News

WakeEd Partnership Launching Community School Supply Drive July 12th

Collected items will stock the shelves at Tools4Schools, WakeEd’s Free Classroom Supply Store for Teachers RALEIGH, N.C. — WakeEd Partnership (WakeEd), a business-backed nonprofit organization committed to supporting staff and students in the Wake County Public...

WakeEd Partnership Announces 2023 Stars of Education Honorees

Tom Bradshaw to receive Vernon Malone Friend of Education Award, Six New Inductees Join Wake County Public Schools Hall of Fame RALEIGH, N.C. — WakeEd Partnership (WakeEd), a business-backed nonprofit organization committed to supporting teachers and students in...

WakeEd Partnership and Wake County Public Schools Kick Off Summer Career Pathways Program

RALEIGH, N.C. — Career Accelerator, WakeEd Partnership’s career pathways summer program developed in partnership with Wake County Public Schools, kicks off today - Tuesday, June 20 – and runs through Wednesday, June 28. Nearly 500 rising 10th – 12th graders will...

Triangle Leaders Join WakeEd Partnership Board of Directors; Emma Browning of Paradox Consulting Partners Elected Board Chair

RALEIGH, N.C. — WakeEd Partnership (WakeEd), a business-backed nonprofit organization that supports public schools in Wake County, announced today that Emma Browning, Managing Director of Paradox Consulting Partners, has been elected Chair of its Board of Directors....

WakeEd Partnership Awards Scholarships to Local Student Athletes

Scholarships Totaling $12,500 Given to Students from Apex High School and Green Hope High School RALEIGH, N.C. — WakeEd Partnership (WakeEd), a business-backed nonprofit organization committed to supporting teachers and students in the Wake County Public School...

WakeEd Programs

Advocacy

In Context

WakeEd Wednesdays

Investor Spotlights

Investor Spotlight: BASF

For innovation to happen, we need people who understand our customers’ needs and challenges, as well as the ability to use creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and STEM training to come up with solutions for our current and future needs.

WakeEd Wednesdays

WakeEd Wednesdays is a video series produced to simplify many of the complexities of North Carolina’s largest school district, the Wake County Public School System. With more than 180 schools, 160,000 students, and 11,000 teachers, WCPSS has a major impact on all Wake County residents regardless of whether they have children enrolled in the schools.

Watch WakeEd Wednesdays

Student Enrollment Proposal – Year 2

WCPSS will open five new schools next year – four elementary schools and one middle schools. When new schools are opened, students are moved to fill those new schools. The school enrollment plan then presents student movement to fill those new schools. These...

WCPSS Defines 4 Cs

Vision 2020 – the WCPSS strategic plan – focuses language around students acquiring and utilizing the four Cs: communication, critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity. The four Cs are included in the district’s mission statement. The Partnership for 21st...

A Helpful Guide to Understanding School Performance Grades

School Performance Grade – calculated by weighting and combining two other scores: achievement and growth. Achievement counts 80 percent of the total grade. Growth counts 20 percent. Achievement – primarily test scores. In elementary and middle school, these...

Chapter 1 of a New School Year

As the new school year is here and these are some facts and figures to consider. $80 Million – one-time funding WCPSS received last year for teacher assistants; still under negotiation for this school year $3 Million – Driver’s Education funding received last year;...

Beyond a Test Score: Knightdale Schools

On September 17, from 6:00-7:30 PM at Knightdale High School, the Knightdale Area Education Work Group is telling the story of Knightdale Schools – a new story. Knightdale area schools will share how they are enhancing student achievement through student leadership,...

2016-2017 WCPSS Calendar Woes

WCPSS staff have grappled with next year’s instructional calendars for months now. And that’s not hyperbole. Many options have been considered. The problems are parameters that state statute dictates for the school calendar and the (un)lucky fall of calendar dates....

WCPSS Enrollment Plan – Year Two Draft 1

Staff presented the first draft of the WCPSS Enrollment Plan for 2016-17 at the Board of Education work session on Tuesday. This is the second year staff has implanted a draft process. The top order of business is to fill five new schools that will open next fall. ...

