Wake Schools Open Enrollment? (home, transfer, magnet schools)

[happyinorbit]

Does the Wake County School System offer open enrollment? I cant seem to find anything on it.....which leads me to believe they do not....but one can not be too sure. Thanks!

[lamishra]

What do you mean by open enrollment?

[happyinorbit]

I guess that would be a no.
Open enrollment is when you can choose to attend a school outside your boundary, provided the school of choice has room to take you, or you meet other criteria.
That is offered where we currently live (not in NC).

[lamishra]

We definitely do not have an open enrollment system (as in: you can't move around freely from to school even if there is room). It's actually quite difficult to move schools in Wake BUT.....there are other school options available which you can apply for such as magnet schools and Year Round/traditional calendar schools. We also have charter schools in NC which are actually are open enrollment but there are not very many of them (and of the one we do have only a handful are worth going to) and on top of that, they are small and getting a spot in one is very difficult (especially the good ones).
So, in a nutshell: there is not open enrollment in WCPSS, but there are some opportunities to apply to WCPSS schools outside of your base assignment and charter schools are actually open to anyone in the state, no matter where you live.

[librarySue]

I have to say...the options for my ex husband's address are ludicrously far away and few of them offer busing...so not really an option.

[momofmikenliz]

can someone explain the year-round system to me? We are moving from FL and it is confusing...do i pick the track my kids are on...will they be on the same track if they are at the same school...when does the "school year" actually start? It also looked like instead of being grade A,B,C,D,F there are number levels?!?!?!

Also, my son is in 2nd grade and has been tested for our Academically Gifted program, and currently is in AG classes...it seems from what I've read that NC doesn't test until 3rd grade with services starting in 4th? Does anyone know anything about this?

THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!!!

[lamishra]

momofmikenliz, you might get more input if you start a new post with your specific questions, but..YR...most schools are "multitrack" (not all) and if you have multiple kids, they will all be placed on the same track, but not necessarily the one you choose. There ar eno YR high schools, so if you have high school aged kids, their calendar will differ from younger siblings on the YR calendar.
You are assigned a track, with the option of requestig a change later, but there are no guarantees. This if the way it works in an area with heavy new population growth and overcrowded schools. The schools typically start in July for YR, with the exception of one track starting in August and the end of August for traditional calendar. Track 4 on the multi track calendar is the track most similar to traditional schools.

Elementary schools have a 1,2,3,4 grading scale. I personally hate it, but it is what it is so I have adapted.
Kids are tested for AG in 3rd grade and start AG programming in the 4th grade here, but with some limited services starting in 3rd.

[rhodenmary]

Momofmikenliz, I do understand the confusion as I moved here from Fl almost 2 years ago. If your child will be going to a year round school then their schedule will be 9 weeks in and 3 weeks out (sometimes it is 4). Not all schools are year round but if you live in an area (node) that assigns you to a YR school that is where your kids will go. That being said, you could have your elm kids in a YR school and your high school kids in a traditional school.

My kids go to a YR school, I personally hate the schedule, not to mention the grading system using numbers. If you know where you are moving plan on working and need after school or track out care then you might want to start researching the providers linked to that particular school. I came from Sarasota and my kids were in the Boys & Girls Club and for the two of them I paid $70 a month for after school & $600 for summer breaks. I can not find anything even close here. The cheapest I have found for track out care was $3,000.00 for the both of them. Who knows maybe you will have better luck than me but I thought you might like to know before hand. Best of luck in your move

[momofmikenliz]

rhodenmary, geesh! that's alot!

hopefully, I will get to stay home for the first year-ish after my DH's transfer and will have some time to look around.

Since you are from FL...are the NC EOG tests as "pushed" as the FCATs? I am actually kinds glad that my oldest will be leaving before the 3rd grade start of it all.