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My husband and I (and our infant daughter) are seriously considering buying a home in Woodcroft - we love the feel of the neighborhood (both demographics and visual appearance), the trees and trails, and the houses....our only concern (which I've seen from other threads is a common one) is the schools to which Woodcroft is zoned (Southwest, Githens, Hillside). Are there any Woodcroft residents out there that have experience with these schools? We've heard enough good things about the elementary school but not a lot about Hillside high school. I know that there is a lot of misinformation out there about Durham public schools - I don't want to listen to hearsay and rumors...I'd love to hear from actual parents who have children at these schools presently or in the past. I also know that Durham prides itself on Schools Of Choice -- how easy is it to get into different schools if you are unhappy with your assigned school? Thanks in advance!
I was blessed to have grown up in Woodcroft. My family built our first home there, and we moved in a few months before I was born. It was the most amazing experience and dream any child could imagine. I was one of five kids, (two sets of twins) and we all loved it there. We were the kids, along with our entire caul d sac of children of all ages who stayed outside and played until it was time for dinner, and it was safe enough for us to go back out until the fire flies came out. We rode our bikes everywhere when I was older, the trails go all over the neighborhood, and lead you directly to the pool, which is also amazing. I played soccer, did swim team and had so many friends throughout the entire neighborhood. We stayed the until I turned 10, my dad was working at Duke as a doctor and got an offer at UT Southwestern in Dallas he couldn't resist. Well he could of, but the school issue was the main factor that lead us to move. Southwest elementary had started busing kids in from lower income areas when I was in 2nd grade, but at elementary age, there were no real issues. But when it came time for my older brother and sister to start middle school at Githens,y parents were planning to send all five of us to St. Thomas Moore, catholic school for those 3 years, then allow us to go to public school at Jordan. This was our plan, to stay in Durham, until they upped my dads job offer in texas and they rezoned woodcroft to go to Hillside. Which was absolutely not an option. So we moved because of this. But in regards to middle school there's excellent private schools, Durham Academy, St Thomas Moore, and also a free public magnet school where a lot of my childhood friends ended up going. Then, after years of keeping in contact with old friends, everyone from Woodcroft was able to go to Jordan high, which is apparently one of the best HSs in the state. So my best advice is dont make a decision based solely on the schools. You never know when they will rezone them again, and you can always request to transfer to Jordan which is an easy process especially if you live in Woodcroft because it is so close. I miss woodcroft, Durham, our beach house and North Carolina in general everyday and wish we had never left. I couldn't imagine a better place to grow up, and actually am considering moving back there after I finish my masters. The houses are amazing and custom, ours was 4515 highgate drive, bought it for 115,000 back in 1987, and I just checked, it's appraising for $291,000 now. My parents added a huge addition and we made quite a profit when selling due to increased property value and desirability of these homes. I never once felt afraid of predators or strangers growing up there, and neither did my parents. Good luck to you and your young family but whatever you decide, I went to southwest up into until 5th grade and was so over prepared compared to kids AT my new school in Plano. They have AG programs and all sorts of gifted classes to enhance your child's success. I hope this helped a little, my apologies for the scatteredness of it, it's early ha. Post and let me know what you decide. And get your baby into soccer or swim team when they're old enough!
We've lived in Woodcroft for the last year and we absolutely love it. So many families. We love walking to things.
Our 3 boys (6, 8 & 10) have a half dozen houses they can walk to to play with friends. We homeschool so I can't speak to that, but I can tell you that Woodcroft is now zoned to go to Jordan High School which is supposed to be quite good.
I wouldn't worry one bit about Hillside High - or Chapel Hill High - unless you truly had reason to believe that you'll be in the same house for 15 years. Demographically, Americans move now. The average person owns their home about 9 years (well up from 6 years ago).
So:
1. You'd have to stay in that home extraordinarily longer than average, and not have needs occur which would otherwise cause you to move.
2. The high school's atmosphere would have to stay the same (Hillside) in order for the circumstances to be relevant.
I'm just not a believer that we can control the future on an event such as this that far forward.
Never went to Durham schools or even known kids who did. However, all the ratings I have seen for Hillside are absurdly low. Do not want to start a Durham argument, just pointing it out if a good high school is a concern of yours. I liked the homes I looked at in the Woodcroft area though and it is very close to RTP
it certainly appears that Woodcroft is assigned to Jordan now anyway.
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