February 11, 2022

On Thursday, I visited Cary Elementary School and was able to observe students participating in an United Arts Artists in Schools Event-Mosaic Math Workshop led by Artist Jeannette Brossart. The students learned and shared information about mosaics, arrays, tesserae, tessellation, fractions, area, perimeter and more! They were able to create their own mosaics on a computer. A huge thank you to Mrs. Schmitt for providing such a welcoming classroom environment. Later on Thursday, I attended the Finals of the 4A NCHSAA States Swim Meet. It was exciting to see all the fast swimming, cheering, and swimmers breaking records. Congratulations to the 4A Runner-Ups for Women's Swimming and Diving-Green Hope High School and the 4A State Champions for Men's Swimming and Diving-Green Hope High School! On Saturday, I will be attending the Kingswood Elementary School Beautification Day.

This week as a Board, we had one meeting: Facilities Committee Meeting.

At the Wednesday, February 9th Facilities Committee Meeting:

• M. Elizabeth Wakeford, Senior Facility Planner, Facilities, Design and Construction; Alice Reese, Senior Site Planner, Facilities, Design and Construction; and Elizabeth Sharpe, Director of Planning, Facilities, Design and Construction presented the Schematic Design for Parkside Middle School/Morrisville Campus of the Wake Early College of Information and Biotechnologies (M-19/H-11). To view the presentation, click here.
  
  
• Marcella Rorie, Senior Director, Long Range Planning; presented an update on the long range student membership forecast. One area of concern I have requested more information about is the absence violations (slide 8 of presentation). For this school year, the number is around three times the pre-COVID average. Use this link to review the presentation.
  
  
• Douglas Congdon, Program Executive, Facilities, Design and Construction; and Jack McAleer, Director Program Controls, Facilities, Design and Construction; presented a CIP (Capital Improvement Plan) update on the 2022 Program Assumptions, LEGs, Design Guidelines, Space Standards, and Cost Model. Click here to review their first presentation. Access their second presentation using this link.
  
  
• Douglas Congdon presented the Facilities Three Month Forecast. To view the forecast, click here.

Use this link to watch the February 9th Work Session.

Next week as a Board, we have the following meetings (Please remember these meetings will be streamed live on the WCPSS YouTube Channel.):

• Tuesday, February 15th at 3:00 pm- Work Session. The topics on the agenda are work in support of the strategic plan, LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) update, and Wake Up and Read Overview. Click here to access the agenda. 
  
  
• Tuesday, February 15th at 5:30 pm-Board Meeting.* Some of the topics on the agenda are waiver of Board Policy 8101 and three policies presented for first reading. Use this link to view the agenda.
  

Please note, there were changes made to the Toolkit on February 10th. One significant change was that individual contact tracing and exclusion from school of asymptomatic people after an identified exposure is no longer recommended statewide in K-12 schools. The changes take effect on February 21st. Click here to read all the changes. Due to these changes, I did ask if the mask vote could be moved to next week's meeting. On Friday, I was informed by Chair Mahaffey that there was not enough support from other Board Members to take action/vote prior to our March 1st meeting.

*Full audio via phone is available for the Board Meeting. The phone number will be posted at this link the day of the Board Meeting.

If you are interested, you can submit written or video public comments. The forms to submit comments will be live from 5 pm on Friday until noon on Tuesday.

If you are interested in attending the Work Session, Board Meeting, and/or making in-person public comments, please visit this page and scroll down to click on the appropriate form. The forms will go live 48 hours prior to the start of the meeting (on Sunday) and close at 5 pm on Monday. 

Please note there will be the following three Public Information Sessions for Board of Education Redistricting (voting districts):

• Wednesday, February 16th at 6:30 pm at Crossroads III, 111 Corning Road, Cary NC 27518;
  
  
• Tuesday, February 22nd at 6:30 pm at Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School, 2600 Rock Quarry Road, Raleigh, NC 27610; and
  
  
• Wednesday, February 23rd at 6:30 pm-virtual.

I will be hosting another D9 Connection Meeting on Sunday, February 13th at 4 pm. This is an informal meeting for me to listen to you. If you live in D9, have a student in a D9 school, or work in a D9 school, please join us using this Google Meet Link.

If you have any questions or comments, please email me at kcarter3@wcpss.net.