Wake School News Archive (2018-19)

Wake School News Summary (2018-19)

June 2019 

On June 3, Governor Roy Cooper announced that Marsha East of Dillard Drive MS had been awarded the prestigious Order of the Long Leaf Pine award for meritorious service in education. According to the official website of the Order, “It is awarded to persons for exemplary service to the State of North Carolina and their communities that is above and beyond the call of duty and which has made a significant impact and strengthened North Carolina.”

Also on June 3, Crystal Lovett of Hilburn Academy appeared on Wheel of Fortune, where she won a cash prize and a trip to Barbados. Her colleagues greatly enjoyed cheering her on through their television screens.

With some assistance from advisers and an independent study course at Longview School in Raleigh, student Ryan Keith published a novel, The Fading Light, which the school announced on June 4.

The graduating class of 2019 at Leesville Road HS racked up the highest amount of scholarship money (over $14.6M) in school history.

Multiple schools faced foul weather as they tried to hold their annual Field Day events.

Faculty, alumni, and students joined Supt. Moore to celebrate 50 years of education at Helen Y. Stough Magnet Elementary School on June 6. The original school building was dedicated in 1969 and has had a “global” magnet theme since 2011. Its Mandarin Chinese Immersion program was started in 2014.

Saturday, June 8 saw torrential rainfall and severe flooding in northern Wake County. Anthony Matula, graduating senior at Rolesville HS, was already wearing waders after draining his grandmother’s flooded basement. So when he saw Dajah Gladden’s stalled car in deep floodwaters, he stopped immediately, strode through the water, plucked her out of the car, and carried her to dry land. Matula will attend East Carolina University in the fall.

On June 9, Brooke Benestad of Cary HS and Sophia Von Dauber became the first youth athletes from NC to win a medal (bronze) in the US Rowing Youth National Championship competition.

Also on June 9, Green Hope HS senior Colton Hurley set a new world record in Squat at the 2019 World Classic Powerlifting Championships in Sweden.

June 11, the last day of school, was also the last day for many students in their familiar school buildings. WCPSS often delays the opening of new schools so that their buildings can serve as temporary housing for nearby schools that are undergoing major renovations. As soon as construction of Barton Pond ES in North Raleigh was completed, the district began implementing their plans to place students and faculty from Stough MES there for the 2019-20 school year. Similarly, students and faculty from Fuquay-Varina HS will use the newly completed facilities at Willow Spring HS before that school opens. However, students at Conn MES will attend school at a WCPSS-maintained “swing space” until Conn’s facilities have been renovated. Reopenings for all three renovated schools are planned for August 2021.

One big story in sports news (announced June 11) was the anomalous result in the 2018 – 2019 Wells Fargo Cup competition, which Green Hope HS won every year from 2008 to 2018. This year, the cup went to Cardinal Gibbons. Green Hope came in third, while its arch-rival Panther Creek HS came in fourth. Southeast Raleigh MHS (8), Cary HS (9), and Broughton MHS (10) made sure WCPSS still had an excellent showing in 4A. To win the Wells Fargo Conference Cup, a high school scores the most points–typically awarded for athletic victories and participation–within the points system of its individual conference. In Class 1-A Wells Fargo Cup competition, Franklin Academy came in fourth, while Raleigh Charter came in sixth. However, in the Wells Fargo Conference Cup standings, both schools finished first in their respective conferences. Green Hope and Holly Springs HS also won their conference cups, while Heritage HS and Wake Forest HS tied for first in their conference.

Raleigh Charter HS celebrated 20 years on June 15.

Also on June 15, HighSchoolOT.com, a high-school sports news website sponsored by WRAL, announced the winners of their annual awards, High School OT Honors, at Fletcher Opera Theatre in Raleigh. Students from WCPSS won most of the major awards this year, but they’ll face a lot more competition next year, when HighSchoolOT expands its coverage area to Charlotte. Apex Friendship HS fans were thrilled that they won Student Section of the Year, and their own Madelyn Wilson, a volleyball player undergoing treatments for cancer, won the Stuart Scott Courage Award.

The NC General Assembly revealed their biennial budget on June 25 and passed it on June 27. Although it did include modest raises for teachers and other state employees, it did not include funding to expand Medicaid coverage, causing Gov. Roy Cooper to veto it. It also did not include language authorizing a referendum on a statewide bond issue to pay for school facility renovations and security upgrades, which the Governor also requested. The budget instead described a “pay-as-you-go” model of funding school infrastructure projects. Advocates for public schools in NC were disappointed. Gov. Cooper vetoed it on June 28.

May 2019

Teachers from various parts of the state swarmed the State Capitol in downtown Raleigh on May 1 to demand more resources for traditional public schools in NC. They published a series of five demands that they believe are essential for improving conditions for both teachers and students on the Red4EdNC website.

Vandora Springs ES of Garner held a big celebration to mark its 60th year on May 2. Part of the occasion included a ribbon-cutting ceremony for their new building. In addition to WCPSS Superintendent Cathy Moore and Wake County Commissioner Matt Calabria, Jim Martin was in attendance, representing the School Board. Here’s a video about the festivities: https://t.co/rZkgS0lcaZ?amp=1.

