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My wife and I are considering a move from Pennsylvania to the Raleigh area next year. We have 4 kids 6 and under, our oldest is in 1st grade. As you can imagine, schools are very important to us. We aren't wealthy enough for private school so we have put our trust in the Public School System.
My question is for those of you who have sent your kids through the Public School System around Raleigh (Wake County or Chapel Hill) would you do it again today if your kids were entering the school system as of today?
If not, what is your biggest complaint? If yes, what did you like most about the schools?
What is the reason for the move? Because if you are simply moving for a better school system I'd hesitate. If it is job/weather/family/quality of life motivated then it might be worth it for you.
Due to recent changes in the Wake county (at least) school system and in fact in the way the NC legislature treats educators, it may not be apples-to-apples to compare between even someone with fairly recent graduates from the local schools compared to what it would be like going forward.
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
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I am happy with the Chapel Hill/Carrboro school system. I grew up in a decent school district (at the time) in the Philadelphia area. My kids were at a well-ranked school system in Fairfax County, VA (outside DC), and they are now in Chapel Hill.
Since you are from PA, you are likely used to a very small school district (unless you are from the city of Phila. itself). Since almost all school systems in NC are run by the county, it is quite different here. The once exception is Chapel Hill/Carrboro City which is run by the Town of Chapel Hill and the City of Carrboro. It is a relatively small system with 11 elementary schools (one is a Spanish Immersion school), 4 middle schools, and 3 high schools, plus a couple of other schools for special needs, I believe. Still bigger than a lot of PA school districts, though.
I like the CH/C system because there are small class sizes. My first grader has 20 students in his class. My 3rd grader has 21 or 22. And the classes up through 3rd grade have assistants! That is almost unheard of! Even 4th and 5th graders share assistants between two classrooms. Again, depending on where you come from in PA, there is likely a lot more diversity here. Chapel Hill is known as a rich town, but there is a fair number of poor people who live here. Schools may have 20% of its population with Free or Reduced lunch. Compared to the town in PA where I came from or where my sister (in PA) now lives, where that number is likely below 3%, it can be an eye-opener for some.
The population, overall, in CH is very educated so parents have high expectations. And there are lots of programs for the advanced student.
There are a few things I don't like about living in Chapel Hill, but the schools are not one of them. So far, I have been satisfied, and I wouldn't hesitate to put them in this school system again if given the choice.
ETA: My one complaint about the schools at the elementary level is there are much fewer extra-curricular activities after school than what we had in Fairfax County. As in, there is maybe one or two options compared to 10-12 at our old school in VA. And since schools end so early here (2:30 PM), I feel that it is needed. Which leads me to my second beef - elementary starts at 7:50 AM, which is too early in my book, but others love it.
I always feel like I am in the minority when I say that I have been completely happy with my experience with WCPSS, but it's the truth. I came to the area knowing full well what the current situation was and knowing that it could be just about anything going forward. It really helped that my son and I are both adaptable, go with the flow kind of people.
I always feel like I am in the minority when I say that I have been completely happy with my experience with WCPSS, but it's the truth. I came to the area knowing full well what the current situation was and knowing that it could be just about anything going forward. It really helped that my son and I are both adaptable, go with the flow kind of people.
I would do it again in a heartbeat.
My youngest of 4 is at NCSU so I haven't had a student in WCPSS in a couple of years but all 4 of my kids got a great education from WCPSS and were all accepted into great colleges...NCSU, Carolina, ECU.
if you must come here move to Chapel Hill/carrboro......otherwise don't move here.
I'll disagree with that one!
I have a client that is a teacher in Chapel Hill schools. Although she likes the school she is teaching in, she has made several comments about the school buildings being really old and falling apart AND the pressure on the students is very high, which isn't good for all students.
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
9,781 posts, read 15,813,087 times
Reputation: 10894
Quote:
Originally Posted by VickiR
I'll disagree with that one!
I have a client that is a teacher in Chapel Hill schools. Although she likes the school she is teaching in, she has made several comments about the school buildings being really old and falling apart AND the pressure on the students is very high, which isn't good for all students.
Vicki
Just like in Wake, everyone's experience will be different, espeically since there are about 20 different schools. There is a high school that was built just 4 or 5 years ago and an elementary school that is new this year. Everything in those schools is very modern. Other schools are more than 50 years old. And there is everything in between. Our elementary school is 14 years old. The one down the road is 50 years old.
Some schools are more high pressure than others. I haven't seen any pressure here at all. In fact, I'm surprised by how low-pressure it is. But I came from NoVa where the pressure on the kids was unbelievable. I actually think it would be pretty desireable to get a teaching job in Chapel Hill compared to many other places.
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