Bahama-Durham County (Raleigh: work, house, diversity)

[horse house]

I am considering moving my family to the Raleigh area and fell in love with Black Horse Run in Durham. The big hold-up in the whole moving process is the discussion of the schools. I have heard much about the redistricting in Wake County (and it scares us to death ), but not much about Durham County. (I have read about Durham County being poor etc, but I assume that being on the north side and out some distance alleviates some of the negatives the county gets.) Also, in looking at the schools, it looks like the elementary my kids would go to scores very well in the state ratings, but the junior high and high school are horrible. (I assume they have been redistricted because looking at the bus schedules, some of the kids are on the bus for 2 hours. THAT IS CRAZY! ) Does anyone know what people around there do for schools? Also, is there a lot of redistricting in that area? (My fear is that something will happen and the elementary will change as well.)

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

[Bull City Rising]

Originally Posted by horse house

I am considering moving my family to the Raleigh area and fell in love with Black Horse Run in Durham. The big hold-up in the whole moving process is the discussion of the schools. I have heard much about the redistricting in Wake County (and it scares us to death ), but not much about Durham County. (I have read about Durham County being poor etc, but I assume that being on the north side and out some distance alleviates some of the negatives the county gets.) Also, in looking at the schools, it looks like the elementary my kids would go to scores very well in the state ratings, but the junior high and high school are horrible. (I assume they have been redistricted because looking at the bus schedules, some of the kids are on the bus for 2 hours. THAT IS CRAZY! ) Does anyone know what people around there do for schools? Also, is there a lot of redistricting in that area? (My fear is that something will happen and the elementary will change as well.)

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

If you do a search on the forum, you'll see lots of explanation about schools in Durham, how school scores work, etc. It's tough to go by scores alone since Durham is more socioeconomically and racially diverse than Wake County, and though the presence of diversity pulls down "overall averages," students score on tests as well as others from their backgrounds do in Wake.

Keep in mind that a first glance at the state rankings won't separate out the impact of diversity on overall scores, so I would suggest you dig deeper to get a more accurate picture. You should be aware that no matter how "far" you are from the city, your children are likely to experience a racially and socioeconomically diverse education in school... which many of us who choose to live in Durham consider a benefit, and a reason we choose to live here. :-)

FWIW, I've heard good things about Mangum Elem., and good things as well about Northern High. Chewning is not as popular a middle school but is undergoing some form of redesign.

Given the population growth predicted for northern Durham County, there are plans I believe to add one more elementary, middle and high school in that area, but those plans aren't firmed up yet. Also, there's a new charter school (Voyager Academy) opening up in Bahama to serve grades 4-8, which should provide some options instead of Chewning if desired. Magnet schools are also popular in Durham.

Leigh on this board suggests the Triangle Mommies web site, where you're likely to get more info about Durham schools from actual parents, as opposed to scores alone. Good luck!

[coltank]

There are actually plans to start a new middle school soon in the Treyburn area, which is probably where your children would attend if you bought in Black Horse Run. I wouldn't get too caught up in scores, but visit the schools themselves. The other oppurtunity you have in Durham is that you can apply to send your children to any of the other schools.

I will say that Northern Durham is a very beautiful area. My wife and I own some land up that way, and hope to be able to afford to start building soon.

[tigerlily]

Black Horse Run is one of the areas we like. I was under the impression it was Raleigh. Now I notice there's a zip code for Bahama. Although we're not concerned with schools. What are the boundaries? Our only concern is septic tanks and well water.

[Desdemona123]

Originally Posted by horse house

I am considering moving my family to the Raleigh area and fell in love with Black Horse Run in Durham. The big hold-up in the whole moving process is the discussion of the schools. I have heard much about the redistricting in Wake County (and it scares us to death ), but not much about Durham County. (I have read about Durham County being poor etc, but I assume that being on the north side and out some distance alleviates some of the negatives the county gets.) Also, in looking at the schools, it looks like the elementary my kids would go to scores very well in the state ratings, but the junior high and high school are horrible. (I assume they have been redistricted because looking at the bus schedules, some of the kids are on the bus for 2 hours. THAT IS CRAZY! ) Does anyone know what people around there do for schools? Also, is there a lot of redistricting in that area? (My fear is that something will happen and the elementary will change as well.)

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

The bus rides in Durham county amaze me. My old boss's daughter had over a 2 hour bus ride. Wake county may have growing pains and redistricting but it also has rules for lengths of bus rides. (One hour for base schools, one and a half hours for magnet schools (which are voluntarily). (We started the year with an hour and 45 mintute ride to my daughter's magnet school...within the week they had changed the routes and it was down to an hour twenty.)