EDUFACT:

Every year, Wake County is adding 25,000 people to its population—that’s an average of 68 new people each day.

PARTNERSHIP CELEBRATES COURAGEOUS LEADERSHIP, URGES PASSAGE OF SCHOOL BOND

Voters must approve the $970 million school bond on Nov. 7 to continue building on the 30-year legacy of the merged Wake County Public School System, say business leaders representing North Carolina’s premier local education fund. Wake Education Partnership shared this message with more than 600 business leaders, elected officials, parents, educators and community representatives at its 2006 Annual Meeting, held yesterday morning at Raleigh’s McKimmon Center.

“This is a time for courageous leadership. Passing the school bond is critical for the future development of our community,” said John McKinney, director of corporate and external affairs for BellSouth and chair of Wake Education Partnership’s Board of Directors. “The bottom line is that our public school system plays a vital role in Wake County’s economic health.”

The meeting theme, “A Community United: Celebrating 30 Years of Courageous Leadership,” focused on the 30th anniversary of the merger of the Raleigh City and Wake County school systems. The 1976 merger of the two districts was a significant moment in the community’s history, peacefully integrating schools in Wake County despite initial resistance from the community. Since then, our school system has become a national leader in academic achievement and played a key role in the area’s phenomenal growth, in part, because of the courageous leadership to merge the districts.

As part of the 30th anniversary celebration, a special award was presented to John Murphy, first superintendent of the Wake County Public School System in 1976. This was Murphy’s first trip to Raleigh since moving to Florida after his tenure as superintendent. Also invited as special guests to the meeting were members of the 1976 Wake County Board of Education, Board of Commissioners, Legislative Delegation and WCPSS Administrative Team.

LEADERS IN EDUCATION HONORED FOR COMMITMENT TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Wake County’s prestigious awards honoring involvement in sustained academic excellence in the public schools were presented yesterday, during Wake Education Partnership’s Annual Meeting. Capitol Broadcasting Company President and CEO James F. “Jim” Goodmon was named the 2006 Friend of Education. Barnhill Contracting Company and KB Home received the 2006 Business Partner for Education Awards.

The Friend of Education Award was established by Wake Education Partnership in 1990 to celebrate extraordinary acts of leadership by citizens for public education. Recipients of the award have included many of our most accomplished and respected leaders of industry, government and community. Often described as “visionary,” Jim Goodmon has challenged the community and its leaders to make school funding a priority and to promise every child a quality education. Former Governor Jim Hunt described Goodmon as “a great education leader” and one of the people “in our state who has done the most to help improve pubic schools and to help the children of North Carolina.”

The Business Partner for Education Awards, given by Wake Education Partnership and the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce, recognize Wake County businesses that provide exemplary leadership and support for Wake’s public schools through sustained commitment of employees at all levels.

Barnhill Contracting Company has been a partner of Wake County Public School System since 1989. The company’s work has been critical in ensuring that all Wake County students have high-quality learning environments and that our educators have great places in which to teach. KB Home believes in the importance of access to a high-quality education system for all families. The company has been generous in its financial donations to support public education, but more importantly in its partnerships with community groups. KB Home has instituted an open policy to encourage employees to participate in school activities, in addition to providing special discounts for educators and in-kind donations for Wake County classrooms.

REGISTER TO VOTE TODAY

To vote on Nov. 7, you must be registered by TODAY, Oct. 13. For information on how to register or to check if you are already registered, visit http://www.wakegov.com/elections or call the Wake County Board of Elections at (919) 856-6240. This site also offers information about polling locations and one-stop voting, which begins Oct. 19 at the Board of Elections.

BOND RALLY SET FOR TUESDAY

Join bond supporters for a “Get-Out-the-Yes-Vote” rally on Tuesday, Oct. 17, from 5:30-7 p.m. at the RBC Center in Raleigh. This family-friendly event is open to the public and will feature food, music, fun and yard signs, along with messages from Friends of Wake County Co-Chairs Ann Goodnight and Dr. Bill Atkinson. The RBC Center is at 1400 Edwards Mill Road, adjacent to Carter Finley Stadium, just off I-40 and I-440. Look for the VIP entrance.

DISTRICT ENROLLMENT TOPS 128,000 STUDENTS

The Wake County Public School System has 128,070 students for the 2006-07 school year, based on preliminary 20th day enrollment figures released last week. This is 7,566 more students than the 120,504 who attended on the 20th day last year. WCPSS's record growth for 2006-07 is more than double the average enrollment increase from 1998-2002. The preliminary 20th day number is within half a percentage point of the projected enrollment of 127,513 students.

WCPSS gained more than 6,400 students for the 2005-06 school year and approximately 5,100 students for 2004-05. The school system is now entering a six-year period in which the district is projected to grow by between 7,000 and 9,400 students each year, with total enrollment expected to surpass 160,000 students by the year 2010.

SEVEN WAKE HIGH SCHOOLS HONORED BY ABCS OF PUBLIC EDUCATION

For the second year in a row, Green Hope High School was recognized as an Honor School of Excellence, according to the high school results of the 2005-06 state ABCs of Public Education. Green Hope was one of only three schools in the state recognized as an Honor School of Excellence and was the only one of those three to achieve high growth. Green Hope is also the only traditional comprehensive high school among the three.

More than 90 percent of Green Hope High students were successful on the state's assessments, even though two new assessments were figured into high school scores and the state made adjustments to its growth standards. In order to achieve Honor School of Excellence standards, Green Hope also had to make Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) under the federal No Child Left Behind Act and meet their state-specified expected growth standards.

