By Karl Cameron
Special To The Carolinian
An Analysis
The J.W. Ligon Magnet Middle School Auditorium was the scene Feb. 9 th of the Second Listening Session held by the Wake County Public School System to get input on the fate of the Middle School’s building. The objective of the meeting, hosted by Wake Co. School Superintendent Dr. Robert Taylor, was to inform members of the Ligon community about the ongoing campus renovation project and to consider community voices in a learning environment created to honor Ligon students of both the past and the future.
At this point throughout the now 4-hours of Listening Sessions there are two distinct view points on how the building should be renovated, or rebuilt. The Magnet Middle School Parents have concerns about the quality of education for their children remaining constant, and not being disrupted throughout the process. Ligon Alumni and the general community have a concern that in the process that the legacy of J.W. Ligon Senior High School can be acknowledged and preserved in a tangible way.
Wake County Public Schools is in a unique position to be able to honor J. W. Ligon Senior/Junior High’s history, as well as to continue the stellar magnet school curriculum imparted at the school present day.
There are three options for the Wake County School Board to consider: (1) Renovate the Existing Building, (2) Rebuild on the Existing Site, or (3) Build a New Facility on the school’s Ballfield Site. Options 1 and 2 require that the students and staff relocate to a temporary on site mobile campus for the project’s duration, while Option 3 allows for students and staff to continue operating in the current building during construction of a new building on the athletic field. After which the current
building would be demolished to create new athletic facilities and an Alumni Pavilion in its place. Each of the three options require that the students remain on site during the construction process.
However, in the course of these Listening Sessions an Option 4 has been suggested for consideration which would be a rebuild on the existing site with a component honoring the rich legacy of the school, and moving students to another location
during the construction phase so as to minimize the congestion and noise distraction that could impact the learning process.
Temporarily moving students off site also would alleviate the current automobile congestion at the start and end of the school day from parents and buses dropping off and picking up students. Ligon Middle School has one of the smallest campuses of any middle school in this district Ms. Valerie Scott Johnson, said in her presentation that there had been discussion about St. Augustine’s University facilities being a possible alternative site during the time of renovation/construction of the J.W. Ligon Magnet Middle School Building. Even Dr. Taylor said, “the school system is also looking at a remote site in the eastern part of the county.”
A number of Listening Session voices spoke on the need for the new structure to be sustainable 50 years into the future, and to be able to enhance the existing magnet school curriculum.
Let’s take a moment, and listen to all of what’s being said, “A facility that will serve to honor the legacy of the past, and educate students now, and well into the future.” With that view in mind, Dr. Taylor proposed a committee whose mission would be to determine what honoring the legacy of J.W. Ligon Senior/Junior High should look like. Could that committee’s scope and composition be expanded to input into what the continuing magnet school curriculum should look like?
Many times the passage of time produces circumstances, which at first glance, many of us are not aware. Although J.W. Ligon Senior High was discontinued as a high school and converted to a magnet middle school; it still carries on a tradition with the magnet middle school curriculum that J.W. Ligon Senior High School was known for in its exploits in music, band, and the arts. Let us remember that J.W. Ligon Senior High School was the focal point for an annual Drama Festival, which incorporated schools from throughout North Carolina.
There is a bar of excellence that those who attended J.W. Ligon Senior High School knows, and those that attend J.W. Ligon Magnet Middle School should know about. The name Ligon sets a standard of excellence that we all should aspire to in education and life. A standard where the teacher/student relationship is so valued that instructors have gone the extra mile in the past to supply learning materials that were not in the school budget, but necessary for student advancement. Additionally, to contribute those extra hours that the school system didn’t pay for, but paid off in the advancement of those instructed.
This legacy knowledge is not only invaluable, but motivational. It sets an educational standard that all of us should be proud of, and continue to encourage in our public school system.
Dr. Taylor also said at the Listening Session that the Wake County School Board could decide on one of the three
aforementioned options at any time. So, now is the time to get on the Wake Co. School Board agenda. Although presenters have
three minutes to talk, multiple presenters on this issue could make a difference.
For future meeting dates, design updates, and key decisions go to: www.wcdpss.net/LigonCampusProject.
