Cary 26 students showcase ‘Win Time’ projects, present community service and art events

At the Feb. 24 Cary CCSD 26 Board of Education meeting, teachers and students from Cary Junior High described Win Time, a daily block used for targeted academic, behavioral and enrichment supports, and presented two student passion projects to the board.

Win Time is a regularly scheduled block during which students receive interventions, enrichment or grade-level work tailored to need. "Win Time is one of our programs where we deliver our multi tiered systems of support to all of our students," a teacher introduced during the meeting. At the junior high level Win Time runs about 40 minutes each day, staff said.

Seventh grader Audrey Paddock told the board her Win Time unit covered public speaking and career exploration. "This year in Win Time, we learned about public speaking and finding career paths," she said, adding that students researched careers and created slide presentations. Board members asked whether she planned to pursue speech team opportunities in high school; she said she might.

Two students, Amelia Anderson and Kaylee Bostick, described a passion project in which their group ran a weeklong donation drive for the PADS homeless shelter in McHenry. "We were able to collect 745 items school wide in 4 days," Anderson said. The students said they contacted the shelter beforehand to learn which items were needed, organized advertising and classroom collection during Win Time, boxed the donations and delivered them to the shelter with their teacher. They said shelter staff explained how donations would be distributed but that students were not shown the interior of the shelter to protect resident privacy.

Eighth graders Isabella Frangimore and Gabby Walrath described a separate passion project: an art class they planned for students in the district’s TLC program. After seeking donated supplies from local craft stores without success, the students said school principal Dr. Qualls offered to pay for materials; the class is scheduled for Friday after school. "We learned that neurodivergence does have a positive effect on creativity," Walrath said when describing the project’s research and goals.

Staff and the superintendent praised the students’ work. In his superintendent’s report, Dr. White thanked the students and their teachers and noted the board will continue to highlight building-led programs during meetings. Board members commended the projects for community connection and student engagement.

Board members and administrators said Win Time supports can be used for interventions, grade-level reinforcement or advanced work depending on student need. The program’s use of research and community partnerships drew praise during the meeting.

The district’s curriculum staff said Win Time has broader uses across grade levels and that some elementary Win Time blocks are structured differently (for example, K–5 Win Time shifts to 30 minutes for math and 30 minutes for ELA in some schools). The board did not take any formal action related to Win Time at the meeting.