Moving within triangle, WCPSS transfer question (Cary, Morrisville: house, neighborhood, middle school)

[MouseEars247]

Hello! I have seen some old threads on this topic, but policy has changed in the last few months, so I wanted to start a fresh one. (This is my first ever post here, so I apologize if this is a faux pas )

We currently live in Cary, and our 2nd grade daughter attends our alternate calendar option school, Morrisville Elem (MES), which is year round. We are looking to move, and I am eyeing a neighborhood nearby, and we would like for our daughter to continue to attend MES. However, even though you can see the school from parts of the neighborhood, MES is not the base or calendar option school for this neighborhood. In addition, we have a second daughter who will begin kindergarten in 2018. We provide our own transportation, and would continue to do so regardless of school assignment, as we utilize the before and after school program.

I gather from the new (as of last summer) WCPSS policy (Student Assignment / Address Change Policy), that if we do move to this neighborhood, and want her to continue to attend MES, that we must submit a transfer request for her to stay, and that approval is not guaranteed.

My questions:
-Does anyone know the likelihood of approval of this request? Are the odds reasonably good?
-If she gets approved, are we guaranteed the same for our other daughter when she starts in 2018--or at least given preference?

MES is not currently capped, so I'd hope at least that would work in our favor. Our plan would be for DD#1 to finish out elementary at MES, and DD#2 to go to K & 1st at MES, then when DD#1 enters middle school (Davis Drive Middle is the base middle for proposed neighborhood, which is traditional), we would then transfer DD#2 to the base elementary (Green Hope Elem--base school for proposed neighborhood, also traditional), so they'd be on the same calendar.

Following me? If anyone can provide any insight on this, I'd appreciate it! My DD#1, I fear, would not handle a school change very well, so I'd love to keep her at MES with all her friends (not to mention it's an awesome, Blue Ribbon school). But I also don't want to choose a house based solely on school assignment--and choose one where MES is an assigned option, and not be in the neighborhood we want. (this will be our last move until kids go to college--we want to be where we want to be!)

Trying to weigh my options here.. I did reach out to WCPSS, and they just reiterated the policy in a canned response. I'd love to hear from anyone with personal experience, or a personal connection to WCPSS..

TIA!

[twingles]

You'll probably get the transfer since MES isn't capped and she's already there. I would talk to the data manager at the school. She will have the enrollment numbers at her fingertips.

I believe you will have to put in the transfer request for your younger child as well but I think that is just a pro forma thing and it's automatically granted.

[JaPaKoMom]

I would think that if the school is not capped and they have the space your daughter would be granted your request.
I see that you say your daughter would not handle a transfer very well. I just wanted to share my experience with my son. One of my sons has Aspergers and he has always had a hard time with change. What I found (it was very hard for me and my son) was that change actually helped him learn the coping mechanisms he needed to accept and be happy with change. Moving schools actually ended up benefitting him more than if he would have stayed at the school that was his comfort zone. It was probably harder on me as his parent than it ended up being on him. As parents we want to our children to always be happy and comfortable, that is normal. The lesson I learned was that it can be beneficial to have our children step out of their comfort zones and learn to navigate a new world. My son is now a freshman in college and seeing how he has blossomed and come into his own is very rewarding.
Of course, I do not know your daughters situation - but I just wanted to share, parent to parent, my experience. I wish you the best of luck in your decisions!

[Sal_M]

As others have mentioned since Morrisville is not capped that will increase your chances. Also if the base you are moving to is overcrowded that would increase the likelihood of your request being granted.

[annabanana123]

Your older daughter will probably get it but there's a chance your younger child wouldn't do you could have two kids at different schools. Ridiculous but I know people that have had that happened. If at all possible I'd move where MES is the base or calendar option to hopefully avoid that. Definitely talk to the data manager at the school. We moved this summer and were told that if we wanted to stay we should move within that base or calendar or be prepared to change schools.