On a sharp curve on Old Powell Road, squarely on the Holly Springs/Fuquay-Varina town line, sits a small charter school with a great story! Southern Wake Academy, formerly known as Community Partners Charter High School, has been slowly growing a positive reputation over the last 15 years that has at times seemed out of reach.
The brainchild of a group of NC State educators in the late 1990s, Community Partners Charter High School opened its doors in the Fall of 2000 at the Hunt Center in Holly Springs. It rented space from the town until construction on its own building was completed the following summer. With about 60 kids and a vision that was quite unique for high schools in North Carolina, the school started its second year in a business park next to Food Lion, where it stayed for almost a decade.
The school struggled initially with low enrollment, primarily due to its reputation as an alternative school because of the challenging students that other public schools sent their way. By 2008, staff realized that the students weren’t telling their friends where they went to school. “At that time, there was a TV show on VH1 called ‘Charter’,” explains school administrator Dave Thomas. “It portrayed charter schools in a negative light, so our students were embarrassed to say anything about CPCHS.” Staff decided that a name change might help change the mindset of the students.
The students and staff agreed on Southern Wake Academy (SWA). The students felt that “Academy” had a more attractive feel to it. Staff and students began an outreach campaign in the community to help improve people’s perceptions of the school and its mission. Dave Thomas took flyers that outlined the school’s curriculum and special features to all the public schools in the area, and convinced them that SWA was not a competitor.
In 2010, SWA found itself in a position to purchase land and buildings vacated by a private school. The move to Old Powell Road, however, resulted in a loss of some students, and school opened that year with only 77 students in four grades. Again, Dave Thomas marketed the school to anyone who would listen. He, his teachers and staff, his parents and his students handed out flyers all over town. Thomas joined the Fuquay-Varina Business Alliance, and visited the administration of every local school to rebuild those valuable relationships with new faces.
The school saw a gradual increase in enrollment with families who wanted the small class atmosphere and focus on community involvement. Thomas credits much of their early success in the new location to former school director, Mr. Carroll Reed. “It was his wisdom and knowledge of how a school should run that brought us through those difficult times. He showed me how to be an effective leader and prepared me to take the reins when he retired.”
In 2012, SWA began adding middle school students, one grade at a time. Starting with two teachers and 16 students in the sixth grade, SWA added a grade every year until they had grades 6-8 under their roof. “The biggest transition for students is not from middle school to high school,” says Thomas. “Our experience shows that it is actually from elementary to middle. We have much more of an impact on the students long-term if we can start with them in middle school and work with them for a full seven years.”
Today, they have 128 middle school students in three grades and 96 sixth-grade applications for 2015-16! A far cry from the tiny school that started in 2000 with 35 students, enrollment has exploded in the last couple of years. The 2015-16 school year will start with 400 students in seven grades, and staff now uses a lottery system to select students each spring. What’s their secret? “We have amazing staff and teachers,” Thomas shares. “The same two teachers who started our middle school program are still teaching today. It makes for great program stability.”
In addition to their small class sizes, they also boast a unique lineup of requirements that sets them apart from their traditional counterparts. For example, each student must perform 30 hours of community service per year. All high school students must complete 265 hours in a business internship before they graduate, must participate in four job-shadowing experiences per year, and must present their work in a portfolio once per quarter to their parents and advisor. Each student has an advisor who stays with them from freshman year through graduation, creating a strong bond between students, parents, and staff.
The best part of the increase in enrollment is the financial ability of the school to purchase resources. “We receive a certain amount of money per student from the state to fund all our programs and pay our rent and our staff,” Thomas explains. “Once you hit a critical mass of students, you can afford to bring in new programs and activities for the students.” This coming fall, SWA will add a vocal music program to its repertoire that will complement the outstanding art program it already enjoys. While the curriculum is very focused on the basics for graduation, the school does offer a wide assortment of electives such as astronomy, creative writing, anthropology, sociology, sports medicine, theater, criminal justice, art, music, and journalism.
The other milestone that is truly putting SWA on the map is the new construction of a three-story, 45,000 sf building that will offer 21 classrooms, a gym, a cafetorium, and office space – the first permanent facility on their campus since their move in 2010. Funded by a USDA loan, the project broke ground in October of 2014 and is anticipated to be completed by the time school opens in August. “Building brick and mortar classroom and activity space is something we have been planning for a long time,” says Thomas. “It’s exciting to finally see it all come together for our students and staff.”
In recent years, the school’s improving reputation has been bolstered by considerable improvement in test scores and graduation rates. Proclaimed an Honors School of Excellence by the state in 2012, the school’s graduation rate has increased from 56% to 83%, and their academic performance composite (test scores) has improved from 49% to 90%. With an EC (exceptional children) percentage creeping toward 30%, these numbers are impressive!
“What makes our school really special is the connection that our staff has with our students,” Thomas emphasizes. “All our teachers are invested in the kids. We’re a family. We know where they are academically and personally, we care about them, and they know it.”
This little school on the edge of Fuquay-Varina has come a long way since it rented space for 35 kids in the Holly Springs rec center in 2000. Athletic Director and Acting Dean of Students Winnie Lameck has been with the school since its inception in 2000, and has seen all its ups and downs. “So many people have contributed to the growth of this school,” she shares. “All the trials we’ve faced and all the celebrations we’ve shared have helped us grow into an institution that knows how to stay one step ahead of the curve. We had to experience all those twists and turns with great leadership and dedicated staff members to become what we are enjoying today.”
Lameck jokes that her 15 years with the school “has been her longest relationship,” but she looks forward to adding STEM programs to the middle school, adding higher level courses so their students can remain competitive, and bringing the community into the school more through career days and international festivals. “Our kids need to be more culturally competent,” she says, “both in terms of their relationship to their own community and the world at large.”
Southern Wake Academy expects to leave quite a footprint on the local landscape. “We have a lot of ideas for the future,” Lameck smiles, “but over 15 years, we have always stayed true to the core of what makes us unique. It has kept me here, engaged and working for our kids, all this time.” Interested in their program? Check out their website at www.swake.org or call the school for more information at (919) 567-9955.
