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Split-shift schedule possible for high schoolers
by Debra A. Golden, Wake Weekly Staff Writer
While area parents and teachers enjoy a brief respite from reassignment, Wake County administrators continue to grapple with ways to house the thousands of additional students headed to schools throughout the county each year.
Last year more than 6,000 new students entered the Wake County Public School System. This fall, another 5,000 students are coming. A construction bond passed in 2004 was millions of dollars short of what the school board asked for, and all the money from the bond has been allocated. School officials are hoping for another construction bond in 2006, but in the meantime, the system is still trying to catch up. Growth in Wake County schools is affecting all grades, from elementary to high school. As a result, the school system is looking at a variety of possible options across the board to house incoming students. Much of the discussion lately has focused on changes affecting elementary schools, but high schools are similarly squeezed. Wakefield High School, just five years old, is already over capacity. Last year's enrollment nearly hit the 2,000 mark. At Wake Forest-Rolesville High, Principal André Smith expects 1,985 students this fall in a school designed to serve 1,639. A range of options School officials are looking at a variety of options to house the 1,000-plus new students expected in northern Wake County high schools in the next four years, said Don Haydon, associate superintendent of auxiliary services for Wake County Public Schools. Overcrowding at the high school level is probably the worst in the Wake Forest area, Haydon said. The school board needs to act soon. School officials say they need direction by August to implement any changes for the 2006-07 school year. At the high school level, suggestions have included adding more modular classrooms to the Wakefield campus, reassigning some students in the Wakefield/Wake Forest area to Knightdale High School, opening ninth grade centers for Wakefield and WF-R High School and creating double sessions at one of those two schools. Two modular units are being added to the Wakefield High School campus this year, Haydon said, with additional ones expected to open if needed. Those extra classrooms, however, could push Wakefield High's student population past 2,500, he said. That would tax the school's cafeteria, bathrooms and media center. Separate ninth grade facilities Ninth grade centers for both WF-R and Wakefield could help ease overcrowding in those two schools, Haydon said. One ninth grade center could open at Forest Pines Drive where two new elementary schools are planned and the other could be housed in the modular units on the Wakefield campus, Haydon said. If the school system takes that route, the ninth-grade centers would likely operate until another high school opens in this area, which won't happen until at least 2009. Another option for high schools not yet talked about in detail is holding double sessions at either WF-R or Wakefield High Schools. That option could effectively cut the size of the student body in half by scheduling some students for morning classes and the rest for afternoon courses. Double sessions, however, could negatively impact sports and afterschool activities, and bus scheduling is difficult. Along with or in place of some of those options, a number of students could be reassigned to Knightdale High School to take the pressure off WF-R and Wakefield. Year-round conversions Possible solutions are also under discussion at the elementary level, although school board members are not in favor of creating half-day kindergartens or double sessions for the younger pupils, Haydon said. Up for discussion has been the countywide conversion of 15 elementary schools to mandatory year-round. In conjunction with those year-round conversions, five middle schools throughout the county would also have to convert to year-round calendars.That could translate to changes for up to four schools in the northern part of the county. "Creating more year-round schools is heavily under discussion," Haydon said. Not yet known are which schools could be affected. The decision can't be made without looking at the school system's long-term needs, Haydon said. Since the Plan 2004 bond money is all spoken for, "we can't build more schools in the next two to three years," he said. Long term needs extend out to 2020, he said. "How many schools do we need to build? What is the financial impact?" he asked. Without the mandatory conversion of some schools to year-round, the school system expects they'll need 96 new schools in the next 15 years. Postponing the inevitble? Despite the continual influx of students, school officials are rechecking all their figures to see if they can postpone making any major changes in year-round status or reassignments for another year, Haydon said. "There's a range of things" that can be done, Haydon said. "On the one hand ... can we stick it out a little longer? Can we postpone doing anything real major? Can we put up with (the growth) until we have more of a chance to talk with the community?" Haydon added, "We want to try to take the long-term look and do what makes sense for parents and taxpayers."
Last Updated On: June 30, 2005
Copyright 2005 The Wake Weekly