NC State announced its Class of 2023 Park Scholars on May 2, and Wake County students capitalized on their home-court advantage, with six scholars, including two from Leesville Road HS. Students from three district schools and two Wake charters were selected. See the full list of new Park Scholars here: https://park.ncsu.edu/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Park-Class-of-2023-Recipient-Bios.pdf

Also on May 2, Holly Springs HS baseball won their third straight SWAC championship. And at their May 2 awards ceremony, the NCHSAA showered well-deserved awards on Green Hope HS, including Women’s Tennis Coach of the Year (Pam Gilbert) and Bob Deaton Principal of the Year (Karen Summers).

The Farmington Road ES FIRST Lego Robotics Team, the Falcons, won Best Overall in the Elementary category at a competition on May 4.

Franklin Academy girls’ and boys’ track teams won the NCAC conference championship on May 4. Cloe Lapish set two new school records.

Of five national award winners from NC in the annual PTA Reflections art contest,  three were from Wake County public schools. Delaney Atwood of Lufkin Road MS in Apex won the National Award of Excellence for her submission in the Literature category. Cameron Lewis of Middle Creek ES (Dance Choreography) and Avni Choudepally of Cedar Fork ES (Film Production) won Awards of Merit. The awards were announced publicly on May 6.

Also on May 6, Timber Drive ES sponsored its first-ever Family Nature Night at White Deer Park in Garner. The focus was science learning, and each family received dinner and a kit of take-home science lessons. The event was a resounding success: attendance was estimated at about 500.

On May 7, Wake Ed Partnership held its popular STEMposium conference at PNC Arena, where some of the Carolina Hurricanes were spotted. Wake students and teachers attended and presented information about scientific or engineering projects they had completed this school year.

Teacher Appreciation Week (May 6 – 10) brought many treats to Wake’s teachers. WCPSS capped off the week with its annual Teacher of the Year gala event, where Lindsey Evans, an 8th-grade Social Studies teacher at Apex Friendship MS, was named Wake’s Teacher of the Year. More info here: https://t.co/hhbnSvqxVE?amp=1

Athens Drive MHS girls’ 4 x 200 relay team of Cayla Harding, Alexus Boyd, Tashayla White, and Laura Cate Westerbeek qualified for the Emerging Elite national meet on May 11.

On May 21, Vaibhav Hariram, a 6th-grader at Mills Park MS, made it into the top 6 in the semifinals of the  National Geographic Geography Bee. Hariram was the only North Carolinian to make it to the semifinals. In fact, only 10 students nationwide made it that far. The competition required him to travel to Washington, DC.

Abbotts Creek ES in Raleigh received an award from the US Dept. of Education that was announced on May 22. They were among only 35 schools in the nation to be named Green Ribbon Schools, an award that seeks to “honor schools for their sustainable facilities, health practices, and effective environmental education.” Schools that earn this distinction have reduced the environmental impact of their facilities, promoted the health and healthy habits of students and staff, and provided education in environmental stewardship and sustainability. Abbotts Creek received particular accolades for their waste-reduction efforts, for the number of students who walk or bike to school, and for their participation in programs like Girls on the Run.

On May 22, Lenovo announced that a team from Enloe MHS was one of five winning teams in the Lenovo Scholar Network’s App Challenge. The challenge, co-sponsored by the NAF organization that supports “academy”-style programs for high schools, included 6,000 participants nationwide and introduced the teams to new technology to complete their projects. The apps that the students developed were judged in multiple categories that included the relevance of the problem they were trying to solve. The winning teams received expenses-paid trips to Detroit for NAF’s annual conference.

A team from Southeast Raleigh MHS received Honorable Mention for their app.  And last year, a team from Enloe won the “Fan Favorite” award for their mobile app. For more information, see https://naf.org/success_story/congratulations-to-the-2019-lenovo-scholar-network.

School officials and Supt. Moore cut the ribbon on the new Agriculture Learning Lab at Athens Drive MHS on May 30.

Also on May 30, NC Schools Superintendent Mark Johnson announced that the state will provide a system that will enable students to anonymously report suspicious or disturbing behavior that they observe on their school’s campus. The Say Something Anonymous Reporting System is being developed in partnership with Sandy Hook Promise and will consist of a smart phone app, a website, and a phone line. It’s expected to go live in August. NC will be only the second state to adopt this system, which will also provide training sessions at middle and high schools.

April 2019

The biggest news story of the school year might have been the team of sixth-graders from Holly Grove MS (in Holly Springs) who won a $100,000 prize in the national Samsung Solve for Tomorrow STEM Contest. They weren’t intimidated by the odds: over 2,000 entries were submitted, and the students from Holly Grove, advised by Science teacher Debra Schelin, were among the youngest participants: the annual contest is open to grades 6 through 12. Their project creates a simple and resilient technological solution to improve safety at school bus stops. The three national winners were announced on April 2, and the Holly Grove team was also named the Community Choice award winner (which was based on social media votes and carried an additional $10,000 prize). The 10 teams selected as finalists got to take a trip to to New York for the  Pitch Event, when they presented their working prototype to a panel of judges. The Holly Grove students were treated to a pep rally when they returned home, and will travel to Washington, D.C. in May for an awards ceremony. Watch their informational video here.

