NC Schools (Charlotte, Raleigh, Cary: low income, real estate market, home)

[jacobslaw]

Here is a link that has information on NC schools: [url]http://abcs.ncpublicschools.org/abcs/[/url]

If you want a good education then you may want to steer clear of Eastern North Carolina. Personally, I am moving from NC. When I look at the disparity between Eastern North Carolina and places like Cary, Raleigh, or Charlotte it depresses me. The State has some of the best and worst schools in the country within a couple hours drive. It's unfair.

The State has shifted from a manufacturing/skill labor economy to services economy. The average North Carolinian probably hasn't been educated well enough to obtain a high tech job in the Triangle or a banking job in Charlotte. If your child does well in school then he or she will be able to attend some of the best colleges in the country at reasonable prices. The State Universities favor in-state residents heavily. It's the pre-college education that is troubling in some areas.

I still feel bitter and short-changed on my pre-college education. It's the primary reason I'm moving to another state after I finish professional school. I had to struggle like crazy to finish college.

Also real estate isn't as cheap as every proclaims it to be. It's all relative. It depends on the neighborhood and city. If you live near lakes or nice neigborhoods in a metro area then you could pay over $300,000 for a home. If you go to more rural places then you can get a really nice sized home for $150,000 and less. The down side is how good are the schools. The positive part is most school districts have one all-star school. So if you can get into that one school while hundreds of other children are being subjected to inferior educations then you'll be ahead of the pack. It's a shame how unequal education is in this state.

[Carolina Girl]

Originally Posted by jacobslaw

Here is a link that has information on NC schools: http://abcs.ncpublicschools.org/abcs/

If you want a good education then you may want to steer clear of Eastern North Carolina. Personally, I am moving from NC. When I look at the disparity between Eastern North Carolina and places like Cary, Raleigh, or Charlotte it depresses me. The State has some of the best and worst schools in the country within a couple hours drive. It's unfair.

The State has shifted from a manufacturing/skill labor economy to services economy. The average North Carolinian probably hasn't been educated well enough to obtain a high tech job in the Triangle or a banking job in Charlotte. If your child does well in school then he or she will be able to attend some of the best colleges in the country at reasonable prices. The State Universities favor in-state residents heavily. It's the pre-college education that is troubling in some areas.

I still feel bitter and short-changed on my pre-college education. It's the primary reason I'm moving to another state after I finish professional school. I had to struggle like crazy to finish college.

Also real estate isn't as cheap as every proclaims it to be. It's all relative. It depends on the neighborhood and city. If you live near lakes or nice neigborhoods in a metro area then you could pay over $300,000 for a home. If you go to more rural places then you can get a really nice sized home for $150,000 and less. The down side is how good are the schools. The positive part is most school districts have one all-star school. So if you can get into that one school while hundreds of other children are being subjected to inferior educations then you'll be ahead of the pack. It's a shame how unequal education is in this state.

While I agree with parts of your post and see what you are saying, I take exception to other parts. There are good, bad and best in the school systems, teachers, principals and students. I have heard of very few schools (if any) that are so bad they wouldn't enable a child to get a job in Charlotte if that child applied themselves. We could all take a day out for a pity-party, but the student must bear some responsibility too. I went to a school in a county not known for being the top (but not the bottom) and I passed exams for college with pretty good scores and not too much concern. I was sufficiently based, educationally, that I completed a graduate program in the honors category and that is from a very good school in the state. So, it can be done. My son attended Char./Meck schools during the turbulence of the late '70s and his education was sufficient to allow entry and he is now teaching in that same system.... trying to make a difference. Getting a 'high tech' job in RTP or Charlotte requires very specific skills and that doesn't matter where you are from.

Bottom line is that NC Schools need some changes, but former Governor Jim Hunt was big on education and he worked hard at it. So while things aren't everything I would hope for, taxpayers probably can't afford everything I would hope for. Even schools have to stay within budgetary constraints.

Real Estate isn't cheap. But we pay what the market demands. Those coming from other states have various reactions to the real estate market. Those coming from CA see it as cheap, those coming from the northeast have often heard too many stories about how cheap it is and may not (not always) have realistic expectations.

It sounds like you are a recent graduate who listened to too many PR issues from college recruiters about how employers would fall at your feet. Frankly, that never did happen to many people. We all had to work and work hard. I hope you find your niche and are happy wherever you go. Good luck.

[JAS]

A lot of it also is the responsibility of the parents.

We live in a very good school zone, and one characteristic is that there is a LOT of parental involvement. A neighbor across the street from us teaches at a school in this zone and talks about how her students are generally prepared when they come to class and that there is a lot of parental volunteerism at the school. She also tells the sad stories of the low-performing schools (i.e., the inner-city schools in Guilford County) that she hears from other teachers where they cannot get parents to even show up for meetings to discuss performance and development issues, students are completely unprepared when they come to class, etc.

One other consideration is that the extremely rural counties (for example, those in the eastern part of the state) don't have very large populations and therefore don't have large tax bases to fund programs that the larger counties may provide. Also, the best teachers probably wouldn't be found there because: a) most people don't want to live in those areas, and b) their pay would be lower than in other counties because those school systems cannot afford to add to the base salary funded by the state. My understanding is that the school systems receive a base funding from the state for salaries, and the system can add amounts to that from their own local funding and budgets.

[Carolina Girl]

Originally Posted by JAS

A lot of it also is the responsibility of the parents.

... She also tells the sad stories of the low-performing schools (i.e., the inner-city schools in Guilford County) that she hears from other teachers where they cannot get parents to even show up for meetings to discuss performance and development issues, students are completely unprepared when they come to class, etc.

You are so right. My son teaches in a school that has many students from very low income housing areas. It is his choice school believe it or not. He decided to give it one year and liked it and stayed. He said the key to success for him is parental involvement. He also made a few other comments that caught my interest. He said many of the parents in the low economic areas don't get involved but it isn't because of lack of interest but because they don't know what to do or what is expected of them. He went on to say that many of them didn't have supprotive parents either and didn't have a role model. So, he said if you ask them to help and show them what to do you often have a committed and eager helper. He said he has one woman whose children are now out of school but she keeps working on behalf of her community. He said she is like having a Gestapo guard. Since she is from the neighborhood, she knows the kids and knows the dangers and she 'rides herd' in areas that he couldn't and wouldn't know about. I found that a very interesting bit of insight.