By Maggie Beamguard
Insider Editor
The halls of West End Elementary school will be teeming with students on Aug. 25, the first day of the 2025-2026 academic year. Principal Katie Lockamy welcomes the full corridors.
“I can’t wait to see each of our WEE Warriors,” she said. “I love summer time but it is very lonely at school without them, so the first day of school is always my favorite.”
To prepare for the new school year, Lockamy hopes the staff and teachers have taken much deserved time to rest and relax. But many of WEE’s grade level teams began planning together over the summer to create collaborative lessons.
“Our school leadership team will be attending the Solution Tree PLC (Professional Learning Communities) @ Work conference in Charlotte at the end of the month. We are excited about this opportunity to increase our knowledge of strong PLC practices that will help us plan for the new school year.”
School leadership will hone their PLC practices, which focus on collaboration, data analysis and growing collective efficiency over the next school year, ensuring students get the best from the WEE staff.
The Warrior student body will include new kindergarteners and students new to the area. Starting a new school can cause some first day butterflies, but Lockamy wants families to know they have come to a great place.
“The most important thing any first time parent should know about WEE is our staff will love and nurture their student. We are a very special school that focuses on what’s best for the whole child and helping them become good little humans.”
Lockamy also shares words of wisdom for the first day of school. “On their first day, they should expect lots of smiles and a genuine happiness that they are here. Logistically, they should expect a longer than usual car line; though our system is extremely efficient while focusing on the safety of our staff and students.”
The school is also prepared for any potential disruption caused by the expansion of N.C. 211, happening about 80 feet from the school’s front door. “Safety is the number one priority at WEE and all of our daily processes center around this,” she said. “When I became principal in 2022, we began looking at our processes and procedures through the lens of the 211 expansion and how this will impact campus safety,” said Lockamy.
“We adjusted processes, such as how students move across campus during the school day, to increase safety. Our PTA raised funds to put up a fence that enclosed the internal part of the school which provides an extra layer of safety.
While Lockamy expects some impact on traffic during the project, she does not expect an increase in traffic noise. “The DOT project manager has assured me that the current work will not affect our day to day operations once school begins. I am confident that the DOT will do everything in their power to ensure a smooth as possible transition as they continue their work.”
While the road gets improvements outside, the minds of the students will broaden on the inside. “This year students will continue to focus on making those small increments of improvement with our daily motto of ‘make today better than yesterday and tomorrow better than today,” said Lockamy. “We are focusing on digging deeper into our proven practices and making WEE the best school in MCS.”
Her hopes for the next year are the same as every year, mainly that the WEE Warriors find success every day, whatever that looks like for each student. “I hope as Warrior Leaders we always keep what’s best for students at the heart of every decision we make. This is one of my nonnegotiables for myself and our staff.” Lockamy also hopes they continue to grow as a WEE community.
In addition to the incoming students, WEE also welcomes new staff members. Chloe Spivey will join the first grade team this year. There is a new Child Nutrition staff with Pam Hafezi serving as the cafeteria manager.
Back to School night at WEE is scheduled for Aug. 21 from 5-6:30 pm. Students and staff will have the opportunity to meet the teachers, classmates and other WEE community members.
Contact Maggie Beamguard at maggie@thepilot.com.