At the Tarheel Forensic League’s 2019 State Championship event, held April 6 – 7 at Myers Park High in Charlotte, Eesha Barua of Enloe MHS was named State Champion in JV Congressional Debate. Jennifer Ye, also of Enloe, came in second. In addition, Katya Watson of Apex Friendship HS took second place in Declamation.

April 8 – 12 was National Assistant Principals’ Appreciation Week. Students, faculty, and staff found creative ways to show some love.

At Brier Creek ES, the principal and several teachers paid tribute by dressing in the signature style of AP Ryan Bell. Students spell out WELCOME MRS HUFFMAN

In honor of the occasion, Instructional Assistant Heather Fields found a cute way to welcome a new AP to Baucom ES:

 

April 11 brought more expressions of gratitude as WCPSS held its 34th annual Teacher Assistant of the Year Banquet at the tony Prestonwood Country Club in Cary. Megan Langebeck of Carpenter ES took home the prize this year.

That same day, multiple elementary schools held fun STEM festivals, including Creech Road ES, Wakelon ES, and White Oak ES. Creech Road had some help from some NC State engineering students. And JY Joyner MES had their annual Night of Nonsense and Food Truck Frenzy, described as “a hilarious evening of skits performed by the Joyner teachers and staff.”

Schools on the Traditional calendar had their spring break Apr. 15 -19.

The Morehead-Cain Foundation announced the winners of Morehead-Cain Scholarships to UNC Chapel Hill on Apr. 22. Four WCPSS students won these prestigious scholarships: Sophie Cho of Leesville Road HS, Jacob Turner and Kartik Tyagi of Enloe MHS, and Greear Webb of Sanderson HS. More info here.

The Wake County School Board announced preliminary approval of a new gender-neutral dress code on Apr. 23. The policy received final approval two weeks later.

On Apr. 26, the Leesville Road HS band traveled to Greensboro to perform in a joint concert  with the UNC Greensboro Wind Ensemble.

Teams and individuals from a dozen Wake County schools participated in the 2019 State Science Olympiad Tournament Apr. 26 – 27 at NC State University. The event featured a STEM Expo and many opportunities for competition. The team from Enloe MHS took second place in Div. C and qualified for the national competition (June 1 at Cornell University). Raleigh Charter HS came in third in Div. C. Fred J. Carnage MMS and Davis Drive MS came in fourth and fifth in Div. B. The team from Daniels MMS won first place in the State in the Road Scholar competition for topographical map reading.

Cary HS hosted orchestras from three of its neighbors–Athens Drive MHS, West Cary MS, and Cary Elementary–for the annual Western Wake Strings Extravaganza on Apr. 27.

That same day, Dillard Drive MS band and orchestra participated in the Music in the Parks Festival at Busch Gardens in Virginia.

Drew Pescaro, an alumnus of Middle Creek HS, was one of the UNC Charlotte students who were injured in the Apr. 30 shooting on campus. He is expected to make a full recovery. Sean DeHart of Apex, an alumnus of Cardinal Gibbons, was also injured.  

March 2019

Students participated in multiple team competitions on March 2: NC Science Olympiad, VEX Robotics, Battle of the Books, and Odyssey of the Mind all had tournament-style competitions.  The Science Olympiad was held at Hillside HS in Durham. The team from Apex MS was the overall winner of the VEX Robotics State Championship and gained an automatic bid to the World Championship at the end of April in Louisville, KY.

In the Wake County Battle of the Books, the winner of the Middle School Division was also a team from Apex MS, named Team fREADom. The winner of the Elementary School Division of the BoB competition was Beaver Dam ES.

The 2019 Eastern Division Odyssey of the Mind Tournament was held at NC Central University on March 2. The top two teams in each division are eligible to advance to the next level. Based on their scores, the following teams from Wake County public schools all advanced to the State Tournament at East Carolina University on April 6:

  • Pine Hollow MS, long-term problem OMER to the Rescue Again, Division II;
  • Weatherstone ES (1) and Highcroft Drive ES (2), long-term problem Hide In Plain Sight, Div. IA;
  • Pleasant Union ES (1) and Davis Drive ES (2), Hide In Plain Sight, Div. IB;
  • Davis Drive MS, Hide In Plain Sight, Div. II;
  • Wake Forest HS, Hide in Plain Sight, Div. III;
  • Pleasant Union ES (1) and Magellan Charter (2), Classics… Leonardo’s Workshop, Div. IA;
  • Jeffreys Grove MES (1) and Davis Drive ES (2), Classics… Leonardo’s Workshop, Div. IB;
  • Moore Square MES, Classics… Leonardo’s Workshop, Div. II;
  • Mills Park MS (1) and Moore Square MMS (2), Structure Toss, Div. II;
  • Magellan Charter, Opposites Distract, Div. IA;
  • Highcroft Drive ES, Opposites Distract, Div. IB;
  • Davis Drive MS, Opposites Distract, Div. II;
  • Wake Forest HS, Opposites Distract, Div. III.

