In Context

WakeEd’s In Context newsletter is a monthly deep-dive into education issues impacting the Wake County Public School System.

A new report titled, “The Economic Impact the Wake County Public School System” released by WakeEd Partnership and Wake County Public School System, in collaboration with NC State University, assesses the value-add of the state’s largest school district to its region, and the results are good for taxpayers and WCPSS graduates alike.

Local Control is Right for School Calendar Law

Mar 13, 2017

It’s official. No one can agree on the best time to start the school year. A recent report from the NC General Assembly’s Program Evaluation Division (PED) found that certain start dates are favored more than others, but none poll at a rate high enough to say with...

K-3 Class Size Limits Are Noble, But Are They The Best Choice to Improve Student Outcomes?

Feb 13, 2017

The conventional wisdom on K-3 class size is that smaller is better. That was the thinking used when the General Assembly passed its budget last year with a section that limited class sizes for grades K-3 starting with the 2017-18 school year. But like any...

NC Needs to Adopt a Unified, Comprehensive School Accountability Standard

Jan 23, 2017

The North Carolina School Report Cards program was broken from the start, and now the state has a chance to change it for the better. The question is: Who’s going to do it? The Department of Public Instruction (DPI) is drafting a plan to measure student outcomes under...

WakeEd Shares Concerns with ASRC

Dec 9, 2015

Earlier this week, we sent a letter to the Academic Standards Review Commission to express our concerns and share our suggestions on the draft recommendations they are consdering to strengthen North Carolina's academic standards. We hope the ASRC will consider our...

Beyond Student Seats – Facility Needs for WCPSS

Dec 4, 2015

Most of what you hear about WCPSS facility needs is about schools, classrooms, and student seats. As the fifteenth largest school district in the US, and a district that is opening thirteen new schools in the next three school years, this makes sense. What doesn’t...

Final Approval of the Student Enrollment Plan

Dec 4, 2015

On Tuesday night, the 2016-17 Student Enrollment Proposal was approved by the school board. The plan moves approximately 3,300 students, or roughly two percent of the student population. According to a WCPSS Media Advisory, about half of those students will be...

WCPSS Board of Education Reaffirms 2013 Resolution in Support of 2011 Election Districts

Dec 4, 2015

Election season is heating up. And, in case you don’t remember, all nine school board seats are up for re-election next fall. About half of the seats would have been up for election this most recent election cycle. However, in 2013 Senate Bill 325 (signed into law...

New Leadership on the WCPSS Board of Education

Dec 4, 2015

Tuesday night saw the election of new leadership on the Wake County Board of Education. Tom Benton was elected chair and Monika Johnson-Hostler was elected vice chair. Both were elected unanimously. They will serve one year terms between now and next fall’s school...

BOE Unhappy with Low Performing Schools Requirements

Nov 20, 2015

On Tuesday night, the Board of Education made plain their displeasure with the General Assembly’s approach to school grades and associated repercussions. The General Assembly’s Appropriations Bill changed how schools were designated as low performing. Last school...

Fund Balance Shrinks

Nov 20, 2015

The school board received the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) for the 2014-2015 fiscal year. Always of great interest? The fund balance. This is the amount of money left in the general fund of the school system. The greatest source of revenue for the...

Capped Schools List Grows

Nov 20, 2015

The number of schools with capped enrollment is recommended to grow from 11 to 17 for the 2016-2017 school year. Schools are capped when they have “reached the maximum number of students they can effectively teach.” This includes using all the available permanent...

Choice: Luxury or Necessity?

Nov 6, 2015

Sitting at the public hearing for the school enrollment plan Tuesday evening, this thought began and gained steam: is choice luxury or necessity? School board members heard from 29 speakers. The majority of these speakers asked for choice. They want the choice to...