Six WCPSS high schools were honored as Schools of Distinction. The schools had more than 80 percent of students scoring proficient on state assessments and met growth standards. Apex High and Athens Drive High were recognized as Honor Schools of Distinction for reaching the 80 percent mark and meeting high growth. Broughton High, Cary High, Leesville Road High and Wakefield High were recognized as Schools of Distinction for reaching the 80 percent mark and meeting expected growth. Only 28 North Carolina high schools earned recognition as Schools of Distinction. For more information, visit http://www.wcpss.net/news/2006_high-school_abcs/.

WCPSS EARNS FACILITY AWARD

The Association of School Business Officials International has awarded its Facilities Masters Award for excellence in facilities operations planning to the Wake County Public School System. The award, the highest recognition for school district facility operations offered by ASBO, is only conferred to school systems that have met or exceeded the standards of the program.

ASBO School Facilities Committee Chairman Roger Young said the awards program was created to recognize school districts for achievements in high standards of school facility best practices.
"The attainment of this award brings the confidence and credibility to the community that the school district has implemented the best practices in school facility maintenance," said Young. "Effective school maintenance protects capital investment, ensures the health and safety of children and supports educational performance."

BOOKSTORES CELEBRATE EDUCATOR SAVINGS WEEK

From Oct. 12-17, 2006, current and retired educators will receive 25 percent off purchases for personal and classroom use at Borders Books & Music. Just bring proof of educator status. The Cary store at 1751 Walnut Street (469-1930) will hold a special reception for educators on Friday, Oct. 13, from 4-7 p.m. Come and enjoy food and wine, three raffle drawings, and special opportunities from local retailers and guests, including chair massages.

CITIZENS’ FACILITIES ADVISORY COMMITTEE ReEVIEWS BUILDING PROGRAMS

The Citizens' Facilities Advisory Committee (CFAC), co-chaired by Billie Redmond and John Mabe, met Sept. 26 at Panther Creek High, where the group reviewed the planning assumptions for the new building program and toured the new high school facility. The Wake County Commissioners and Wake Board of Education jointly created the CFAC in June 2006 to evaluate the county and school system building programs, with the initial focus on school design criteria, construction management and delivery methods. The county hired DeJong & Associates, an education facility consulting firm, in partnership with Summit Consultants, a facility cost estimating firm, to serve as consultants to the committee.

CFAC's first assignment for the consultants is to perform detailed data analysis on programs and construction, ranging from square footage and class ratios to requirements to materials' costs, construction and site work. The process will involve surveying school planning, educational programming, and construction costs of five schools districts across the nation and four within North Carolina. The consultants will make site visits to Travis County (Austin), TX; Clark County (Las Vegas), NV; Fairfax County (DC Suburb), VA; Gwinnett County (Atlanta Suburb), GA; Orange County (Orlando), FL; Forsyth, NC; Guilford, NC; and Mecklenburg, NC.

HIGHER-INCOME FAMILIES OPTING FOR PRIVATE SCHOOL IN CHARLOTTE-MECKLENBURG

A growing percentage of Mecklenburg County's higher-income families are enrolling their students in private schools, according to a Charlotte Observer analysis of new U.S. Census data. Last year, 36 percent of these higher-income children attended private schools, up from 26 percent in 2000. These higher-income households earn more than five times the poverty level.

The rise in private-school enrollment does not signal a widespread exodus from Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools (CMS). For example, the district retained 88 percent of the county's middle-income students (whose families earn between two and five times the poverty level). That percentage did not change from 2000. But the overall number of those students dropped, leaving children from lower-income homes as the largest single group in CMS, at 41 percent.

The 2005 data shows:
• 16 percent of Mecklenburg students enrolled in private school, up from 14 percent in 2000.
• Private schools gained 6,100 students.
• About 24 percent of the county's white students go to private schools, up from 21 percent in 2000.
• About 1 in 3 students in south Charlotte attended private schools, the county's highest concentration. Next is north Mecklenburg and outlying suburbs, where it is 1 in 7.

Ellen Martin, a school advocate who has been working on this issue, says CMS is at a pivotal point. "We are trending toward what a lot of other urban areas have become, where you have this inner-ring of Charlotte that's high-poverty and these outer rings where people bailed out."

SIGN THE "GIVE KIDS GOOD SCHOOLS" PLEDGE

Public Education Network invites you to come together during Give Kids Good Schools Week, October 16-22, to start a national dialogue about public education and send a clear message that quality public schools for every child are a top priority. Help PEN kick off Give Kids Good Schools Week by signing the Give Kids Good Schools Pledge. If you haven’t done so already, you can go online to sign the Pledge and to ask friends and family to sign the Pledge and spread the word about this important campaign.

During Give Kids Good Schools Week, events across the country will encourage individuals to learn the facts about quality public schools; vote to support and promote quality public education; and act by letting public officials and others know that quality public education is a top priority all year long. Get started by learning more about how your vote for the school bond can make a difference for students in Wake County.

MAKE AN INVESTMENT

Your donations make Wake Education Partnership's work possible. Please help us continue to support excellence in public education in Wake County by making an investment in the Annual Fund for Education today. When we invest in our schools, we build a better, stronger, more prosperous community for us all. And together, we all win.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

Nov. 1: Wake Regional Education Roundtable from noon-1:30 p.m. at the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce. Topic: School Leadership. Registration for this event is at capacity, but waiting list registration is available online.