On March 16, the Wake County PTA hosted its annual Reflections Celebration, an awards ceremony to complete the annual Reflections Art Contest. Wake County participates in this 50-year-old national contest each year; the winners in Wake County advanced to the state level. 2018-19 winners at the state level  were announced by NCPTA on March 9. Based on a first-place finish, the following WCPSS students advanced to the national competition:

  • Dance Choreography Primary (K – 2) – Cameron Lewis, Middle Creek ES
  • Film Production Intermediate (grades 3 – 5) – Avni Choudepally, Cedar Fork ES Senior – Evan Daniel, Holly Springs HS
  • Literature Primary – Savannah Cape, Middle Creek ES Middle – Delaney Atwood, Lufkin Road MS
  • Photography Primary – Richard Pascal, Root ES
  • Visual Arts Intermediate – Hasini Kanthi, White Oak ES

Avni Choudepally of Cedar Fork ES was one of this year’s theme search winners. Eric Neugebauer of Durant Road ES was one of the county’s Special Artist Winners (for Outstanding Interpretation). Omar Adam and Brendan Rice of Athens Drive MHS and Ian Brown of Cary HS received Awards of Merit.

The band of Pine Hollow MS received the school’s first-ever Superior ratings at a music performance adjudication event on March 18.

Dance Teacher Betsy Graves of Broughton MHS was named Teacher of the Year for Region IV by Magnet Schools of America.

Rahul Sachdev of Carnage MMS won the Wake County Spelling Bee on March 19, advancing to the Scripps National Spelling Bee for his third chance at winning it all.

The NC Dept. of Public Instruction (NCDPI) sponsored its annual Connecting Communities of Education Stakeholders (CCES) in Greensboro March 18-21. NC CCES seeks to encourage discussion and knowledge sharing among educators and provide research-based professional development. More info here: http://www.ncpublicschools.org/cces/

On March 20, the Wake County BoE announced the winners of the district’s annual Bullying Prevention Video Contest: Brentwood MES, West Millbrook MMS, and Crossroads Flex HS.

Apex HS German students cleaned up at the statewide German competition at UNC-Chapel Hill on March 21. They were designated state champions in Poetry, Poster, Photograph, and T-Shirt Design.  And on March 23, Enloe MHS French students won ten awards at the Wake County French competition at Southeast Raleigh MHS.

Raleigh News & Observer Education Reporter T. Keung Hui shared an award for Deadline News Reporting, which was announced at the NC Press Association’s annual awards ceremony on March 21. Hui received the recognition for his reporting on the May 1 Teachers’ March on Raleigh, but Wake residents know that he does an outstanding job of covering Wake County and statewide public education every day.

Broughton MHS hosted a student-organized fundraiser for the Triangle Aphasia Project, promoting brain health. Charlotte Fullbright was the lead organizer of the March 23 #MaintainYourBrain Battle of the Bands, which featured performances by local teen rock bands. The event raised $22,000.

The Colla Voce choral group at Holly Springs HS traveled to Washington, DC over the weekend of March 23 for the Worldstrides’ Heritage Music Festivals. That same weekend, theatrical Troupe 7149 of Knightdale HS won the Critics’ Choice Award for Best Ensemble at the NC Thespians Festival in Greensboro. Apex HS Peak Players received all Superior awards for individual performances.

Jaylyn Bryant, a freshman at Sanderson HS in Raleigh, was killed in a hit-and-run car accident on March 26.

State lawmakers busily filed bills that sought to reform education policies, funding, and calendars in March. By March 27, WRAL tallied up six active bills that aimed to alter policies related to mandatory standardized testing, the selection of curriculum materials (and potential parental input into selection processes), the calculation of school performance grades, and the banning of corporal punishment in schools. On top of those six bills, another 57 bills had been filed to increase local school systems’ flexibility in setting calendars, especially with respect to the first and last days of school. Keung Hui of the News & Observer pointed out that as of March 20, bills  requesting instructional calendar flexibility at the local level covered 89 of the state’s 115 districts, with three additional bills having a statewide scope. The Tourism lobby in the state was largely responsible for crafting the legislation that prevents schools statewide–with a few exceptions for low-performing schools–from starting a new school year any earlier than August 25.

WCPSS sponsored a successful conference for young women and girls on March 30 at Meredith College. The theme of the first Young Women’s Leadership Summit was “Free to Be Me,” and the more than 250 girls in attendance from Wake County were treated to inspirational talks by local female leaders, including Wake Schools Superintendent Cathy Moore, Raleigh Police Chief Cassandra Deck-Brown, Nicole Stewart of the Raleigh City Council, and the president of Meredith College, Jo Allen. Participants and organizers tweeted about the event using the hashtag . More info here: https://www.meredith.edu/news/meredith-hosts-young-womens-leadership-summit-for-wake-county-teens

February 2019

Schools all over the county observed Black History Month with special events and history-themed activities. This Twitter Moment compiles news and info about Black History Month activities in Wake County: https://twitter.com/i/moments/1093313458421014528

The Raleigh Regional Science Olympiad Tournament for middle and high school teams was held Feb. 2 at Southeast Raleigh MHS. In Div. B (middle school), the team from Mills Park MS was the overall winner. Davis Drive MS won the Spirit Award, and Greg Morris, coach of the team from Daniels MMS, won the Inspiration Award. More info here: https://www.sciencenc.com/raleigh-tournament-feb-2-2019/

Feb. 4 – 8 was National School Counselor Week. Just in time, the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) named a Wake County school counselor as the nation’s School Psychologist of the Year. Leigh Kokenes is a K-8 specialist who is very active at the district and state levels, supporting the district’s multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) initiatives and participating in county- and state-level problem-solving efforts to reduce suspensions and improve school counselor retention. She was named Wake School Psychologist of the Year in 2016, and School Psychologist of NC in 2017. Read more here: https://www.smore.com/ue03v-ncspa-in-action

Schools such as Longview HS held special community-service events in honor of School Counselor Week.

