The impact of the new student assignment plan on Wake County's magnet schools and potentially adding more magnet programs to Eastern Wake are just some of the issues that have been put on staff's plate.

Wednesday's school board discussion on how well magnet schools are meeting their current objectives produced a number of comments and requests for more information from staff.

The information could help shape which schools get magnet programs.

It's looking like student achievement will be added as one of the new guiding principles to Wake County's magnet school program.

As noted in today's article, there was a good deal of discussion at Wednesday's Wake County school board meeting about a review of student achievement data at magnet schools. The focus was how at the elementary and middle school level, the magnet schools had wider gaps than the non-magnet schools.

If adopted into the guiding principles, it could impact which schools get magnetized. It could also impact whether some existing magnet schools change their program or are demagnetized.

The Wake County school board announced new principals tonight for two schools while moving another principal into an assistant principal's position.

Kelly Aman will become principal of West Millbrook Middle School in North Raleigh with a salary of $89,696. Aman has been an assistant principal at Millbrook High School since 2005.

Robin J. Wahl will now be principal of Northwoods Elementary School in Cary with a salary of $115,014. Wahl has been principal of Weatherstone Elementary School since 1998.

David Newkirk will leave his position as principal of Hunter Elementary School in Raleigh, where he's been at since 2009. Newkirk will now be an assistant principal at Knightdale High School.

UPDATE

Click here to view the bio sheets.

Wake County school officials announced today that 14 magnet schools have received national awards.

Combs, Douglas, Joyner, Washington and Wiley elementary schools and Southeast Raleigh High School received the School of Excellence Award from Magnet Schools of America, a trade organization. Those six schools are now in the running to win the Simpson Distinguished Merit Award, which goes to the top magnet school in the nation.

In addition, Conn, Farmington Woods, Hunter, Millbrook and Underwood elementary schools; Carnage and Ligon middle schools and Millbrook High School received the School of Distinction award.

"We're proud of all of the schools that Magnet Schools of America recognized this year," said Wake Superintendent Tony Tata in a statement. "Our magnet schools are a thriving, dynamic part of our school system, and their success is due to the hard work of students, teachers, and our supportive community."

With no firm date set for the next bond issue, Wake County school administrators want to use their savings to get a head start on some construction projects.

As noted in today's article, administrators want to use most of the $91.3 million in savings from the 2006 bond issue to add more high school seats. But the money could also be used to get work done on the long-discussed middle school near Leesville Church and Strickland roads in northwest Raleigh.

Click here for a handout of the presentation that staff gave the school board last week.

Wake County magnet school supporters are keeping a wary eye on how the program will be impacted by eliminating the long-distance forced busing of thousands of students out of Southeast Raleigh and downtown Raleigh.

As noted in today's article, there's going to be an impact from the school board student assignment committee telling staff to draw up community assignment zones with contiguous boundaries that don't have satellite nodes for diversity.

Questions were raised Tuesday by the community reps from the board minority members about how this change would impact the magnet schools.

SEE UPDATE AT END OF POST

Teacher transfer requests are up this year in the Wake County school system.

There were 1,699 requests for transfers to different schools this fall, up from 1,633 last year. Those are only requests, meaning they weren't necessarily approved. Before a certain date, teachers don't need to get the permission of the principal to request a transfer.

The numbers at individual schools are interesting, especially at some magnet schools. Whether the increase at these schools indicates teachers are wary about potential changes to the magnet program or want out for some other reason is uncertain.

Wake County school board member John Tedesco is keeping busy now that he, temporarily at least, doesn't have an outside job.

In an e-mail message Thursday to other board members, Tedesco said he's visited 21 schools so far with a goal of visiting a third of the district's 157 schools by summer. He said he's accelerating his schedule over the next 90 days to visit 30 more schools.

Tedesco said these visits are providing him important field experience in his roles as chairman of both the student assignment committee and the economically disadvantaged student task force.

Only one new principal appointment tonight.

Camille Hedrick was named principal of Apex Middle School at a salary of $112,286. She replaces Timothy Lee Locklair, who was recently named principal of Holly Springs High.

Hedrick has been an assistant principal at Lufkin Road Middle School since 2006. She's also married to James Hedrick, principal of Green Hope High School.

Since I was out on July 21, I'll also post those principal changes too.

UPDATE: BIO SHEETS AT END OF POST

Congratulations go out to Carol Swink Wooten, a fifth-grade teacher at Hunter Elementary School in Raleigh, who was named one of the top math and science teachers in the nation today.

Wooten was one of 87 winners nationally and two from this state to receive the 2008 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. Some educators have called the award, which includes a $10,000 prize, the Nobel Prize of their profession.

The award is the highest recognition that a kindergarten through 12th-grade math or science teacher can receive in the U.S. for outstanding teaching. Recipients are recognized for their contributions to teaching and learning and their ability to help students make pregress in math and science.