam Meyer, Cory Li and Samantha Powers. The students received advice from teacher Brian Bock and Eric Misak, an engineer with Parsons Brinckerhoff. You can read more about the competition at http://www.futurecity.org

2002-2003

Carnage Middle School's seventh- and eighth-grade Quiz Bowl Team has achieved impressive scores in two competitions this fall. In the Knowledge Master Open, an international quiz bowl contest, the team placed first in North Carolina and nineteenth overall out of the over 850 middle school teams that participated nationwide and from four foreign countries. In the Thinking Cap Contest for North Carolina, Carnage had the highest percentage of correct answers (93%) in the state and earned second place overall of the 25 middle schools across the state that competed. The team members: Alan Mitchell (captain), Albert Chu, Katharine Edwards, Marisa Gilmore, Cameron Green, James Ho, Michael Hogan, Aneitra Hoggard, KiYoung Kim, Young Lee, Andrew Lipetzky, Mike Northeim, Liam O'Toole, Hari Ramalingam, Smitha Sharma, Clayton Thomas, Jonathan Tugwell, Alice Yen. Lindsey Ligett is the faculty coach.

2002-2003

Carnage Middle School students attending the 76th North Carolina Association of Student Councils annual state convention last month received the prestigious Clinton Blake Honor Council Award given annually to student councils in North Carolina that demonstrate exemplary work and service in their school and community. Carnage students ran for the state office of Middle Level Representative School. Seventh-grader Elizabeth Ruf gave a speech to the approximately 350 delegates outlining Carnage's qualifications for office, and then teamed with eighth-graders D. J. Huggins and Tiana Keith to perform a skit demonstrating leadership qualities. The three delegates visited each association district meetings to campaign. Other delegates in attendance were seventh-graders Shilyn Sodagar and Amy Walters, as well as advisor Ms. Anne Cunningham.

2002-2003

Centennial Campus Middle Principal Ken Branch, the school's Outreach Coordinator Cindy Privette, and N.C. State University Director of Teacher Education Debbie Andrews made a presentation at the National Middle School Conference on "University Connections: Creating a Meaningful Partnership." The Wake educators shared information on the background and mission of their school and its partnership with N.C. State University. Andrews provided an example of collaboration and partnership between the school and university.

2002-2003

Cary Elementary named one of the state's Top 25 Most Improved K-8 Schools by State Board of Education in its State ABCs report.

2002-2003

Douglas Elementary was the only North Carolina elementary school to be recognized by the Arts Education Coalition/North Carolina Alliance for Arts Education with their Creative Ticket-Schools of Excellence Award. Creative Ticket - Schools of Excellence Awards are designed to recognize schools that have done an outstanding job of making the arts an essential part of the education of their students. Douglas was noted for quality, daily arts instruction, multiple opportunities for parental involvement, use of local artists and art resources, and integration of the arts to teach with reference to other cultures. As a participant in the North Carolina A+ Schools Network, the school emphasizes integration of the arts with classroom curriculum through thematic units.

2002-2003

Cary High earns the U.S. Department of Education's Blue Ribbon School of Excellence award.

2001-2002

Three Wake County schools' teams will represent the Carolinas at the International Future Problem Solvers Bowl held in June at Storrs, Connecticut. Teams from Lacy Elementary, Ligon Middle, and Enloe High won in regional competition this month. The Future Problem Solving Program engages students in creative problem solving. Founded by creativity pioneer, Dr. E. Paul Torrance, the competition stimulates critical and creative thinking skills and encourages students to develop a vision for the future. You can find more about the competition at http://www.fpsp.org

2001-2002

Seven Wake County schools' teams won at the regional to advance to the N.C. Envirothon. The Wake winners included three Enloe teams, Flaming Drip Torches, Subchronic Exposure, and Synergistic Interaction; Green Hope High's Planeteers; Fuquay-Varina High's Tree Frogs; and two Ligon Middle teams, Five Ecoteers and Alpha Green. The Mission of the Canon Envirothon is to develop knowledgeable, skilled and dedicated citizens who are willing to work towards achieving and maintaining a natural balance between the quality of life and the quality of the environment. The state's high school winner will go on to the international competition this summer in Amherst, Mass.

2001-2002

The National Energy Education Development Project (NEED) has named Lockhart Elementary and Knightdale Elementary as co-recipients of the 2002 National Elementary Level Schools of the Year, and Fox Road Elementary as the 2002 National Rookie School of the Year for Energy Achievement! The schools were selected based on their study of energy resources and conservation efforts through the EnergySavers program. Mary Spruill, NEED Program Director, shared with us that the scores between Lockhart and Knightdale were so close that the judges refused to give one school the award over the other -- hence the co-recipient status! This is the fifth year that students in the EnergySavers program have been recognized nationally by NEED for their achievements.

