About Us

Overview

Herbert Akins Road Elementary School (HARES) opened its doors in July 2009 as a member of the Wake County Public School System. This four-track, year-round school currently serves over 1000 students and employs approximately 125 staff, including about 70 certified classroom teachers in 48 grade-level classrooms, 7 specials classes, and various academic support classes. We will empower our diverse community to develop independent thinkers and life-long learners who will SOAR to excellence in the 21st century. Herbert Akins is a partnership of students, staff, parents, and community working collaboratively and respectfully as a professional learning team to prepare our students for success in the 21st century.

Mission

As part of the Wake County Public School System, Herbert Akins Road Elementary School will provide a relevant and engaging education and will graduate students who are collaborative, creative, effective communicators and critical thinkers.

Vision

Herbert Akins, as a school community, will work together to build a strong foundation for students to become responsible and productive citizens. School staff, parents, and students will collaborate to ensure personal growth and academic achievement for all students.

Core Beliefs

• Every student is uniquely capable and deserves to be challenged and engaged in relevant, rigorous, and meaningful learning each day.
• Every student is expected to learn, grow, and succeed while we will eliminate the ability to predict achievement based on socioeconomic status, race, and ethnicity.
• Well-supported, highly effective, and dedicated principals, teachers, and staff are essential to success for all students.
• The Board of Education, superintendent, and all staff, while sustaining best practices, will promote and support a culture of continuous improvement, risk-taking, and innovation that results in a high-performing organization focused on student achievement.
• The Board of Education, superintendent, and all staff value a diverse school community that is inviting, respectful, inclusive, flexible, and supportive.
• The Wake County residents value a strong public school system and will partner to provide the support and resources to fully realize our shared vision, accomplish the mission, and sustain our core beliefs.

Values

We will seek methods to involve and collaborate with parents and the community to support the education of our children.

• We will honor varied learning styles and provide relevant, engaging, and rigorous opportunities to maximize achievement for all students as they develop a growth mindset.
• We will model a growth mindset to create a learning environment where students can feel safe to take academic risks, take pride in success, and learn from challenges.
• We will use current formal assessment data, evidence, and research based instruction with appropriate levels of scaffolding to drive instructional decisions that will support high levels of achievement for all students.

Meet the Principals