Many schools in Wake observed Global School Play Day, Feb. 6. Supporters of GSPD support additional time for unstructured play in school. More info here: www.globalschoolplayday.com

The girls’ team from Leesville Road HS won the NCHSAA 4A state championship in swimming and diving on Feb. 7.

Apex HS Culinary students traveled to Charlotte Feb. 7-8 for the statewide NC Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America (NCFCCLA) Culinary Arts and Baking and Pastry Competition. They came away with a First Place in Culinary Arts and Second Place in Baking and Pastry and a chance to compete at the national level.

On Feb. 9, 25 local robotics teams competed in the Triangle Vex Robotics League Championship at Apex Friendship HS.

Also on Feb. 9, Southeast Raleigh MHS boys and girls teams won all the team races to capture the 4A state championship in Indoor Track and Field. Eric Haddock of SRMHS set a new meet record in the triple jump. And Panther Creek’s Morgan Smalls broke the girls’ state record in the high jump, triple jump, and long jump. WCPSS boys teams also took second (Cary HS) and third place (Millbrook MHS).

During the week of Feb. 11 – 15, WCPSS observed School Bus Driver Appreciation Week. Wakefield MS, Moore Square MMS, and Yates Mill ES provided drivers with goodie bags; Reedy Creek ES provided Chick-fil-A gift cards; Zebulon MMS gave out treats. At Oakview ES, bus drivers were treated to lunch with their riders. And at Davis Drive ES, students wrote notes showing their appreciation.

On Feb. 12, many elementary schools in Wake celebrated the 100th instructional day of the school year. Students dressed like 100-year-old adults or completed art and math projects associated with 100 items.

School Board member and former chair Keith Sutton announced his candidacy for NC Schools Superintendent on Feb. 20.

Two students at Apex HS, Xiao-Ming Porter and Morgan Swales, placed first and second in the Regional Shakespeare Competition on Feb. 21, gaining an opportunity to travel to New York for the national competition. Last year Swales was a national semi-finalist in the same competition, sponsored by the English-Speaking Union.

On Feb. 25, the Carolina Hurricanes entertained 8,000 elementary students whose schools successfully completed the Readvolution Program. Banks Road ES, Sycamore Creek ES, Yates Mill ES, Rogers Lane ES, Wakefield ES, Brooks MES, Bugg MES, and JY Joyner MES took exciting field trips to the PNC Arena, courtesy of the Canes.

January 2019

Elementary and middle schools held spelling bees in January. The winner of the F.J. Carnage MMS bee, Rahul Sachdev (pictured left), won the countywide spelling bee last year and in 2016.

 

WCPSS hosted one of its semi-annual guidance sessions for School Resource Officers (SROs) on Jan. 18. Representatives from all 11 partner law-enforcement agencies attended the session, which included a presentation by the Equity committee at Enloe MHS.

On Jan. 19, 150 educators from all over the state received a day of professional development focused on the use of education technology at White Oak ES in Apex. A team of teachers from White Oak, Dillard Drive MS, and Salem ES organized and executed a Hello Tech Conference.

Lauren Patterson of White Oak ES was the winner of the LeVelle Moton “Velle Cares” Award, which is sponsored (and personally presented) by the men’s basketball coach at NC Central University. Ms. Patterson’s fellow teachers consider her a role model and exemplary teacher. Coach Moton is a grateful Enloe MHS graduate and former teacher and coach at West Millbrook MMS and Sanderson HS who enjoys giving back to the WCPSS community. More information about his foundation here: http://www.levellemoton.com/off-the-court/velle-cares/

The Wake County School District leadership announced on Jan. 22 that 36 of its magnet programs had received merit award from Magnet Schools of America. Eleven schools were named Schools of Excellence, while 25 schools received the slightly less prestigious School of Distinction designation. In the 2017-18 school year, 31 WCPSS schools won these awards. More info here:  https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article224914515.html

Longleaf School of the Arts opened its brand-new black-box theater on Jan. 25.

Jan. 26 saw Sanderson HS cheerleaders taking first place at the Wake County Cheer Competition. Daniels MMS cheerleaders won first place in their division on Jan. 25.

On Jan. 31, girls from Athens Drive MHS, Apex Friendship HS, Millbrook MHS, Broughton MHS, and Knightdale HS competed in North Carolina’s first-ever NCHSAA Women’s Invitational Wrestling Tournament.

December 2018

This month was a whirlwind of band, orchestra, and chorus concerts, basketball tournaments, and Christmas parades in each town and city in Wake County, which benefited from many participants from Wake’s public schools. The music programs at Fuquay-Varina ES, Carnage MMS, Martin MMS, Apex Friendship HS, and Knightdale MHS received $5,000 each when their choir or choral ensemble won awards in the MIX 101.5 and WRAL FM Christmas Choir Competition. Many schools and classes participated in #HourofCode activities during Computer Science Education Week, Dec. 3 – 9.