2001-2002

Southeast Raleigh High Step Team was named the 2002 National Champions by the Richmond, Va.-based National Selection Committee for Step Team Championships. The committee sends representatives to Step Team performances that are judged for precision, difficulty of routine, style, chants, presentation, costumes, and audience response. Southeast Raleigh High's team was named national champion in 2000, too.

2001-2002

Wake County had eight schools in the Odyssey of the Mind state finals April 13. They were Durant Road Middle, East Millbrook Middle, Wakefield Middle, Durant Road Elementary, Joyner Elementary, Lead Mine Elementary, Olive Chapel Elementary, and Salem Elementary. Durant Road Elementary had two teams to finish second and they will go to the World Finals. Durant Road Middle had one team to finish second and they will go to the World Finals. The World Finals will be in Boulder, Colorado May 22-25. Other Wake teams that placed in the finals were one team from Durant Middle in third place, two teams from Wakefield Middle in third place, one team from Joyner Elementary in third place, one team from East Millbrook Middle in fifth place, teams from Durant Road Elementary in seventh and tenth place.

2001-2002

For the second year in a row, West Lake Middle students have raised more than $10,000 in a program called Kids Helping Kids for the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center. West Lake Middle students also won the contest to design the T-shirt for the 9th annual Angels Among Us 5K and Family Walk, a benefit for the Brain Tumor Center at Duke. The school will present its check at the fundraising event that will be held April 20 at Duke University's Wallace Wade Stadium.

2001-2002

Three Wake County middle schools and five elementary schools advanced to the finals of the state Odyssey of the Mind competition. Durant Road, East Millbrook, and Wakefield middle schools, and Durant Road, Joyner, Lead Mine, Olive Chapel, and Salem elementary schools won at the eastern regional competition. The competition requires teams of students to demonstrate their creativity in solving a variety of problems. The state competition will be Saturday, April 13 in Wingate, NC.

2001-2002

Dosomething.org recognized Rand Road Elementary for their participation in this year's Kindness and Justice Challenge. For two weeks, the Students Against Violence Everywhere Club or SAVE Club counted acts of kindness performed by students at the school. They counted more than 600, earning a letter of commendation from Martin Luther King III, who works with Dosomething.org to promote non-violent social change.

2001-2002

Teams from six Wake County schools won at the regional Science Olympiad held at Garner Senior High, earning students a chance to compete at the state finals April 12 and 13. Qualifying teams from Wake County included Green Hope, Southeast Raleigh, Leesville Road and Enloe high schools, as well as Carnage and Ligon middle schools. Students took tests and built machines to demonstrate their scientific knowledge.

2001-2002

EduHound.com has named Carnage Middle's website their spotlight school of the week beginning March 7. The school webmaster is Linda Halliday. You can find the websites at http://schools.wcpss.net/Carnage and http://www.eduhoundschoolsontheweb.com/schoolspotlight.cfm Earlier this year, EduHound.com recognized Swift Creek Elementary's website.

2001-2002

Six Wake County magnet schools earned recognition from the Magnet Schools of America, the national organization for magnet schools. Farmington Woods Elementary, Washington Elementary, and Ligon Middle were Magnet School of Merit Winners. They now compete for the Simpson Award, the organization's highest honor. Combs Elementary, Lincoln Heights Elementary and East Millbrook Middle earned Magnet School of Distinction awards.

2001-2002

For the third year in a row, Vandora Springs Elementary has been recognized as a Super Safe School by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. Vandora Springs was the only school in the Triangle to earn the award for providing a safe learning environment for children and educators. Thirty schools will receive the award Feb. 13 at the fourth annual Safe, Orderly, and Caring Schools Conference in Greensboro. The Triple "S" School Award was established by the Department of Public Instruction's School Improvement Division to recognize public schools that go above and beyond in their efforts to ensure the safety of students and staff.

2001-2002

Carnage Middle was selected from 1,100 kids' gardening programs nationwide to receive a 2002 Youth Garden Grant from the National Gardening Association. Carnage will receive an assortment of tools, seeds, and useful garden products donated by leading companies in the lawn and garden industry.

2001-2002

At its meeting Monday (Nov. 19), the Wake County Board of Education recognized students who participated in the Wake County Public School System EnergySavers program. Jeri Preddy of WCPSS Organizational Development presented five schools that were National and State National Energy Education Development (NEED) Youth Award winners. The award winners included: WCPSS EnergySavers - Region of the Year - National Level
Green Hope High - Rookie of the Year -State Level
Davis Drive Middle - Junior Level Winner - State Level
Lockhart Elementary - Elementary Level Finalist - State Level
Knightdale Elementary - Honorable Mention - State Level
North Ridge Elementary - Honorable Mention - State Level
Students from these schools took on individual energy conservation projects that they documented and shared with NEED. As a result, they were honored on the state and national levels at the NEED National Recognition ceremonies held in June in Washington, D.C.

