Crowded Schools... Waxhaw Vs. Wake Forest Vs. Lake Norman Area (Raleigh: chapel, construction)

[jharris213]

We have been looking at different parts of NC to move and have narrowed it down to Waxhaw, Wake forest, Chapel Hill or Lake Norman area. I have heard that all these areas have good schools but that some are so crowded that they have the kids in Trailers? We are coming from NY State and the schools are pretty good here. I also have a child who gets some special ed services and so schools are very important to me. Can if the school 'crowding' problem is that serious in these areas, and which is the worst, or best...
Thanks
jharris213

[LLN]

Originally Posted by jharris213

....some are so crowded that they have the kids in Trailers? ...
jharris213

We would call them "learning cottages" down here.

Yes most schools in suburbs have them. School construction, for various reasons, can't keep up with the influx of folks into the popular areas of NC.

lln

[NCgirl]

NC schools have had trailers for decades. The interior looks the same as a regular classroom. The have ac/heat and many have their own bathrooms. I went to elementary school in the late 80s and we had trailers. I don't see the correlation between poor instruction and trailers. The teacher in the trailer is held to the same standards as the teachers in the school building.

Yes schools are overcrowded in many areas because the infrastructure cannot keep up with the population growth. That being said, I think tthe schools you are researching have a good reputations. I 'm not sure about the special education programs, hopefully someone with first hand experience will chime in. Good luck!

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by NCgirl

NC schools have had trailers for decades. The interior looks the same as a regular classroom. The have ac/heat and many have their own bathrooms. I went to elementary school in the late 80s and we had trailers. I don't see the correlation between poor instruction and trailers. The teacher in the trailer is held to the same standards as the teachers in the school building.

Yes schools are overcrowded in many areas because the infrastructure cannot keep up with the population growth. That being said, I think tthe schools you are researching have a good reputations. I 'm not sure about the special education programs, hopefully someone with first hand experience will chime in. Good luck!

I still don't get newcomers concerns over the learning cottages. They are very nice on the inside and my son loved the year he spent in one. They've been in our schools for at least 25 years in the areas of highest growth - they are just a fact of life here and really are no big deal.

[SunnyKayak]

Originally Posted by NCgirl

NC schools have had trailers for decades. The interior looks the same as a regular classroom. The have ac/heat and many have their own bathrooms. I went to elementary school in the late 80s and we had trailers. I don't see the correlation between poor instruction and trailers. The teacher in the trailer is held to the same standards as the teachers in the school building.

Yes schools are overcrowded in many areas because the infrastructure cannot keep up with the population growth. That being said, I think tthe schools you are researching have a good reputations. I 'm not sure about the special education programs, hopefully someone with first hand experience will chime in. Good luck!

Remember back in the day when you wanted to be in a trailer because it had air conditioning and the brick building didnt.

I probably got my best learning experience in a trailer .
Think about it small class room size and your close to the teacher so you could hear her better , read the chalk board (is chalk boards now a part of history due to dry erase board?)
Plus it was always harder to take a nap with the teacher in view.

Originally Posted by jharris213

We have been looking at different parts of NC to move and have narrowed it down to Waxhaw, Wake forest, Chapel Hill or Lake Norman area. I have heard that all these areas have good schools but that some are so crowded that they have the kids in Trailers? We are coming from NY State and the schools are pretty good here. I also have a child who gets some special ed services and so schools are very important to me. Can if the school 'crowding' problem is that serious in these areas, and which is the worst, or best...
Thanks
jharris213

Those excellent choices and it hard for me to pick one for you due to all those areas have had a high influx of newcomers. However each of those areas are building or completing new schools to meet the demand.

I would visit each of those areas and see which meets your lifestyle

[joanchris2000]

Don't exclude a school or system just because some have trailers. My younger daughter's school had a ton of trailers last year, but this year has none since a new school opened. As already mentioned, the trailers or "learning cottages" are very nice, much more quiet than the regular classrooms since they're not in a main hallway. I came from CT and at first was wary of them but they're fine. They can only build schools so fast, not like they're not trying here in Union County (Waxhaw is here).

Pick the area you like, for job, housing, schools, closeness to where you want to be, mountains, or coast, resources, hospitals whatever is important to you, but don't worry about the trailers.

[berryjuice4life]

Waxhaw/Marvin Union county has some of the best schools....we are lucky our elem school is at 85% capcity where my dd goes, and the Marvin ridge middle is over crowded right now however they are building Cuthbertson middle and HS which will relieve the over crowding from Marvin ridge...so I agree with the other posters dont rule out a school district because of it..now we have checked out Wake County recently and they are extremely busting at the seems and they changed the boundaries of who goes to what school, go into the Raleigh Forum as u will get alot of answers there about the schools..Chapel Hill I heard is one of the best in that area...good luck..

[saralee]

Learning cottages aren't exclusive to growing communities in NC. We had them growing up too. Trust me, the kids scarcely notice and if anything, it's an adventure to be out side of the school building as opposed to in with all of the other prisoners, um, students.

We like Union County. We also make use of EC services. Ups and downs, positives and negatives. Good outpaces the bad.

Good luck wherever your family lands!

Sara

[ccsmom]

We live in Waxhaw and do not have trailers at our elementary school. We now are assigned to Marvin middle and high but will soon be redistricted to Cutherbertson Middle and High. It's going to be a great school. There is a lot of community involvement which definitely helps.

[5kidsmama]

WE are at Newtown elementary, and there are a couple of trailers, a couple as in 3 or 4. 1 of my 3 elementary school kids is in one, and I am pleased. They even staff it with a real teacher Actually for him, it is better, there is a lot less distraction for him to drift off. when I was a child I went to a giant school and unfortunately when the enrollment dropped off, they ended up closing schools, I would rather pay taxes for schools that can then adjust when the population of an area ages.

We came from LI schools and spent a lot of time researching areas, and this line by line met test scores and other factors important to my move. Good luck!