Enloe MHS Student Council successfully staged their 14th annual Charity Ball at Marbles Kids’ Museum in Raleigh on Dec. 8. The project raised $205,000 for the local Autism Society of NC’s IGNITE Center, which supports people with autism who are learning to live independently. Enloe students have already donated a great deal of “sweat equity” to prepare the center for its first residents. Photo tweeted by Will Chavis.  

A freakishly early snow storm that began in the early morning hours of Sun., Dec. 9 resulted in the closure of most Triangle schools for two instructional days. Track 1 students were tracked out, but they still lost their Jan. 18 early release day. For traditional-calendar schools, Jan. 18 was planned to be a teacher workday. When the Wake BoE decided to convert it to an instructional day in order to make up one of the December snow days, they had to cancel the early release for all tracks as well because the bus schedule cannot accommodate a normal schedule and an early release on the same day. A few parents of students in Track 1 were miffed.

Hope Charter Leadership Academy of Raleigh announced on Dec. 10 that it would close voluntarily at the end of the 2018-19 academic year. Low test scores were a major factor in the decision to close the school and to encourage its students to enroll at PAVE Southeast Raleigh Charter.

Holly Springs HS student James Dill placed 10th in his grade at the US Chess Federation’s National K-12 Championship, held Dec. 14-16 in Orlando.

Wake Forest HS football won its third 4AA state championship in a row on Dec. 14 by defeating  Vance HS in Wallace Wade Stadium.  playoff bracket 2018

The team preserved a 44-game winning streak under Coach Reggie Lucas. The team also made headlines by raising $2000 to help families affected by Hurricane Florence in New Hanover County.  

The Flippen Group, which provides professional development for educators, announced its list of 226 nominees in its nationwide Capturing Kids’ Hearts National Showcase Schools competition. Of the five schools selected from NC, four were part of WCPSS. The competition recognizes schools that create a learning environment in which students feel “emotionally safe and able to reconnect with their natural curiosity.” More info here: https://flippengroup.com/education-solutions/where-it-works/

Following an open application process, former state Representative Chris Heagarty (Heagarty4Schools on Twitter) was selected to fill the District 7 vacancy that was left on the Wake Board of Education after the death of Kathy Hartenstine, who was running unopposed on the November ballot. He was sworn in on Dec. 20.

Broughton MHS announced on Dec. 21 that they’d selected an alumnus to be their next Athletic Director. Dorrian Stephens has taught at Cary HS and at Broughton and has coached for 22 years.

The NC Supreme Court ruled on Dec. 21 that only the state–not counties or other localities–has “the power to create and maintain a system of public education.” The ruling went against the arguments of a group of Halifax County parents, who sued the county for not providing adequate funds for the public schools.

On Dec. 23, the Heritage MS Honors Chorus partnered with the Heritage ES Honor Choir and the NC Symphony for a concert at Meymandi Concert Hall.

Millbrook MHS boys basketball was undefeated (13 – 0) through the end of December.

November 2018

Green Hope HS Volleyball won an unprecedented third consecutive 4A State Championship on Nov. 3. They defeated archrival Panther Creek on neutral territory at Reynolds Coliseum. Clearly, Wake students are playing some excellent volleyball this year.

#NCHSAAVB 4A Championship Recap now posted on the Volleyball Championship Central page! Read it here https://t.co/G5RRPGvwpl Congrats to the Green Hope Falcons, the 1st back-to-back-to-back 4A State Champions in NCHSAA Volleyball History @GHFALCONS pic.twitter.com/vTmbkiXMnE

— NCHSAA (@NCHSAA) November 3, 2018

On Nov. 6, Wake County voters approved a referendum to issue $548M in bonds to pay for public school building construction and renovation.

By winning their playoff games on Nov. 9, Wake Forest HS and Leesville Road HS football both made it to the third round of the 4AA division of the state football championships. They defeated Fuquay-Varina HS and Broughton HS, respectively.

Green Hope HS boys’ soccer won the 4A State Championship by defeating Myers Park on Nov. 17.

The Wake BoE approved and announced the final reassignment plan for the 2019-20 school year on Nov. 20. Approximately 5,600 students are likely to be affected by the changes in the new plan, which was needed to fill the four new schools that will be opening. For more information, see www.wcpss.net/enrollmentproposal. A “grandfathering” option will be offered to many families if they are willing to provide their own transportation to the old school.

The federal government’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) announced on Nov. 20 that they had reached a settlement in a civil rights complaint alleging racial discrimination in out-of-school suspensions of minority students. The OCR did not claim that WCPSS committed any wrongdoing in the settlement, but has affixed several requirements for the case to be closed by next year. For more information and the full text of the settlement announcement, see this News & Observer article.  

The Heritage MS Patriot Pride Honors Chorus had an opportunity to sing at the Biltmore House in Asheville on Nov. 26.

Photo tweeted by Patriot Pride Honors.    

Broughton MHS boys’ basketball scored a win #400 for coach Jeff Ferrell on Nov. 27. (He announced his retirement a few days later, closing out a 22-year stint as head coach at Broughton. He continued in his role until the end of the 2018-19 season.)

David Corsbie, boys’ soccer coach at Green Hope HS, was named the 4A NC Men’s Soccer Coach of the Year by the NC Soccer Coaches’ Association and United Soccer Coaches’ Association on Nov. 29.