2001-2002

Kingswood Elementary received the "An Apple for Your School" award on Wednesday (Nov. 7). The award program was created by the Washington Apple Commission to recognize schools that have made significant academic improvement, often in the face of difficult circumstances. One elementary school in each state was selected for the honor. As a reward, each student and staff member at Kingswood received an apple, and the school received a banner and a check for $250.

2001-2002

Wake students collected more than $85,000 in the Pennies for Patriotism and Pride campaign, Superintendent Bill McNeal announced in a news conference at Washington Elementary Tuesday (Oct. 16). "We would like to thank our students for collecting $85,624.61," said McNeal. "That is outstanding! The $85,000 is from the Pennies campaign. I will tell you that if we look at all the campaigns we had in our schools that number would total $173,957.09. I want you to think about how awesome that is!" Schools began to respond immediately after the September 11 tragedy finding creative, caring ways for students to help others. Many launched their own fund-raising efforts directed to schools, firefighters and others victims of the attacks. Superintendent McNeal called on school, PTA and community officials to work together to provide all students a chance to help the families suffering because of the tragedy. They launched Pennies for Patriotism and Pride October 1-5.

2001-2002

Six Wake County schools have been recognized for performance in the North Carolina ABCs of Public Education. Millbrook and Green Hope High have been named as two of North Carolina's Top 10 Most Improved High Schools. Brassfield, Brooks, Leesville, and Middle Creek Elementary have been named as four of the state's Top 25 Most Improved K-8 Schools. That was not the only good news for Wake County in the annual ABCs release, delayed by two months because of changes in the End of Grade math tests. Thirty WCPSS schools (25%) have been named Schools of Excellence, meaning that 90% of students scored at or above grade level. Fifty-three (44%) Wake schools are Schools of Distinction, where 80-90 percent of students scored at or above grade level.

2001-2002

Enloe High and Kingswood Elementary will be two of the twelve public schools from North Carolina that will receive visitation teams as a part of the Task Force's look at "Hallmarks of Excellence" in North Carolina's K-12 public schools. The Education First Task Force, chaired by State Superintendent Mike Ward, BellSouth North Carolina President Krista Tillman, and Halifax County Superintendent Willie Gilchrist, and comprised of business, education, community and government leaders, is looking at outstanding schools across the state as a part of its charge to develop a road map for building a "superior" system of education in North Carolina. The Task Force is expected to deliver recommendations to Governor Easley early in 2002.

2001-2002

Carnage Middle earned a $10,000 grant from the NC Department of Public Instruction to begin a service learning program at the school. The program centers on the exploration and maintenance of the revitalized wetlands adjacent to the school. Science teacher Holly Hanrahan will coordinate the project. Her students began working in the wetlands last year. They partnered with a community organization, Legacy Group 34, to clean up and beautify the area's wildlife habitat. Dr. Norman Camp, Director of NC Learn and Serve, will work with Carnage teachers to create the service learning program for the school's science students.

2001-2002

Combs Elementary will be honored Nov. 16 at an awards dinner with the 2001 Governor's Entrepreneurial Schools Award. The award recognizes schools that take risks and find innovative ways to improve education and learning. Combs is a leadership magnet school that uses the principles of Steven Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Combs and six other schools were recognized out of a field of 94 applicants.

2001-2002

Two Wake County Schools and their business supporters have been recognized with the Governor's Business Partnership Awards, which honored 29 school-business partnerships this year. The Athens Drive High School Business Alliance and Durant Road Middle School Business Alliance will be recognized for their accomplishments at the "Meet in the Middle" Conference 2001, to be held Sept. 20-21 at the Sheraton Imperial, Research Triangle Park. The Governor's Business Partnership Awards were created to recognize outstanding sustained business and alliance partnerships that have significantly improved student performance.

2000-2001

At the Magnet Schools of America Conference held in April in St. Louis: East Millbrook Middle and Bugg Elementary were recognized as Magnet Schools of Merit. Combs Elementary and Wendell Elementary received honorable mention for Magnet Schools of America. Carnage Middle and Conn Elementary earned the Phale Hale "Triple A" Magnet School Award. The Wake school district was recognized with the Champion of Public Choice award.

2000-2001

Carver Elementary, Conn Elementary, and Root Elementary were named to Family PC magazine's annual Top 100 Wired Schools list in the magazine's May issue. The schools are recognized for being among the most innovative public schools in their use of technology.

2000-2001

Five Wake County schools and the EnergySavers program won national recognition for promoting energy education and will be honored at the National Energy Education Development (NEED) Youth Awards Program, June 22 - 25, 2001 in Washington, D.C. Green Hope High tied for Senior Rookie of the Year, Lockhart Elementary won Runner-up, and EnergySavers won District of the Year. Davis Drive Middle, North Ridge and Knightdale elementaries will also be recognized for their energy conservation projects.

