Welcome to WS/FC Schools Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools formed in 1963 with the merger of the Winston-Salem and Forsyth County school systems. It is the fifth-largest system in North Carolina and the 83rd largest in the nation. Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools serves about 52,000 students with the goal of providing a quality education for each child. The school system has 42 elementary schools, 16 middle schools and 11 high schools. Eleven special schools bring the systemwide total to 80. The Board of Education is composed of nine members who were elected to four-year terms in 2006. Elections for the board will become nonpartisan and staggered beginning in 2010. The board designates a superintendent to oversee the day-to-day operations of the school system. Superintendent Don Martin began his tenure in 1994 and manages about 8,000 employees. An organizational chart is available here . Schools operate on a unified calendar, which begins August 25 and is scheduled to end on June 8. Elementary students are generally taught in self-contained classes. In most schools, the average class size is 21 in kindergarten through third grade, and 26 in grades 4 and 5. Primary reading teachers, guidance counselors, media coordinators, curriculum coordinators and specialists in art, foreign language, music and physical education add to regular instruction. Middle schools provide a gradual transition to departmentalized teaching. In addition to continuing to build basic skills, students explore special interests in music, art, languages, life skills, technology and computers. The average class size is 23 to 26 students. All high schools offer a comprehensive curriculum at regular, honors and Advanced Placement levels. Average class size is 26 to 29 students. The Career Center offers about 30 vocational programs and more than 30 Advanced Placement (college-level) courses. Advanced Placement and college-level courses also are offered at high schools and through dual enrollment with Forsyth Technical Community College and other local colleges. All schools provide programs for academically gifted students. Students identified as highly academically gifted can attend Brunson Elementary and Hanes Middle. The school system provides programs and services for students with special needs. Identified exceptional children are served through resource teachers or specially designed classes in their regular schools, or at several locations throughout the school system. Services are available for students identified as mentally disabled, physically disabled, visually impaired, hearing impaired/deaf, emotionally disabled, speech/language impaired, autistic, homebound/hospitalized, learning disabled, multihandicapped, severely/profoundly disabled, other health-impaired, and traumatic brain-injured. Younger children with special needs may also receive preschool services. In 2008-09, the school system's total budget was $571.6 million, including capital projects and child nutrition. Its operating budget was $447.8 million, of which $111 million came from Forsyth County. Typically, about 60 percent of the budget comes from the state; about 25 percent from Forsyth County; and the rest from federal and other sources. Figures for the 2009-10 school year will be available once the N.C. General Assembly passes a budget. Forsyth County Commissioners have agreed to give WS/FCS $113.5 million for 2009-10. Students in WS/FCS and across the state must meet course requirements in one of following courses of study to graduate: Career Prep, College Tech Prep, College/University Prep, Future Read or Occupational Prep. Students who graduated in the Class of 2009 were accepted at almost 200 colleges, universities, junior colleges and technical schools, and about three-fourths continued their education. For the 2008-09 school year, the school system met 90 percent of its Adequate Yearly Progress targets required by the federal No Child Left Behind legislation. In addition, 48 schools also made adequate yearly progress. For more information, please contact the Office of Marketing and Communications, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, PO Box 2513, Winston-Salem, NC, 27102-2513 or call 336-727-2696.
Districtwide, 45 percent of the students are white, 31 percent are black, 18 percent are Hispanic, 2 percent are Asian, 4 percent are multiracial and less than 1 percent are American Indian. Demographics for each school are available here . A list of schools and their enrollments for 2009-10 is
available here
. The same list for 2008-09 can be found
here. A list of historical enrollments since WS/FCS formed in 1963 can be found here. |
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