How to get into magnet, year round, montessori, etc (Raleigh: house, neighborhood)

[Indigoblue]

I keep hearing that durham and maybe some other areas (if so which ones?) have magnet schools you can get into. Also that you may elect to go year round or not in some areas (where?). And is it true that you can elect to go to a Montessori school, if so where and is it part of the public school system (and free?)? How do you get into these schools? Is it a lottery thing? Do you have any hope of getting in if your child didn't start out there in Kindergarten? Any language immersion schools (like Spanish) in the triangle?

Thank you to anyone who answers any of my 20-questions

[alice_61]

The magnet schools work on a lottery, which take place in the spring. I was told that you could apply for the Durham magnet schools without being a resident of Durham yet. With Wake, it seemed that you had to have a Wake address first. You can apply for any of the Charter Schools in the state without being a resident. You need to apply now for the fall.

[OmegaBaby]

Originally Posted by alice_61

The magnet schools work on a lottery, which take place in the spring. I was told that you could apply for the Durham magnet schools without being a resident of Durham yet. With Wake, it seemed that you had to have a Wake address first. You can apply for any of the Charter Schools in the state without being a resident. You need to apply now for the fall.

Ah...that must be the NC Education Lottery that I keep seeing on the TV.

[leighbhe]

You should check on the wake county public school website (wcpss.net) to check the deadline dates for applying to a magnet school, or check the durham public schools site. There is a window of opportunity to apply to the magnet schools. Charters (some have already had their application process - franklin academy in wake forest had 1501 applications for 100 spots), so you would have to check with the individual schools regarding their application time, it is usually right around now.

There are some montessori that are charters (casa esperenza dual language charter is in northern raleigh, close to where 540 and capital blvd meet). You can probably find a great list of charter, private and public schools in the triangle by looking at the carolina parent magazine online (carolinaparent.com) they seem to have a comprehensive list. Casa is the only school I know about in the area, although there is an international baccalaureate elementary school in downtown raleigh (I think they teach manderin).

Anyhow, good luck!

Leigh

[Desdemona123]

Originally Posted by leighbhe

You should check on the wake county public school website (wcpss.net) to check the deadline dates for applying to a magnet school, or check the durham public schools site. There is a window of opportunity to apply to the magnet schools. Charters (some have already had their application process - franklin academy in wake forest had 1501 applications for 100 spots), so you would have to check with the individual schools regarding their application time, it is usually right around now.

There are some montessori that are charters (casa esperenza dual language charter is in northern raleigh, close to where 540 and capital blvd meet). You can probably find a great list of charter, private and public schools in the triangle by looking at the carolina parent magazine online (carolinaparent.com) they seem to have a comprehensive list. Casa is the only school I know about in the area, although there is an international baccalaureate elementary school in downtown raleigh (I think they teach manderin).

Anyhow, good luck!

Leigh

Several of the magnet schools teach foriegn languages at the elementary level. At Wake Forest Elementary they offered French, German and Spanish.

[Indigoblue]

Thank you for all of the info and links so far! I have an additional question. If you get into a magnet school, does anyone know if you have to provide your own transportation? That question might be answered on a county schools website though so I'll check there too

[Desdemona123]

Originally Posted by Indigoblue

Thank you for all of the info and links so far! I have an additional question. If you get into a magnet school, does anyone know if you have to provide your own transportation? That question might be answered on a county schools website though so I'll check there too

In Wake county they provide transporation to magnet schools. The bus ride is also, however, allowed to be longer then if going to a base school.

My daughter is the first one picked up on her route...at 5:50am and gets to school at 7:10. She thinks it is worth it. The bus ride home is similar.

The middle and high school magnets also offer a second, later, activity bus, that makes a limited number of stops (3 or 4) at various locations in the route area. (Drop offs are at shopping centers or other schools.) This is great for kids that don't live close to be able to take part in sports, theatre and clubs as well as stay after to get help from teachers if need be.

[cherryweb]

Durham has a couple of great Montessori Schools that are public but on a lottery system, but they give preference to neighborhood kids.

Durham:
Montessori Children's House of Durham - Montessori Children's House of Durham - (919) 489-9045
Indigo Montessori School - (919) 687-0665
Morehead Montessori - DPS District Site - Home - (919) 560-2527

Wake Forest has a couple of Montessori Schools:

Wake Forest Montessori: Wake Forest Montessori - Serving Wake Forest, North Raleigh, Heritage, Wakefield, North Carolina and surrounding areas. (919) 827-1148

Children's House Montessori- (919)556-2360

Raleigh has several:
Casa Esperenza
Follow the Child
MSR

Just to name a few.

[raleighjayne]

In Wake county they provide transporation to magnet schools.

Only some magnets offer transportation. Only GT and AG/GT magnets offer a regular 'neighborhood' bus that will come to your house or a nearby corner no matter where you live. The rest of the magnets offer express bus services to only certain areas of the county. For instance, of the 11 elementary magnets that my family can apply to, 2 offer a neighborhood bus, 6 offer an express bus and the other 3 offer no bus service at all.

Express bus stop locations vary greatly. We used to be at a magnet elem school that was located 11 miles from our home. We caught an express bus stop in a shopping center that was 7 miles from our home. One magnet's express bus stop was about 2 miles from our house. It just really depends.