Durham ... a lot to like, still anxious about schools (Cary: chapel, homes)

[Minier]

With some great advice from posters here at City-Data, we were able to do a thorough tour of Durham and saw much to like. Based on our realtor's listings, there also seem to be right homes for us for the right price.

The problem continues to be ... I'm anxious about the schools. The rankings are not good. The parent ratings are not solidly good. The reputation is not good. Durham school district is 98th among 112 in North Carolina. Even the better elementary schools are often zoned with "bad" middle schools or high schools.

What I'm hearing is that there's a lot of "school choice", with all the charter and magnet schools, that make the public school problem okay in Durham. However, aren't those all lottery? If I move to a decent elementary school planning to apply to a magnet/charter high school, I have no guarantee. Nothing in life is guaranteed, but there are safer and riskier gambles. Seems like Durham is a riskier gamble ... too risky?

Private school is not affordable for us. I would LOVE to make choices irrespective of schools, but we just can't do that. We have other criteria, but the time in our kids' lives has come when school is the number one thing we must consider. And I'm just not getting that sense of comfort and reassurance about Durham schools.

Would love to hear opinions/feedback from anyone living there with kids that has had the same choice to make.

[sll3454]

This recent thread may be reassuring.

Lowdown on Durham Public Schools

[PDXmom]

Originally Posted by sll3454

This recent thread may be reassuring.

Lowdown on Durham Public Schools

Excellent thread to recommend!

Have you visited any of the schools in Durham that you are considering? If you haven't narrowed down an area of Durham, pick 2 schools (N and S or E and W). And visit the school. SEE what you think. Ask lots of questions.

Lottery's are not guarantees. You have more chance of getting in at the Kindergarten Level for Elementary, 6th grade level for middle, etc because that is when the most spots are open. Honestly, if you want your child in at Morehead or Watts they had better get in the Pre-K program, otherwise you have a very SMALL chance. BUT you have a good chance for K at Club Blvd, Burton, Pearsontown, Easley IF you submit the application for round 1 of the lottery.

A school to a parent is more about how will this school serve MY child. If your child is exposed to great teachers, a supportive learning environment, a safe organized school, and an appropriately challenging curriculum then your child will excel. When I looked at schools, I looked at how I thought MY child would do there and if those schools fostered the things I believe in: diversity, a well rounded education, learning to learn, etc.

If you visit the schools and it's not the right fit, then you'll know. But you won't know for sure until you visit the schools.

Good luck! If you have specific questions feel free to ask.

[cleanerjohn]

We faced the same delimma, so we moved to Cary and are very happy with the schools and the demographics of the schools that our kids attend. Our street alone has 75 kids so our kids have plenty of playmates.
We looked into Chapel Hill schools, but the size of the home we wanted was out of our range in Chapel Hill at the time. Cary has grown so much that its actually very close to Durham/Chapel Hill if you want to be close to those towns without living in them. My neighborhood is 5 minutes from Jordan Lake and 15 minutes to Southpoint Mall and I still live in Cary town limits.

Home prices are comparable to Durham's.

Good luck.