Back to School

As a parent I can remember the nervous excitement my kids had on the first day of school. There is always potential for many new and amazing things to happen.

A new school year brings challenging opportunities for students and teachers. It’s also a time to look back and see how far you’ve come since last year. At WakeEd we have just entered our new fiscal year and are experiencing that same nervous excitement as we face our own growth opportunities.

This time last year we had just finalized our strategic focus, had two new employees, were starting a massive rebranding, and were getting ready to launch an education celebration we had never done before. Now, our strategic focus shows how the business community aligns with Wake County Public School System’s (WCPSS) Vision 2020. Our former new employees are integrated into the staff and consistently creating new growth opportunities for WakeEd.  We’ve rebranded our website, logo, and collateral materials. And after our first Stars of Education Awards Gala, we already have customers asking to buy tickets for this year’s October event. But that’s just where we are starting this year.

We kicked off our year with SummerSTEM – our new program aimed at improving Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) in WCPSS. Fifty educators were embedded in six area businesses to better connect classroom curriculum to the workplace. From there we turn our sights to our Stars of Education Gala. Tickets are already available for the October night where we will honor those who form the backbone of education in our community. The evening is our largest fundraiser and we are doing more than ever this year to take it to the next level. That is just a glimpse at what we have started working on this year.

At WakeEd we are moving into a new year by embracing our challenges and seeing the opportunities.  Year-round students are already back in school. Traditional calendar students have a few weeks left of summer. As we go forward this year, we look forward to partnering with you to invest in education together.

– Steve Parrott, WakeEd President