South Durham Schools (Cary, Chapel Hill, Apex: crime, chapel, house)

[Indigoblue]

Hi all I've been mostly lurking for a few wks. My husband is in the process of job hunting in RTP (we're in Northern VA). We are thinking we'll prob house hunt in Morrisville/Cary/Apex for the schools, but commute time is a big concern for us. We have four small children and I like maximizing the time my husband can be home So that said, South Durham looks appealing since it's right next to RTP and has some newish and new developments at better prices than the Cary area. But I've looked up school stats and the math scores are discouraging. How bad are South Durham schools really
TIA

[Bull City Rising]

Originally Posted by Indigoblue

Hi all I've been mostly lurking for a few wks. My husband is in the process of job hunting in RTP (we're in Northern VA). We are thinking we'll prob house hunt in Morrisville/Cary/Apex for the schools, but commute time is a big concern for us. We have four small children and I like maximizing the time my husband can be home So that said, South Durham looks appealing since it's right next to RTP and has some newish and new developments at better prices than the Cary area. But I've looked up school stats and the math scores are discouraging. How bad are South Durham schools really
TIA

You have to be careful with test scores. Durham County has a much higher socioeconomic diversity level than Wake (which for many of us here is a *good* thing and a reason we choose to live here!)

For instance, white students (who tend to be from a wealthier SES background, which is highly correlated with good test performance) "score" at almost identical (good) levels in Durham and Wake. African-American students (who similarly tend on average to have more disadvantaged background) score much lower than whites on these tests in both Wake and Durham (and again, the scores here are similar between the two counties.)

The difference really is that there is a significantly higher percentage of black students in Durham schools because of Durham's greater diversity. However, you shouldn't expect your children to get a "bad" education just because the non-weighted average scores are lower in Durham schools. If you look at my past posts on city-data, I've included school stats broken down by ethnicity to show the balance.

This is not to say that the Wake and Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools aren't terrific or to take anything away from them. But, you shouldn't worry your children would get a bad education based on "average" test scores.

In terms of *individual* elementary schools in southern Durham -- I know only a bit about a few schools, but let me share what I know. I've heard very good things about Pearsontown, Creekside, Southwest and Hope Valley Elementaries. W.G. Pearson just moved to a brand new facility and has a systemwide academically/intellectually gifted magnet program. Note: magnet programs are very broad and popular in Durham and are worth checking out.

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[CrisInNC]

Here's a copy of the 2006 Durham Schools in comparison to other counties in the area. Bull City Rising is correct, it does show the balance.

2006school_scores.pdf

[RaleighRob]

^That's some very interesting info there. I find it deliciously ironic that SAT scores for white students in Durham is higher than for Wake...AND that their school crime numbers are way less than Wake...which really should make all those Durham-haters out there put their foot in their mouth!

[Durham, NC Native]

I know times have changed some since I was in school, but I went to Pearsontown Elementary, Githens JR High and Jordan High School. At the time the Gtihens and Jordan were considered by many to be the best public junior high and high school in Durham respectively. It was very diverse even then, about 50% white, 50% black. I got a well-rounded experience and a quality education. Most of the students who graduated from Jordan went on to peruse a 4 year college education.

Off to read the article above...

[coltank]

Some other statistics to look would be the number of classes taught by "Highly Qualified Teachers". I think too many people are looking just at test scores which doesn't paint an accurate picture of the level of education you are getting. My brother-in-law actually asked us to pull him out of Smith Middle School in Chapel Hill and send him back to Neal Middle School in Durham b/c of some of the problems he was having with the kids in Chapel Hill.

For those of you who don't know, Smith is considered to be one of the best Middle Schools in the area, and Neal one of the worst.