D9 Connection

On Tuesday, I attended the Wake STEM Early College HS graduation. Congratulations class of 2022! On Tuesday evening, I attended the Wake County Teacher Assistant Association's (WCTAA) 36th Annual Teacher Assistant of the Year Banquet. It was an honor to celebrate each school's Teacher Assistant of the Year, the 10 finalists, and the 2022 WCTAA's Teacher Assistant of the Year-Richard Jones, River Bend Elementary. Congratulations! It was also nice to celebrate six Teacher Assistants (or IAs) retiring. Each of them had at least two decades of service and dedication to our students, families, and staff! On Wednesday, I attended the Green Hope HS Athletic Signing Celebration. Well done student athletes! I then headed to Cary High School for the 2022 Athletic Awards Ceremony. It was a magnificent evening celebrating all the Cary HS athletic teams, senior athletes, and athletic training program. Excellent job athletes, coaches, Ryan Rodgers-Athletic Director, and Eric Hall-Athleti...

On Wednesday, I attended West Cary Middle School's Spring Concert for Beginning and Concert Band. It was spectacular! Well done students and Band Director-Ryan Anderson. A special shoutout to the guest musicians from Cary High. After the concert, I was able to visit their Art Gallery and view all the amazing artwork. Excellent job artists and Art Teacher-Lial Miller! Later on Wednesday, I hosted a D9 Connection Meeting. On Friday, I attended the Future Teachers Luncheon. It was so exciting to celebrate those being hired by WCPSS for the 2022-23 school year and those still working through this program. Use this link to learn more about the Future Teachers Program. This week as a Board, we had two meetings: Work Session and Board Meeting. At the Tuesday, May 17th Work Session: One item, the 2022-25 WCPSS AIG Plan, was removed from the agenda due to a staff member's emergency. Representatives from the School Safety Advocacy Council (SSAC) provided an update on seven key areas fr...

On Monday, I visited Northwoods Elementary, met some students, and had the opportunity to sit down and listen to feedback and ideas from a teacher. On Tuesday evening, I attended Cary High School's Drama Club Show, To Art and Beyond. The performance was fantastic! Congratulations to the cast, crew and directors- Maddie Alger and Sam Bryant (both Seniors). On Wednesday, I enjoyed attending the Teacher of the Year Banquet. We celebrated the Diane Kent-Parker First-Year Teacher Award winners, each school's Teacher of the Year, the 20 semifinalists, the 10 finalists, and the 2022-23 WCPSS Teacher of the Year- Caroline Olson. Ms. Olson has been an Extended Content Standards teacher since 2015. Congratulations! On Thursday, I had a blast at Davis Drive Middle School's Spring Dance Show! Excellent performance students and Dance Director-Mrs. Winans. A special shoutout to the dancers in Mr. Geist and Mrs. Stevenson-Bennet's classes. Inclusion rocks! Congratulations to the dance...

On Sunday, I hosted a D9 Connection Meeting. On Wednesday, I volunteered at a Wake Up and Read Event at Smith Magnet Elementary School. I helped students pick out books that they get to keep. On Thursday, I attended Farmington Woods IB/PYP Magnet Elementary School's 5th Grade Exhibition. The students did a fabulous job presenting their topic, research, action, and answering questions from the audience! This week as a Board, we had two meetings: Work Session and Board Meeting. At the Tuesday, May 3rd Work Session: Dr. Gardner, Chief of Staff and Strategic Planning; Michael Martin, Educational Consultant, RTI Education Services; and Dr. Nash, Educational Consultant, RTI Education Services; provided an update on the work that has been done and is planned in support of the strategic plan. To access their presentation, click here . Drew Cook, Assistant Superintendent of Academics; Michele Woodson, Senior Director, K-12 Instructional Supports; and Tamani Anderson-Powell, Director, Magnet...

On Sunday, I had a wonderful time volunteering at Green Hope Elementary's Beautification Day. We had quite the surprise when we were pulling up weeds around the frog pond. There was a duck nest with eight eggs! The momma duck watched us from a distance while we finished pulling weeds, spreading compost and mulch, and planting sunflower seeds. On Tuesday, I visited West Cary Middle School to see areas of concerns regarding the condition of the buildings. Tuesday evening, I attended the WCPSS' Arts Night Featuring Gifts of Gold at Crabtree Valley Mall. The Ligon Middle School Choir did a fantastic job performing! On Wednesday, I had a great time at Salem Middle School's Community Night. Salem Middle School's Jazz Band kicked off the event with multiple songs that had the event hopping. Later on Wednesday evening, I hosted D9's Board Advisory Council Meeting (Read below for more information.). On Thursday, I had a fabulous time at Cary High School's Green Tie Gala....

On Monday, I joined Ms. Culver's class at Davis Drive Elementary for a United Arts Artist in Our Schools Event: a Song Writing Workshop with Roger Day ! This is Roger's 19th year performing at DDE. He sang some songs, broke down the song writing process, connected the process to what the students are doing in Ms. Culver's class, and the students helped write a song. Their song was called Coach Potatoes! Monday evening, I hosted a D9 Connection Meeting. On Wednesday, I attended the Cary Chamber's Elected Officials Reception. On Friday, I had a meeting with a high school student. This student has concerns about the impact of poverty and creative ideas for a partnership between students, schools, and the community. On Saturday, I will be attending Davis Drive Elementary's Earth Day Celebration. This week as a Board, we had five meetings: Finance Committee, Work Session, Board Meeting, Student Achievement Committee, and Policy Committee. At the Tuesday, April 19th Finan...

For folks on the traditional calendar, I hope you are enjoying your Spring Break. I wish everyone a Happy Easter! This week as a Board, we had one meeting: Facilities Committee. At the Wednesday, April 13th Facilities Committee Meeting: Douglas Congdon, Program Executive, Facilities Design & Construction, provided an update on the 2022 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) process. Staff recommended Option 1A: Major Renovations: North Garner MS, Lockhart ES, Brentwood ES, HS TBD – Cary HS or Athens Drive HS,  Briarcliff ES, Washington ES, Ligon MS, Zebulon MS; New Construction: HS3 – West Cary/Morrisville area – land TBD, ES [TBD] 1 – Wendell/Zebulon area – land TBA* - Wendell ES relocation, ES [TBD] 2 – Poole Road site, ES [TBD] 3 – Northeastern Raleigh site – land TBA*. TBA-to be acquired; Staff also recommended Athens Drive Magnet High for the high school to be renovated instead of Cary High. I voiced my concerns about Cary High not being recommended. If you review the rubric score...