Questions about Holly Springs/Wake County School System (Cary: house, elementary schools)

[kjweitz]

Hello All,

My wife and I are currently at the tail end of our first trip down here and we love the Holly Springs/Cary area. After doing some house shopping with a few of the local Realtors, we have decided that we really like the Holly Springs area, followed by Cary. We've identified a few homes that are well within our price range but our biggest concern is the school systems down here. We have a 3 year old who will be starting school in two years and are concerned about her being re-allocated at the elementary level. If anyone can answer the questions below, we'd appreciate it.

If a child is re-allocated once, are they exempt for a certain period of time?

How are the children that are re-allocated chosen - lottery, ranking, location?

Are all the schools in Holly Springs comparable or are some better than others? If all schools are equal, I guess our biggest concern is social ties with other classmates.

We also have another child on the way - is Holly Springs on year round or traditional school year? If year round, how sympathetic are the school systems to siblings on the same tracks?

Also, can someone give a detailed description of the year round school schedule? One Realtor said that there's about 6 weeks in the summer and a few weeks around Christmas.

Finally, how do the teacher assignments work? Do the younger kids get the same teacher when they resume?

Are there any further nuggets or vital pieces of information that I'm missing at this point?

I have to say that in our trip here (we're from NJ, almost like everyone else), we've found nothing but amazingly nice people here who are more than willing to take the time to answer any of our questions.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[kjweitz]

If anyone can shed some light on this we'd really appreciate it.

Thanks.

[lamishra]

If a child is re-allocated once, are they exempt for a certain period of time? not really. I think their assignments are good for one academic year.
How are the children that are re-allocated chosen - lottery, ranking, location? it's a complicated system of bussing students from certain areas to others to maintain "diversity" in the schools based on socioeconomic status and also to alleviate school crowding and to fill new schools.

Are all the schools in Holly Springs comparable or are some better than others? If all schools are equal, I guess our biggest concern is social ties with other classmates. They are comparable to the other schools in the county, which is very large and encompasses several towns and cities.

We also have another child on the way - is Holly Springs on year round or traditional school year? If year round, how sympathetic are the school systems to siblings on the same tracks? Holly Springs Elementary is currently traditional calendar, but there are YR elementary schools in HS. Usually, siblings stay on the same track and yes, they are sympathtic to that. School Directory: Elementary Schools

Also, can someone give a detailed description of the year round school schedule? One Realtor said that there's about 6 weeks in the summer and a few weeks around Christmas. Check out WCPSS: Guide to Year-round Schools for info on how it works and calendars.
There are four tracks with multiple breaks throughout the year. The breaks differ but all kids are out for major holidays at the same time.

Finally, how do the teacher assignments work? Do the younger kids get the same teacher when they resume? You have the same teacher for the whole academic year just like traditional school.

Are there any further nuggets or vital pieces of information that I'm missing at this point?

Wake County Public School System this is a great place to start. Good luck

[kjweitz]

Thanks so much!