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WakeEd
The WakeEd blog is devoted to discussing and answering questions about the major issues facing the Wake County school system: the reassignment of thousands of students, the conversion of traditional-calendar schools to a year-round schedule, the district's response to growth and the school construction program.
WakeEd is maintained by The News & Observer's Wake schools reporter, T. Keung Hui. While Keung posts information and analysis on the issues, keep us posted on your suggestions, questions, tips and what you're doing to cope with the changes in Wake's schools.
Revising Wake's magnet assignments
Submitted by KeungHui on 11/19/2008 - 11:15
Some current magnet students might want to check the mail to see if they're being sent to a different magnet school next year.
Wake is revising the magnet draw areas for the International Baccalaureate elementary, middle and high schools, Academically Gifted middle schools, Gifted & Talented middle schools and Creative Arts elementary schools.
Letters are supposed to go out today to current magnet students whose schools have shifted. Everyone else will eventually be able to see their magnet options online.
They're not officially considered reassignments, but tell it to those parents.
In Wake, you don't apply to a specific magnet school. You apply to a magnet program. This means that you can be moved if the draw area for that program is revised.
Magnet students at some grades will be able to stay at their current school with transportation.
As expected, the IB draw areas for the middle and high schools have shifted significantly.
Wake is hoping that western Wake families will go to the IB programs at East Garner Middle and Garner High. The northern and eastern areas would go to East Millbrook Middle and Broughton High.
No decision has been made yet on the kind of transportation that will be provided. This could mean traditional bus service or express busing in which parents drop their kids off at a common area such as a school to be transported to the magnet site.
If families don't like the new magnet options, they can give up their spot and go back to their base school.
Click here for a handout showing draw areas and an explanation of who is eligible for grandfathering.
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Comments
Well Garner got what it
Thu, 11/20/2008 - 06:44 — vsheehanWell Garner got what it wanted less F&R shipped in from Raleigh and more Magnet students. I hope the polticians of Cary and Apex see that if they take a stand for their voters then the BOE will listen. Instead the Cary polticians bened over backwards for the BOE and the BOE repays them by blaming WCPSS trailer delays on them.
Mr. Hui, Any idea how many
Wed, 11/19/2008 - 19:39 — SideburnsMr. Hui,
Any idea how many students are affected by this?
I haven't heard back yet on
Wed, 11/19/2008 - 21:29 — KeungHui (author)I haven't heard back yet on how many letters were mailed home today.
The needs of the few....
Wed, 11/19/2008 - 15:46 — WuptdoThe needs of the elite few "inside-the-beltline" always outweights the needs of the many "outside-the-beltline."
This is how it has been since 1975 when the two schools were involuntarily forced to combined.
There is nothing equal about WCPSS.
Speechless!
Wed, 11/19/2008 - 14:28 — DisappointedI don't suppose they factored in to the fact that many people with kids at these schools have siblings 2 years apart. Two kids at two different middle schools going to two schools a miles apart - Ligon and Carnage? It looks like they have reassigned virually every single Cary/Western Wake node out of Ligon and into Carnage? I have officially lost all faith in WCPSS. The magnet schools ARE diverse and balanced. This is merely to discourage people from applying to magnets. When I signed my child up for the AG basics program, it was with neighborhood busing - now Im told that they don't know if they will extend that to the grandfathered children. I simply do not understand why this is necessary except to anger parents. Â
It apparently isn't
Wed, 11/19/2008 - 13:57 — KeungHui (author)It apparently isn't changing. Technically, parents who want to attend Joyner have been applying for the Center for Spanish Language theme, which also has an IB component. Until now, if you had put down the IB program you'd get Farmington Woods or Millbrook.
Keung--what about Joyner's
Wed, 11/19/2008 - 13:40 — jenmanKeung--what about Joyner's IB program? I remember when they got the IB added to their program they also got part of the IB applicants. What's happening with that?