Class Back In Session For Many Students On Traditional Calendar

With the new traditional school year comes a new superintendent for Wake County. Del Burns will oversee an estimated 8,000 teachers and 127,500 students, which is up 7,000 students from last year.

To accommodate the growth, a $970 million bond proposal is on the table. Also, as many as 23 schools may be converted to a year-round schedule.

"There will no longer be an exception. One-third of our schools will be multi-track year-round," Burns said.

To help relieve crowding at the high school level, two traditional Wake County high schools are opening Friday. Filling them created a student shift at every other high school in the county. Incoming freshmen and sophomores were re-assigned, while juniors and seniors had the option of staying at their schools.

Another change this year involves some schools with academy-style teaching, which officials said will allow for specialized learning.

Wake County schools still have 35 teacher vacancies. Principals have been conservative in their hiring because they want to be sure of enrollment numbers. School leaders say they plan to temporarily fill the gap with substitutes and retired teachers.