Raleigh, N.C. — Retired Army Gen. Hugh Shelton helped get the Wake County Public School System's two new leadership academies off the ground Tuesday.

The two single-gender schools, which focus on leadership and college readiness, are holding Leadership Week so that students can meet their classmates and take part in team-building exercises.

"We have an obligation to contribute to society, to make world a better place in which to live, and it all starts right here at home," Shelton, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the students.

"I'm really excited about going here, and we definitely think it's going to be so much fun," student Bronte Butler said.

Leadership Week is funded by the A.J. Fletcher Foundation, which supports organizations that help strengthen communities.