The Wake County school board appointed Darryl Fisher this evening to become the interim principal of Wilburn Elementary School in North Raleigh.

Fisher replaces Mark Tracy, who is leaving to take a job in another district. Fisher will fill in at Wilburn from April 1 through the end of the school year.

Fisher has plenty of first-hand experience at Wilburn, serving as principal from 1985 to 2006 and more recently as interim assistant principal. But losing a principal at this point in the school year probably isn't great considering that Wilburn is a Renaissance School, meaning it's getting additional federal funding because of its test scores.

The Wake County school board announced tonight they had replaced three principals who are part of a new program to help struggling schools and had also chosen a new leader for Southeast Raleigh High.

New principals were chosen for Barwell Road, Brentwood and Wilburn elementary schools while the principal of Creech Road Elementary was allowed to keep her job. They’re all part of the Renaissance Schools program, a new effort targeting additional resources at Wake’s four lowest-performing elementary schools.

The principals and teachers at the four Renaissance schools had to reapply if they wanted to keep their jobs, which comes with a hiring bonus and merit pay. Those who aren’t hired back or don’t want to stay are transferred to other schools.

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