The beginning of the 2016-2017 school year marked a significant change in freshmen attendance, for the closing of the Wakefield North Campus resulted in the unification of two campuses.  The student body and faculty have furthermore embraced the transition in various forms.

Wakefield North, formerly the Ninth Grade Center, was originally established in the 2007-2008 school year to resolve issues with overcrowding.  As time has passed, this no longer seems to be the case.  Wake County made the call to put an end to the Ninth Grade Center when enrollment declined.

“[The closing of Wakefield North]  was confirmed about six months before last school year [by Wake County],” Assistant Principal, and former ninth grade Principal, Chancey Wolfe said.  “Our enrollment dropped as a result of Rolesville High School, Heritage High School, and Wake Forest High School, and we had room here on main campus to house all of our students. Essentially, that was always the goal–to get us back under one roof.”

Despite the benefits that come with transitioning from two schools to one, the community built by the Ninth Grade Center between freshmen and faculty is not what it used to be.

“[Wakefield North]  had a family feel about it, [from] the faculty but it also trickled down to the students,” Wolfe said.  “It was such a small facility that you really got to know people very well. I know that the staff were there for all of those years, it’s been a hard move for them I think because they enjoyed being so collaborative and so close to each other in a tight knit community.”

Wakefield North was a key factor in creating close relationships with staff members and students.

“For the ninth grade teachers, everything was close: the office, the teacher work room, cafeteria and if you needed something the teachers were very close,” ninth grade English teacher Ricky Taylor said. “We had more of a opportunity not to just have interactions on a personal level but have a work relationship.”

Faculty members were not the only ones who had to adjust to the transition this year; students also had to adapt to being together on main campus.

“Being on main campus [this year] is harder because the bell time [feels] shorter,” sophomore Emely Melgar said.  “I have to walk to the back of the third floor to the cottages, and I am always exactly at the bell because of the crowds of people.”

Hallway traffic has increased since the freshmen have been on main campus; however, the school has implemented a Freshman Academy in attempt to keep ninth graders in one area.

The majority of the trailers located in the back of the school have been designated as freshmen core classes.

“I was not overwhelmed [by being on main campus] because all of my classes are in one area, and I don’t really have to travel far to get to each class,” freshman Jack Callahan said. “The school has really kept the freshmen in one area and not all mixed in.  We’re not walking through hallways with a bunch of big seniors and juniors.”

The creation of the Freshmen Academy has been just one of the many aspects that have been included to ease the transition.

“[The freshmen gain] exposure,” Wolfe said.  “I think the big thing is that they get a taste of what high school really is, being integrated with nine through twelve while still having a transition with the Freshmen Academy, and also having one administrator, Mr. Robinson, and one counselor, Ms. Walter. I think that kind of makes it that small environment-feel for them, but they still have an opportunity to see the whole campus through elective and upper-level classes that they don’t receive of the trailers.”

Even though the Ninth Grade Center has been a piece of Wakefield for nine years, there are benefits to its closing.

“When I was first aware that I would not be attending the ninth grade center, I was pretty excited because I don’t really like the idea of a freshmen center,’’ Callahan said. ‘’ I like the idea of one high school with a lot of people in it.  The freshmen center, in my mind, was like an extra year of middle school because the ninth graders were singled out, and didn’t get the full experience of high school.”

However, the closing of Wakefield North has also yielded opposite reactions from students.

“I liked the ninth grade center better because we were all very close, but here you see a bunch of people you don’t know,” Melgar said. “I feel like it would have been cool for [the class of 2020]  to attend the ninth grade center, so they could experience and get to know people better.”

Although perspectives differ, in many places it is not uncommon for freshmen to attend high school with grades ten through twelve.

“For the incoming ninth graders, their transition is just like ninth graders all over the United States,” Taylor said.  “They leave middle school and they go to a big high school.  [Wakefield] just had a unique situation in which we had a Ninth Grade Center.  [The class of 2020] transition to high school is just the typical experience.’’

Regardless of the change, students and staff have acclimated to the closure of the Ninth Grade Center.

“For nine years, we were on two different campuses, three miles apart, and all of a sudden one year we’re back under the same roof,” Wolfe said.  “Scheduling wise I think things went really well, and I think from what I’ve seen the students are adjusting well.  I believe overall it’s been a great transition year.”