Principals share experience with WCPSS Restart Program to improve schools

CARY, N.C. (WTVD) -- Leaders of the Wake County Public School System got a chance to hear from principals about the future of the Restart Program, which is helping turn around schools that have been falling behind.

Principal Brandon Warren said he was proud of the work happening every day at Timber Drive Elementary School in Garner.

"The rubber meets the road with the classroom teachers and providing that high-quality instruction on a daily basis," he said.

Out of the more than 200 Wake County schools, 40 are part of the Restart Program.

The program is for schools that have been designated as low-performing for two out of three years.

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If a school is part of the program, it's allowed to have charter-like flexibility, which includes things such as hiring, scheduling, and funding innovations.

Though some schools are placed in the program, others can be taken off as things improve at the school.

Nine schools, including Timber Drive, are no longer considered low-performing.

"The flexibilities in the resources have been instrumental in moving the school out of the low-performance status and increasing the outcomes and the achievement for the students, which is our main goal," Warren said. "So I would love to see that work continue moving forward so that we can continue the great work and keep moving up."

It's progress that WCPSS Superintendent Dr. Robert Taylor said is being noticed, especially when budgets have been tight.

It's why he wants to make sure state lawmakers keep the program going.

"I do hope that our General Assembly will recognize the value of flexibility, and what we want to stress is that it's not about a school being in academic trouble before being considered a restart school, that's something that is valuable for all schools," he said.

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