That same night, the Lincoln Heights MES chorus performed at the Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony in Fuquay-Varina.

October 2018

Students at most WCPSS schools kicked off October with anti-bullying activities. Students and faculty wore blue to support bullying prevention. A few schools had anti-bullying assemblies or integrated the message into their Positivity Project activities. 

Photo of West Millbrook MMS students courtesy of April Leon.

October is also Disability History and Awareness Month. It was officially established in NC by the NCGA in 2007. Read the full text of the law here.

On Oct. 4, the district announced the winners of its annual Principal and Assistant Principal of the Year awards. Enloe MHS Principal Dr. Will Chavis  and Washington GT MES Assistant Principal Roxann Sykes were selected. Dr. Chavis has stood out for his equity initiatives and progress toward increasing the graduation rate at Enloe, where he has served since the 2016-17 school year. Sykes was the recipient of the North Carolina Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development (NCASCD) Outstanding Young Educator award from the Ed.D. Educational Leadership Program at High Point University.

From Oct. 5 to Oct. 19, Omar McBride of Apex HS was in Buenos Aires, competing in the high jump in the Junior Olympics. McBride was among the top 12 junior high-jumpers in the world and had a great trip to Argentina.

On Oct. 20, Hannah Conners of East Cary MS won 1st place for her monologue performance at the Junior Thespian Festival in Greensboro. She also received the Critics’ Choice honor and all Superior marks, qualifying for the International Thespian Festival in Nebraska this June.

Photo credit to Lisa Hampton of ECMS.

Also on Oct. 20, the Leesville Road HS marching band were Grand Champions at the Central N.C. Band Festival. They also won Best Overall Visual Ensemble. Meanwhile Green Hope HS competed in the Bands of America Mid-Atlantic Regional in Newark, DE and were named Class 4A Champions.

Students at Longleaf School of the Arts (a charter high school in Raleigh) spent Oct. 25 gleaning sweet potatoes with the Society of St. Andrew, which donates recovered crops to local food pantries.

Brooks MES and Reedy Creek MMS held Fun Run events in October. Many schools in Wake held fall festival events, including Lacy ES, Lincoln Heights MES, and North Forest Pines ES.

Four WCPSS high schools and three middle schools, all located in Cary or Apex, participated in the Western Wake Orchestra Festival with a concert on Oct. 25 at Apex HS.

On Oct. 27, tennis players Camryn McClure and Emma Rowe of Raleigh Charter HS won the 1A State Championship in Girls’ Doubles. And on Oct. 28, Sophia Gray and Anna Rico of Green Hope HS took home that school’s first 4A doubles championship.

Also on Oct. 27, the Cary High boys’ cross-country team won the 4AMideast Regional at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. Joey Bream of Panther Creek narrowly edged Carson Williams of Cardinal Gibbons in the 500M finals. And Panther Creek’s Shannon Sefton came in second in the girls’ 5000.

On Oct. 29, Leesville Road HS managed to do what no other football team had achieved all season and defeated the Enloe Eagles, 31-28. The Eagles’ record was still the best in school history at 8 – 1.  

September 2018

The Sept. 4 announcement from the NC Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) that School Performance Grades (SPGs, also known as “school report cards) were available from the 2017-18 school year was met with both accolades and criticism. Critics noted that the disparity between the grades of high-income and low-income schools was as large as ever, and that experts in other states believe that NC SPGs unfairly weight test scores over growth measures. Use the Search feature here to see the latest SPGs for individual schools until the official SPG website is updated. This year, 13 WCPSS schools earned A grades.

On Sept. 6, NCDPI announced its Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Recognitions for the 2017-18 school year. Fifty-four Wake County district schools earned one of the second- or third-tier distinctions, while 10 WCPSS schools earned the highest, “Exemplar” distinction. The criteria included the presence of a PBIS team that meets regularly, collecting and keeping data to ensure system effectiveness, and presenting data that show positive trends in student behavior. The following schools earned “Exemplar” status:

  • Apex MS
  • Bank Road ES
  • Dillard Drive ES
  • Forestville Road ES
  • Jeffreys Grove ES
  • North Forest Pines ES
  • Olive Chapel ES
  • Powell ES
  • Rand Road ES
  • Wildwood Forest ES

Read more about PBIS here: Newer Discipline Practices and School Safety in Wake County.

Although students in grades 9 and 10 started the school year at South Garner HS on schedule, the ribbon-cutting ceremony, officiated by Principal Roderic Brewington, members of the Garner community, Wake County Commissioners, and district representatives, took place on Sept. 12.

Just as the new school year started to gain some momentum for schools on the traditional calendar, Hurricane Florence, a storm of record-breaking proportions, struck the NC coast. Wake County schools were largely undamaged but were closed for three days, creating calendar havoc. Students at year-round schools had to attend school on Saturday, Sept. 22 (unless they were tracked out during the storm), but the school board displayed qualms about requiring students at traditional-calendar schools to attend on Saturday, Oct. 13 and did an about-face. They instead voted to convert two early-release days in Sept. and Oct. to full days, to convert one teacher workday into a regular school day, and to forgive the remaining missed day. More calendar info here: https://www.wcpss.net/domain/19

Six WCPSS high schools were used as temporary shelters during the storm, but evacuees who were unable to return to their homes by Monday, Sept. 17 were relocated to state-run shelters so that schools could reopen on Tuesday. During their stay, shelter occupants received medical services, hygiene items, and meals from a huge group of local volunteers and school employees, such as cafeteria and janitorial staff.

