Wake Principals Ready To Face Challenges Of New Schools

Construction crews are putting the finishing touches on new schools and principals are making final faculty choices.

Turner Creek Elementary is year-round and it will open it doors to studentsJuly 12.

"We have to order everything," said Princpal Jan Hargrove

Hargrove is on a deadline and she is not alone.

"We should be in good shape as well," said Jane Ann Hughes, principal of Highcroft Elementary.

Wake County Schools have received a lot of attention this year. They have the national superintendent of the year and they were named third best school district in the nation by

Forbes

magazine.

The principals say applicants have contacted them from across nation and all over the world.

"We're interviewing teachers after school and then on Saturdays," said Marvin Connelly, principal of Knightdale High School."I have 680 resumes for very few positions at a high school."

The demand does not always go both ways.

The new schools follow the reassignment for about 7,000 students in the district. It is a reluctant adjustment for many students.

So the schools are busy shaping their individual identities.

"These students are coming from other schools that are very successful and they were very happy. We need to provide all the things they enjoyed before," Hughes said.

The

seven new principals

have a combined average of 14.5 years of experience in the Wake County School System.