So how do new people that move here choose a school (Durham: lease, chapel) - The Triangle Area - City-Data Forum

mcfamilyof4 · 04-10-2012, 08:29 PM

after the choice program is over this Spring and everybody settles, what happens to new people moving to the area? do all new people go thru the choice program on a rolling basis for the foreseeable future? My guess is they will go to where ever there is an open seat?

evaofnc · 04-11-2012, 06:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcfamilyof4

My guess is they will go to where ever there is an open seat?

This is my guess as well. But I'll be interested to hear from people who are moving here in the summer how things work.

dimitri1000 · 04-11-2012, 08:20 AM

We may be moving this summer and I've left probably 10 messages with the school board that have not been returned regarding this issue. On their website I found a space where it says there is walk in enrollment after the choice period is over.

I called an elementary school directly today and the person answering was actually quite nice, but unfortunately they do not have much information either, as this system is new to everyone. My main question was regarding base schools. It turns out that as of this upcoming year, there are no base schools. I entered an address of a house in the neighborhood that interests us, and 10 elementary/magnet schools popped up as choice options. I am still trying to get confirmation on this, but apparently you have to move to the area, prove your address with a lease or purchase contract, and then they will tell you what spaces are still available at that time. If all the schools in your general area are full, I have no idea what happens and can't seem to get an answer on that.

Soooo, it seems that if you move during the summer, you will get assigned to wherever there is a spot - probably one of the spots no one else in Wake County wanted. Then I guess you could go through the formal process the next year and hope for the best. The next round of "choice" is this week, so I am hoping that in a month or so they'll have a better idea of where the open spots are.

Personally, I am going to start looking into other options- charter, private, religious, etc, just in case. If I had the choice, I wouldn't move until next year, to see how all this plays out, it is that important to us.

evaofnc · 04-11-2012, 08:21 AM

Yeah the whole thing is a mess and it seems like they didn't take into consideration at all the regular flow of incoming students we have every summer. If they had then it seems like they would already have a procedure in place!

douknownam · 04-11-2012, 08:25 AM

I've been wondering the same thing.. No kids at the moment, but my wife is pregnant so in a few years we'll have to deal with this mess as well.

polarbear3 · 04-11-2012, 08:32 AM

If I were moving into the area with school-aged kids, I would avoid the Wake County schools. It seems like such a mess almost every year. I would look at the schools in the Durham, Chapel Hill-Carrboro, and Orange County districts. And if I really wanted/needed to live in Wake County, I would look into private schools.

twingles · 04-11-2012, 08:40 AM

I'm curious too. I can tell you that our principal told our PTA that he is capping enrollment at "x" and we are already there - so if you're moving into our neighborhood over the summer, I'm not sure what happens - better hope you're buying from people with kids so you can take their place, I guess. I can already tell you that with the numbers we're talking about, the school is going to be FULL.

dimitri1000 · 04-12-2012, 02:50 PM

Someone called me back from wcpss today. The school assignments will be done by April 26th. Sometime during the next 2 weeks they will put information on the website about walk in registration. They do not actually have the process ironed out yet.

VickiR · 04-12-2012, 02:58 PM

With this being the first year for this "controlled" choice, I'm at a loss as to how to help my clients understand THIS MESS!

I can't wait until this next year, when we may all understand how this works!

I wonder if we will go back to our original way, which seemed to work for the majority, me, included.

Vicki

WeLuvNC · 04-12-2012, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by polarbear3

If I were moving into the area with school-aged kids, I would avoid the Wake County schools. It seems like such a mess almost every year. I would look at the schools in the Durham, Chapel Hill-Carrboro, and Orange County districts. And if I really wanted/needed to live in Wake County, I would look into private schools.

I am not sure that is a fair statement. I'm not sure i'd avoid wake county completely -- rather, I would choose a location where all the available 'choices' were good choices. And wake county has great elementaries, middles and high schools. There are very few that I'd completely avoid.

There are so many unknowns at this point.

In the past, when we have had a capped elementary, we have had neighbors move in who have gotten their children into our 'capped' elementary simply because kids that they thought would show up at the beginning of the year did not show up and they have been able to get their kids in.

No idea if the same applies with this 'choice' program, but at some point, the principals are going to want to fill their classrooms, and if the wait list is from 'walk in' registrations, then they will do just that.