2000-2001

Ligon Middle School is one of 64 schools in the nation to receive a national service-learning award for making community service an integral part of its curriculum. The Corporation for National Service, a federal agency that offers Americans opportunities to help their communities, named Ligon as one of 64 National Service-Learning Leader Schools.

2000-2001

Ligon Middle student Patrice Dason is in the running for the Scholastic Art & Writing Award after having been named one of the 50 gold award winners for the North Carolina-South Carolina regional event. More than 250,000 works of art and writing are judged annually in the competition.

2000-2001

A team of Davis Drive Middle students were chosen as finalists for a national science award for designing a toothbrush for people with braces. The Davis Drive team is one of 10 finalist teams in the Bayer/National Science Foundation's National Award contest, which challenges students to use science and technology to develop solutions to community issues.

2000-2001

Carnage Middle School teacher Betsey Newmark served as the coach for the Carnage Middle team, winners of the regional competition in the North Carolina History Bowl. Carnage's team consists of Leslie Yuan, Priyanko Paul, Jacob Hartley and co-captains Luke Hostetter and Meredith Newmark.

2000-2001

Carnage Middle School teacher Betsey Newmark coached the sixth-grade Quiz Bowl team, which placed first in North Carolina and sixth in the nation in the Knowledge Master Open. Students competed by trying to answer questions on a computer as quickly as possible. Carnage's team members are Ivan Bolden, Brenna Clark, Julianne Clifton, Lily Dancy-Jones, Michael Hogan, Aneitra Hoggard, Andrew Lipetzky, Liam O'Toole, Hari Ramalingam, Smitha Sharma and Clayton Thomas.

2000-2001

Apex High School's honors chorus classes performed Sunday, March 25, at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Apex was joined by choruses from Illinois, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico and North Carolina in performing Mozart's "Mass in C Minor." Choruses were chosen by MidAmerica Productions, which brings together conductors, choruses, soloists and orchestral musicians for performances.

2000-2001

Fuquay-Varina High and Vandora Springs Elementary were recognized as Super Safe Schools for 2000-01 during the state's third annual Safe, Orderly and Caring Schools Conference. The award recognizes public schools that go above and beyond in their efforts to ensure the safety of students and staff.

2000-2001

Six Wake County elementary schools were recognized by Chris Parmele of the Home Builders Association of Raleigh and Wake County as winners of the 14th annual 'If I Could Build A House' competition. At the Board of Education's Monday (Feb. 12) meeting, Parmele congratulated teachers Wanda Tote and Scott Chapman of Baucom Elementary; Martha Bassett of Combs Elementary; Anne Kratzer of Farmington Woods Elementary; Jim Hunt of Lincoln Heights Elementary; Peggy Pleasants of Lynn Road Elementary; and Valerie Everett of Olive Chapel Elementary.

1999-2000

Wake County has nine ABCs Schools of Excellence: Davis Drive, Kingswood, Morrisville, Oak Grove, Partnership and West Lake elementary schools, and Davis Drive, Lufkin Road, and West Lake middle schools; 55 Schools of Distinction, as well as 90 percent of its schools attaining expected or exemplary growth status; and no low-performing schools. The district also has four schools, Jeffreys Grove, Kingswood, Lockhart, and Poe elementaries, among the 25 Most Improved K-8 Schools in the state.

1999-2000

Five local schools were named by Family PC Magazine among the 100 Top Wired Schools in America: Root, Carver, Conn and Davis Drive elementary schools, and Southeast Raleigh High School.

1999-2000

A team of students from Brassfield Road Elementary was named World Champions at the 21st Odyssey of the Mind World Finals.

1999-2000

Combs Elementary School was a national Blue Ribbon School as designated by the U.S. Department of Education.

1999-2000

Davis Drive Elementary received the N.C. Governor's Award for Physical Fitness and Health for the second year in a row, one of only 10 schools honored statewide.

1999-2000

Enloe High School was named the top magnet school in the nation
at the National Magnet Schools conference. Enloe and Combs Elementary, were recognized among the nation's top 13 Magnet Schools of Merit. Bugg Elementary earned honorable mention.

1999-2000

Enloe High School was ranked 32 in the Top 100 High Schools in the Nation by Newsweek Magazine in 2000. It was ranked 41 among the Top 100 in 1999.

1999-2000

The Ligon Middle School Silver Strings Orchestra played in concert at Carnegie Hall.

1999-2000

Partnership Primary (now Partnership Elementary) received a 1999
Governor's Entrepreneurial School Award, one of only seven schools in the state to do so.

1999-2000

Vandora Springs Elementary was one of 13 North Carolina public schools to be awarded the state Super Safe School Award.

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