Wake’s single-gender leadership academies might stop offering high school. Here’s why.
Wake County’s two single-gender leadership academies could combine their high school programs into a coed high school as part of a new agreement being developed with Shaw University.
For more than a decade, Wake has operated the Wake Young Men’s Leadership Academy and the Wake Young Women’s Leadership Academy as separate single-gender schools in Raleigh offering grades 6-13.
But Wake now might need to operate them as single-gender middle schools that would feed into a single new co-ed high school. Staff is proposing the change as part of its state application to continue pairing students with a university to obtain college credits.
The change could go into effect for the 2025-26 school year. The school board will got an update from staff on Tuesday.
Change in college partners
In addition to being single-gender schools, a central part of both academies has been that older students attend college courses to get free college credit.
Until this school year, students had taken courses at St. Augustine’s University in Raleigh. Wake ended the deal due to St. Aug’s financial and accreditation uncertainty.
Students are taking college courses this school year from Wake Technical Community College.
Under a bill signed into law this year, Wake can switch college partners to Shaw University without having to go through a competitive application process for state funding. But Wake says it needs to make adjustments to comply with the state’s requirements for the cooperative and innovative high school (CIHS) program.
Wake says Shaw’s campus near downtown Raleigh can handle enough students for one CIHS application. The new high school will get a separate name.
Single-gender academies for middle school grades only
Paul Domenico, director of magnet programs, told the school board the new law doesn’t let them operate the academies as grades 6-13. He says they can only apply for a school serving high school grades.
The potential change means that the two single-gender academies would only be for middle school grades. Older students would become part of a co-ed early college high school.
But Wake aims to let the students stay in a single-gender environment for the start of high school. Ninth- and 10th-graders would take classes on the middle school campus.
The district said the total number of students served after the change would be similar to how many are now at the academies. But Wake said it would have to work with staff at the three schools to keep funding consistent with what’s now in place.
Wake has to submit the new application to the state Department of Public Instruction by Oct. 4.
Wake will communicate the changes to families. Board member Sam Hershey says the changes are more than families thought would be made to keep the program partnered with a college.
“There’s a lot of love and a lot of desire for two separate high schools,” Hershey said.
This story was originally published September 17, 2024 at 4:32 AM.
