New Single-Gender Schools Opening In Wake

Two new single-gender academies are set to open in Wake County. The schools are designed to serve students from low-income areas.

Dave DeWitt: More than 800 students applied to be in the first classes at the Wake Leadership Academy for Boys and a similar school for girls. Just 300 will walk through the doors when they open on Monday.

Just where those doors will be has been a cause for controversy. The Girls Academy was to be housed at William Peace University, but that fell through. It will now occupy space at the Governor Morehead School for the Blind. The Boys Academy will spend a year in modular classrooms while a building in downtown Raleigh is renovated.

Both schools will admit students into the 6th, 7th, and 9th grades this year. Students will be in smaller classes and have the chance to earn two years of college credit.