Once schools reopened, most WCPSS schools launched collection drives to donate needed items to the storm’s victims in Eastern and Coastal NC.

Year-round schools made the best of the mandatory Saturday (Sept. 22) makeup day by getting creative. Sycamore Creek ES students were encouraged to dress like super heroes, and faculty filmed a “rock video” in response to a Twitter  challenge from White Oak ES.

Garner HS included a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its newly renovated buildings as part of its 50th anniversary celebration on Sept. 21.

Carroll MMS teacher NaShonda Cooke was interviewed and photographed for a cover story in Time Magazine on Sept. 24 that discussed the critically low salaries of US teachers.

The Wake County Board of Education and community educators were shocked and saddened to hear of the death of Board member Kathy Hartenstine on Sept. 24. Hartenstine represented District 7 and was running unopposed in the November election. She was appointed to the BoE in Nov. 2016 after the death of Zora Felton. Hartenstine had worked in WCPSS schools for 20 years, most recently serving as Principal of Baileywick ES. Hartenstine’s death meant that District 7 voters would write in a candidate’s name on their Nov. 6 ballot. If Hartenstine received more votes than any write-in candidate, the BoE would appoint her successor.

Multiple elementary and middle schools held community or parent events on Sept. 27. The school system provides some funding for schools to increase parent engagement, and schools like Kingswood ES and Mt. Vernon MS used the opportunity to try to reduce absenteeism and provide tips for parents to help students continue their learning at home.

Sanderson HS in Raleigh celebrated its 50th year and its annual Homecoming weekend Sept. 27 – 29. The events started with a ceremony in the auditorium, included a family carnival before the football game on Friday, and ended with the Homecoming Dance.

Enloe MHS football had an undefeated regular-season record through Sept. 28, when they defeated Millbrook MHS. Meanwhile, Wake Forest HS football had extended its winning streak to 37 by that same point in the season. Wake Forest also received a Unified Champion Schools banner and top-5 national ranking in inclusion from ESPN on Sept. 6 to recognize their support for Special Olympians. The Unified Champion designation means that a school “has an inclusive school climate and exudes a sense of collaboration, engagement and respect for all members of the student body and staff.” Sycamore Creek ES was also the recipient of a banner, which requires the school to complete activities within 10 categories. Only 7 schools in NC achieved this distinction.

On Sept. 29, Green Hope HS marching band was named the Grand Champions of the 2018 Panther Creek Invitational band competition.

Also on Sept. 29, WCPSS cross-country teams competed in the 35th annual Greensboro Invitational. Shannon Sefton of Panther Creek came in second in the girls’ competition, while Joey Bream and Ian Harrison of Panther Creek came in second and third in the boys’ competition. Cary HS wound up with the team title, helped by top-10 performances from Brian Picone, Jackson Martin, and Anton Idhammar. Panther Creek boys took second overall, and Apex came in fourth.  

August 2018

Family and Consumer Sciences teacher Barnanne Creech, of Zebulon MMS, was selected for the Professional Development Program in Food Science, a training program for teachers in Washington, DC. Creech was one of only 32 teachers nationwide to participate in this program in late Aug. The program, co-sponsored by the US FDA, National Science Teachers Association, and Graduate School USA, focused on the science of food-safety issues.

Fall sports started competing again on Aug. 17, even before the first day of school.

WCPSS hosted hundreds of teachers for their annual Special Education training event, SpEdapalooza, Aug. 21 at the McKimmon Center.  

The much beloved Principal of Brooks Museums MES, Felecia Locklear, died on Aug. 22. The premiere US association for public magnet schools, Magnet Schools of America, selected her as a national finalist for Principal of the Year in 2017. She had skillfully steered the school through a major renovation, which involved moving the entire school population into a modular campus, during the 2016-17 school year. She had served as Principal at Brooks for 18 years.  Photo courtesy of Brooks PTA.

Green Hope boys soccer beat Cardinal Gibbons to win the Wake County Cup competition on Aug. 22.

Over the summer, Wiley ES moved everything out to prepare for a very extensive renovation. Students would spend the entire school year learning in the “swing space” formerly occupied by the Garner MHS Ninth-Grade Center near NC 70 until the renovations were completed.

Raleigh Charter HS celebrated the start of its 20th year with a birthday party on Aug. 24.

Traditional-calendar schools started a new school year on Aug. 27. WCPSS reported that as many as 97% of school buses ran on time that first day.

On Aug. 29, officials from the Town of Holly Springs joined with representatives from WCPSS and the Wake County Board of Commissioners to cut the ribbon at the new Buckhorn Creek ES.

Photo credit: Balfour Beatty (construction company that completed the Buckhorn Creek project)

In its report titled “Curriculum Reform in the Nation’s Largest School Districts,” the Center for American Progress included Wake County in a short list of districts that “stand out as having adopted highly rated instructional materials.”

WCPSS rolled out the first draft of its 2019-20 assignment plan, which made many parents very nervous. Six additional public meetings were planned to solicit input.