Eyes around Wake County are focused on how the four Renaissance Model  schools will do this year.

As noted in today's article, the four Renaissance schools got additional resources, such as the money that was used to have a quartet from the N.C. Symphony work with students at Barwell Road Elementary School on Monday.

“We want to focus on everything we can to bring enrichment to their lives," said Barwell Road Principal Sandy Barefoot. “It certainly opens up the world to them.”

Here's the quick summary of the new academic audit done of Wake County schools.

Wake still outperforms the state on state exams but the gap is narrowing with the rest of North Carolina growing at a faster rate. Wake’s low-income students aren’t growing as fact academically as their more affluent peers and higher poverty schools are on average not showing as much growth as more affluent schools.

A finding that drew discussion was the one in which, in general, schools with high percentages of free and reduced lunch students have lower rates of growth in reading and math exams than schools with low percentage of free and reduced lunch students.

The Wake County school board appointed five principals tonight while moving four principals to assistant principal posts.

Gregory Butler was named principal of North Garner Middle School with a salary of $92,707.68. He has been an assistant principal at Southeast Raleigh High since 2009.

Carmen Graf was named principal of Banks Road Elementary School in Fuquay-Varina with a salary of $73,803.68. Graf has been an assistant principal at Timber Drive Elementary since October.

UPDATE

Click here to view the bio sheets.

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.

SEE END OF POST FOR BIO SHEETS FOR THE PRINCIPALS

Here's some more details about the Renaissance Model being used to turn around the Wake County school system's four lowest performing elementary schools.

The quick description is that additional resources, including new technology, signing bonuses and performance bonuses, will be used at Barwell Road, Brentwood, Creech Road and Wilburn elementary schools. All four schools happen to have high poverty levels but they were chosen because their passing rates were below 60 percent on state exams last year.

The issue has gotten more attention this week because the school board voted Tuesday on a $950,000 a year bonus plan for the schools using federal Race to the Top money.

Today's Wake County school board meeting will be long and touch on a variety of topics, including reassignment, bonuses to work at high-poverty schools, redistricting, bell schedules and the magnet review.

The school board will vote today on the last three potential changes to the 2011-12 student reassignment plan, including moving school board member John Tedesco's neighborhood from Creech Road Elementary to Aversboro Elementary. The plan calls for splitting off the part of the node that includes his subdivision to go to Aversboro.

Also as noted in today's article by Thomas Goldsmith, the board will vote on setting aside $950,000 in Race to the Top grant money to provide signing bonuses and merit pay to teachers who will work at the four Renaissance schools: Barwell Road, Brentwood Road, Creech Road and Wilburn elementary schools.

New Wake County Superintendent Tony Tata made the rounds today, meeting with Gov. Bev Perdue and members of the General Assembly.

School board member Carolyn Morrison, who accompanied Tata today, said they were meet-and-greets with no substantive issues discussed. In addition to the usual politics of a superintendent meeting the governor, you also had the backdrop of Perdue having criticized the Wake school board for ending the diversity policy.

Today's meetings are part of an effort by Tata to spend a half-day with each of the school board members. The board members are taking Tata around to meet with various groups.

Wake County's share of the Race To the Top Grant could be used to reinvent four low-performing elementary schools.

Wake is slated to get $10.2 million over the next four years. Interim Superintendent Donna Hargens told board members today that administrators want to use the grant money for efforts such as teacher performance pay and additional technology at schools where lower than 60 percent of students are passing state exams.

This group now includes Barwell Road, Brentwood and Wilburn elementary schools in Raleigh and Creech Road Elementary School in Garner.

We could hear as soon as today whether the Wake County school system will win up to $10.3 million from the federal Magnet Schools Assistance Program.

The U.S. Education Department has until the end of the month to announce the 2010 grant recipients. Wake is among 98 applicants vying for a piece of the $100 million pot.

According to Wake's magnet grant application, the district wants up to $10.3 million in federal dollars over the next three years. Wake would chip in $2.5 million from local funding.

Tempers flared at today's committee of the whole meeting as Wake County school board members argued over a resolution that would be used to apply for a federal magnet schools grant.

With the recent adoption of the community schools resolution, the board needs to adopt a voluntary desegregation plan to apply for the grant. If successful, Wake could get up to $12 million in federal dollars to jumpstart the district's three newest magnet schools - Smith and Brentwood elementary schools and Millbrook High.

Members of the board majority said the resolution complies with the grant application guidelines. But members of the board minority accused the majority of paying lip service to diversity just to get grant money.

UPDATE

THE RESOLUTION PASSED BY THE USUAL 5-4 VOTE AFTER A MOTION TO SEND IT TO COMMITEE WAS REJECTED BY THE SAME 5-4 COALITION.