Can the Wake County school system attract enough applicants to open Richland Creek Elementary School in Wake Forest this year?
As noted in Sunday's North Raleigh News article by Chelsea Kellner, school officials said that Richland Creek needs at least 100 students to have a principal. The school had 46 applicants after round two.
The deadline for the school board to make a decision on Richland Creek for this year will be in June.
Chief Transformation Officer Judy Peppler said she's optimistic that they'll get enough students to open this year, unlike the now-delayed Abbotts Creeks Elementary.
Peppler said they recommended delaying Abbotts Creek because the schools around it have about 2,000 empty seats, enough to easily absorb new students who arrive over the summer.
But Peppler said Richland Creek is located in an area where most schools are near or at capacity.
Even though school officials decided to make the new schools K-3 only the first year because it was expected that few older students would apply, not enough younger elementary students applied either.
Peppler told school board members last week that the 46 students were primarily rising kindergartners. The goal has been to have enough students for at least one class in each grade level. Wake would like 150 to 200 students this year.
If not enough older students apply, Peppler said options that might be explored include using multi-age classrooms. Peppler said the final decision on class configurations would be up to the school's principal Tammie Sexton.
Wake plans to hold an open house for Richland Creek, inviting parents from around the area. Peppler told school board members that they're hoping the appeal of small class sizes will bring in more applicants.
Comments
Is there a List Anywhere...
Wed, 05/09/2012 - 11:08 — JSBinNCshowing school by school - the list of available seats by grade level?
2000 Seats right around AC seems like a lot - how far is the radius that they are looking at?
Build it and they will come.
Tue, 05/08/2012 - 08:58 — EveryoneiswrongThe movie wasn't called "Field of Proposals" for a reason.
Exhibit A of how unprepared
Mon, 05/07/2012 - 19:44 — georgiapigExhibit A of how unprepared this system is to provide a choice plan. A precondition of a choice plan is having well-defined choices that you can sell to the public. Tata simply has not done that, and this shows that, despite his stated intentions, he doesn't have a clue or the wherewithal to make that happen. It takes work and resources up front before opening a new school so you can define what it represents in the way of choice, and even then there is a fairly significant risk of failure because of failed execution or simply because prospective parents do not trust what is being offered will actually delivered. It sure as heck can't be done by hastily throwing something together at a school after no one chooses it. That is simply idiotic, but par for the course for the execution of this plan.
Another consequence of the Choice Plan
Mon, 05/07/2012 - 17:18 — PeacePopMany of us saw this coming. Let's see how Tata and Peppler expect to fix this issue of not being able to fill new schools without drastically changing this three ring circus of a Choice Plan. Tata and his gang claimed this plan would be so successful in filling new schools....yeah right. Take a look at the outcome - they are practically begging people to help them fill the schools. What a huge failure in that category. But yet they still can't admit failure.
...
Mon, 05/07/2012 - 17:51 — SideburnsFilling new schools in years to come will be easy. Schools will be added to feeder patterns and on choice lists as they are announced and funded. Eventually, they will just become part of the pre-assignment and choice process. The new plan recognized that the first few years might lead to lower utilization.
So if you believe the school
Mon, 05/07/2012 - 21:00 — mnordbergSo if you believe the school system few people will change from where they are today. So filling schools is hard to do. Plus when starting K you are guaranteed your MS and HS so if you are opening a MS or HS you have to wait 6 or 9 years before the new school is changed for entering K. If you don't, then you are going back on the stated reason for choice was to provide stability (they have gone back on what they have said before so they could). Hence, you are again back to hoping people choose the new school and it is obvious extremely difficult to do so.
Still waiting for a real plan other than hope to fill new schools.
Lower utilization
Mon, 05/07/2012 - 20:40 — Solon77So are you saying this school is not part of a feeder pattern and not part of the choice process. Are you saying that the school was not announced and funded ? How is an elementary school part of pre-assignment ? Why not just admit the school is under enrolled because the staff messed up and did not plan properly.
This school is part of a
Mon, 05/07/2012 - 21:02 — mevans27587This school is part of a feeder pattern. Wake Forest-Rolesville Middle and High Schools. We ended up with this as our fifth choice. There is no information at all about this school. Why pick something that you know nothing about when they say you should research which "schools are the right fit for your child"? This school will be the school that newcomers get and people who didn't care enough to register their kid anywhere and just show up on the first day of school. So thankful we got something different round 2!
...
Mon, 05/07/2012 - 21:02 — SideburnsI was thinking more along the lines of a middle school or high school - not an elementary. My bad.
This school is funded -- but not built - and would open as a modular. Maybe that's the problem?
That is a major problem. The
Mon, 05/07/2012 - 21:03 — mevans27587That is a major problem. The area it is located in is not the best part of town either. However, Wake Forest doesn't really have a "bad part"...
Wake Forest....
Tue, 05/08/2012 - 09:32 — bpuli9999is the bad part of North Raleigh!
Hmm...that explains why
Tue, 05/08/2012 - 14:54 — mevans27587Hmm...that explains why there are million dollar homes going up all over Wake Forest even in this "bad economy".
Why even try...
Mon, 05/07/2012 - 16:36 — bpuli9999to open this school when it is clear that parents are not willing to send their kids to his school? Use the money for something else this year and try again next year. Isn't that what the choice plan was for?
Come on
Mon, 05/07/2012 - 16:24 — mnordbergMultiple issues in just this one example of school opening:
F.U.B.A.R
Mon, 05/07/2012 - 15:55 — ScoreOneThe expended funds, effort, and human capacity on these problems due to lack of professional competence is criminal at worst, and at the least, amazingly stupid.
Tata and his "Peppler" have a combined Broad School System Management Training Experience Portfolio of 18 weeks. Given his "extended and quite advanced experience" of an additional 18 months in DC with a school system that is a fraction of this size, Tata has personally directed the architecture and implementation of this C.F. of an assignment plan.
It is an abomination, an embarrassment, and the Board of Education needs to step up, and step in, before the problems that are coming at us like a runaway train are no longer the issues of a paranoid superintendent and his incompetent flunkies, but by those duly elected to educate my children.
Bizarre....
Mon, 05/07/2012 - 14:51 — Bob_SconceIf you want people to go to that school, give them some certainty. Don't say "You should go to this school because it will have small classes" and then say "But, we may combine different age levels if the classes are too small." Heck, never say that second thing at all -- NO parent wants their kid to be put into a mixed grade-level class.
Multi-age classrooms are the kiss of death
Mon, 05/07/2012 - 15:24 — FSandYOUNo thank you. That idea is absolutely unacceptable.
Yet another one that will sit empty and dark.
Totally Agree!
Mon, 05/07/2012 - 14:56 — mevans27587There are schools that have capacity around this area. Sanford Creek can hold more kids and a lot of the other schools have heald more then their max before. The fact that they are waiting until June is crazy also. People need to know how to plan and they need to find adequate staff. It is going to be a hard sell asking people to give up a school for a modular building.