RALEIGH — Community leaders in Wake County are hard at work trying to find the money they need to make a difference in the county's schools.

TheWake Education Partnership, a non-profit group, has already raised more than $500,000 of its $900,000 goal. The money goes directly into the Wake County school system.

One of the group's goals this year is to put a computer in every Wake County classroom.

"Computers allow teachers to monitor the progress on a daily basis, and that means they can intervene on a problem on a daily basis and not have to make a guess on where a child is," says school board member Kathryn Watson-Quigg.

The principal ofWest Millbrook Middle Schoolsays after attending a leadership workshop sponsored by the group, he now involves more teachers in the decision-making process.

"It gives you an opportunity to get a lot of different ideas in the program, and if people buy into the program, they will do a lot more to help the program succeed," Samuel Greene says.

The partnership also awards $100,000 in teacher grants every year. Members say the money has already made a difference.