State Budget Update

The conferees working on the state budget have agreed on the amount they will spend: $21.74 billion. This is $265 million more than the budget passed by the Senate, and $420 million less than the budget passed by the House. The House budget funded Driver Education and...

Budget Consequences Emerge for WCPSS – Driver Education Suspended

As we noted earlier this week in a WakeEdge alert on budget consequences, WCPSS will suspend driver education at the end of this week. Offering classes during the months of July and August have cost the district $500,000. Chief Business Officer David Neter noted on...

Academic Standards Review Commission Shares Draft Recommendations

The Academic Standards Review Commission (ASRC) met on Monday. During the meeting, draft recommendations for Math and English Language Arts standards were shared. The recommendations for Math standards are primarily: Repeal current K-8 math standards and replace them...

Teacher Innovation Grant Recipients 2015 – 2016

I Want To Know What Common Core Is…And I Want You To Show Me

by Zachary Hodges, WakeEd Intern I stumbled across Common Core during my first week as an intern here at WakeEd and knew that understanding this set of standards was important to understanding the climate of education in Wake County and North Carolina. Common Core...

You Will Be Right There Waiting For Me: For Teachers Everywhere

Year-round teachers are already carrying them around. Traditional calendar teachers see them on the horizon. Stacks of student projects, writing assignements, and homework waiting to be graded. This classic Richard Marx tune from 1989 goes out to all of you... They...

Don’t You Forget About Me: Let the Wake Delegation Know Your Support For Budget Decisions NOW

Almost 40 year-round schools in WCPSS have been in session since July 7th. Educators at the remaining 130+ schools will receive students on August 24th. This is just over two calendar weeks away. And WCPSS is still operating on an interim budget. We need budget...

Our House – In the Middle of our State: House Bond Proposal Provides for School Construction

On Thursday, the House passed a bond proposal that includes $500 million for school construction. Wake would be eligible for a share of $150 million equal to its proportion of statewide students. It would also be eligible for a share of $70 million going to counties...

Ultimately, You Get What You Pay For

There is much discussion around what drives economic development. Many WakeEd supporters believe that taxes provide necessary and appropriate funding for operating our schools. We polled our investors and board members. These individuals are business owners and...

It’s Complicated

There is one additional issue about which WakeEd has great concern and interest. Teacher Assistants The teacher assistant issue is complex. There are not many gold-standard research studies devoted to the academic outcomes associated with the presence of a teaching...

A Few Specifics

As the momentum builds during budget negotiations, WakeEd wanted to share with you where we stand on several state budget items. A comparison of the three proposed budgets are provided below. We’ve highlighted the budget approach that WakeEd supports for each of...

And We’re Off…

Tuesday, July 7 was the first day of school for almost forty elementary and middle schools in the Wake County Public School System. And on Tuesday, July 7, WCPSS was operating on an interim budget because the North Carolina General Assembly has not finalized a budget...

WAKE Up and Read Receives Pacesetter Award

You may remember the calls for book donations earlier this spring. Those were a part of WAKE Up and Read’s second annual book drive. WAKE Up & Read exceeded their goal and collected well over 100,000 books at 150 collection sites around Wake County. They...

Inside a Budget Crunch – Protect or Innovate?

When the Senate’s budget was announced this week, comparisons to the House budget were immediate. The results of those comparisons were staggering. And WCPSS find itself in a familiar yet uncomfortable decision point. The Senate budget reduces teaching assistants by...

House v. Senate: Budget Battle Set to Begin

At the Board of Education meeting this past Tuesday, Chief Finance Officer David Neter walked the school board through the implications of the proposed House and Senate budgets and calmly explained the ramifications of each for the Wake County Public School System....

Wake County Commissioners Support County Schools with Additional $44.6 Million

The Wake County Commissioners voted Monday to approve and adopt an amended budget. This budget provides a $44.6 million increase over last year's local fiscal support to the Wake County Public School System. The total amount of support for WCPSS will be $386 million....