By Michael Laches
The 2026 application for the Town of Apex’s hugely popular Peak Academy officially launches on February 1, 2026, and will be open for the entirety of that month. To better understand the Peak Academy’s history, purpose, and participant experience, I spoke with Sandy Burke, executive assistant to town administration.
There is no better place to start than with the purpose and mission of the Peak Academy. Its focus runs the gamut from educating residents on Town operations and council processes to explaining the development and planning process, discussing the Town budget and how the Town utilizes tax dollars.
“Our goal is to give our residents a good understanding of what the Town does and why so that they can be our advocates in their communities,” Burke said.
Apex residents who wish to participate in the Peak Academy are asked to complete an online application. In the application, participants are asked why they want to participate and what they hope to get out of the sessions. The only requirements for being selected are that participants must be 18 years of age and must be a current resident of Apex. The academy is free to residents.
Across the academy’s six-month duration, there are approximately 16 sessions, with the first session kicking off in April 2026 and running through mid-September 2026. Sessions are held every other Wednesday from 6-9 p.m. and dinner is provided. Academy participants formally graduate during the final session.
Participants will hear from directors and staff from every Town department, including the town manager’s office and town council. They have the opportunity to ask questions during each presentation. Some sessions are held at Town Hall while others may be offsite for demonstrations.
Sessions for the Apex Fire Department are held at Apex Public Safety Station 6, the electric department session is held at the department location, and the Apex Police Department session is held at the police department. All department directors and many of their staff lead their departmental sessions. Town administration also leads an orientation session.
It’s an understatement to say that the academy is a hot ticket in Apex.
“The Academy has been very popular. My first year leading Peak Academy was in 2024. At that time, as well as previous years, there was a limit of 20 participants. In 2025, we received 43 applications! Apex’s town manager did not want to turn away over 20 applicants, so we increased the Peak Academy class of 2025 to 40 residents. This was the biggest class we have ever had! We ended up with 39 participants who committed to attend at least seven of the 16 sessions. We did ask for feedback from the directors of each department to get their thoughts on the larger class size and all were onboard,” Burke shared.
I asked Burke about the academy’s history, and she noted that it was held for several years and then was paused for a few years during COVID. Following COVID, Peak Academy was moved to the town manager’s office where Burke took over leadership of the program.
“I led the 2024 Peak Academy and then added Customer Experience Coordinator Kendall Hart to help lead the 2025 program,” Burke noted.
Like any great customer-focused endeavor, asking for participant input ensures a cycle of continuous improvement.
“At the end of each Academy, participants are asked to complete a feedback form to help us know what we did well and what we can do better. One change for 2025 that resulted from feedback from 2024 was to add an electronic option for PowerPoint presentations rather than printed copies. We created a SharePoint site for all the presentations, the full Peak Academy meeting schedule, photos from each session, and other information that directors shared with the participants. All participants were given access to the site and had the option to print materials if they preferred a hard copy,” Burke detailed.
Burke said that they have considered shortening the program, but after gathering information from other towns who run similar resident academies, as well as soliciting direct feedback from past participants, they feel that there would be a lot of value lost.
“We want to provide the participants with as much information on Town operations as possible to help enhance transparency. A lot of the feedback that we received from our 2025 participants is that while a 16-week program looks daunting at first, the weeks flew by and each session provided valuable information that would have been skipped with a shortened program,” Burke said.
It’s interesting to note that several Peak Academy graduates have run for, or been elected to, the Apex Town Council. Knowledge is empowerment, after all. The feedback from participants has been overwhelmingly positive with participants genuinely appreciative of the time each department puts into every session.
“We are also thinking about a few changes for 2026 based on our first Academy with a larger class and from feedback we received. We have already begun planning for the 2026 Academy and we are excited to see how many residents apply,” Burke noted.
To close things out, I thought you, our readers, would be interested in sampling some of the participant feedback Burke shared from the 2025 Peak Academy class:
Being able to go to “on-site” visits was helpful to get a better understanding of what the specific department does and why.
Every department had memorable moments, from Planning to Permits and even the Finance department; it was great to have the opportunity to ask questions, and receive answers.
Hearing from the department leaders and then knowing that the town has such competent leadership was great. Having the chance to talk with the employees about their work was also very valuable.
The environment was positive, professional, welcoming, and fun. Presenters were knowledgeable, had fun personalities, and seemed dedicated to the town and its citizens.
I was extremely satisfied. Getting the opportunity to learn so much helped me tremendously.
The presentations by staff were the most beneficial. You could tell how much pride the staff had in their jobs and serving the town. The entire academy was great.
The 2026 application and information on Peak Academy can be found on the Town of Apex website at www.apexnc.org/1230/Apex-Peak-Academy.
