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I have definitely considered Lerner, but wondered if there were public schools with at least a few Jewish kids in every grade. I am not sure we want to go the private school route but also want to make sure our kids aren't the only Jewish kids in their classes.
We are definitely looking to join a synagogue this year. We've already visited a few and have narrowed down the options.
My daughter goes to Holly Springs High and there are a fair amount of Jewish students there (we are Jewish). I know a lot of kids from my Temple are at Green Hope, Apex High and Enloe. The "least" amount of Jewish students in any Wake Co school that we've been in was at Rand Road in Garner. I think the Jewish population in Garner is fairly low. But around Cary, Apex, Holly Springs, N. Raleigh - you'll get a good few Jews!
@DJKB: Interesting—we live in Apex now and I would have thought there wouldn't be a Jewish presence in either Apex or Holly Springs! While I like Apex a lot, I had almost completely ruled it out as a place to buy a home for this reason.
Do you mind me asking which temple you attend? Do you like it?
@TinkaMcKirk: Thanks for the info—do you mind me asking which middle school he attends?
She's currently at Martin Middle School. I'm guessing that the performing arts focus of the school (it's a magnet school) attracts a higher number of Jews than average.
There is a Triangle Jewish Moms group on Facebook -- I'd recommend you join it, as the ladies there are a good resource (lots of Passover talk right now).
Poppydog -- I'm not at all surprised that you would run into more Jewish people in Charlotte and Chapel Hill, but Fayetteville does surprise me.
As most of the other posters mentioned, the closer you are to a synagogue/temple, the higher the population will be. Probably explains the population in Apex/Holly Springs, since the reform temple is in South Cary.
You are likely out of luck in Wake County, sorry. (Raleigh is part of the Wake County district)
The Jewish community here is quite small. You won't find any public schools with a significant, or frankly even noticeable Jewish population.
Pretty much the only way for your kids to make some Jewish friends is to join a congregation and have them participate in youth group.
Can't speak from experience with Durham county, but I don't think it's much different.
Actually, the Jewish community in the Triangle is somewhat thriving, not sure where you're getting your information from. I mean, it's not Brooklyn or Miami Beach, but it's not bad at all. The two industries feeding growth in the Triangle are healthcare and IT, two professions that tend to have a healthy representation of the Jewish faith.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stephanie5005
@DJKB: Interesting—we live in Apex now and I would have thought there wouldn't be a Jewish presence in either Apex or Holly Springs! While I like Apex a lot, I had almost completely ruled it out as a place to buy a home for this reason.
Do you mind me asking which temple you attend? Do you like it?
Jewish people, at least those who are practicing, tend to live relatively near their synagogue and Apex doesn't have one.
North Raleigh has a somewhat prominent Jewish population. On my soccer team there were years we had four Jewish players and needed to reschedule games that fell on the High Holidays (teams are formed based on where the families live). When my oldest son rode the bus to West Millbrook Middle School he was one of six kids who were Jewish.
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
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There is a small Jewish presence in our schools in Chapel Hill. My kids haven't been the only Jewish students in their classes; but there aren't a plethora of them either. In my kids' grades of about 100 kids each in elementary school, I'd guess there are about 5 Jewish kids (or kids who are being raised Jewish) and maybe the same number who are from a mixed home where one parent is Jewish, but the kids aren't necessarily being raised Jewish or don't belong to a synagogue. We're in Southern Village.
we're in Cary and have always known Jewish kids in my kids' classes. My DD's best friend is Jewish, she went to all Cary schools. People are spread out here, there aren't really defined pockets within communities.
we're in Cary and have always known Jewish kids in my kids' classes. My DD's best friend is Jewish, she went to all Cary schools. People are spread out here, there aren't really defined pockets within communities.
Actually, within a Jewish community in an area where there isn't a large population, there usually are defined pockets. Most orthodox/modern orthodox jews will live within walking distance of their synagogue, while most conservative jews will live within a few miles of their synagogue and JCC. Reform/Reconstructionist jews (who still send their kids to Hebrew or Sunday School and go to temple on the High Holidays) will generally live within 10 miles or so of their synagogue. Cultural Jews (we're jewish, but probably haven't stepped foot in a temple since high school) are more dispersed.
The folks I know vary a lot. I know folks who live in Chapel Hill and have sent their kids to Lerner and go to synagogue. I know some mixed marriages where the kids are very involved in Hebrew classes, etc, and others where they have latkes at Hannukah, but that's about it. They live all over, way out west of Chapel Hill and Carrboro, in Durham, right in Chapel Hill, south of Chapel Hill. They're all over with differing degrees of involvement. I think it's sort of like work. Some people don't mind a long commute.
And if you haven't come across it before here's a site about the history of Jews in NC: JHFNC | Jewish Heritage Foundation of North Carolina
And this is an interesting interview with the author of Down Home: Jewish Life in North Carolina: http://www.uncpress.unc.edu/browse/page/623 From a North Carolinian protestant perspective it jibes with my historical understanding of Jews in NC, mainly integrated into NC society and welcomed and many were hard-working philanthropists.
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