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I am looking to relocate from MI, and I'm not sure I understand how the schools work. I have seen a few things on the posts in this forum about the school districts in this area. The districts are separated by county, not by town or city? How does this affect the average kid? Do all the schools in the county spend the same amount per child, regardless of which school they go to? I also saw that there are a lot of "reassignments," does this mean that you can buy a house in a certain school boundary, but then get switched to another school? And how do you find out which schools you will be going to? If you pick a different school than the one you are assigned to, does your kid get bussed there, or do you have to drive them back and forth? I also saw something about NC potentially going to a year round school schedule - is that actually happening or is it just talk?
I have looked up the school data on greatschools.org and found schools that looked good. But the CH/Cary/Apex/Raleigh area seems very confusing, and I haven't been able to narrow down any area based on schools.
Any input would be great. One of the things I do like about where we are is the schools are top rated and I've been very happy with them, its other things I want to change.
The districts are separated by county, not by town or city? How does this affect the average kid?
Yes. They are organized by county, except for Chapel Hill, which has a separate sytem from Orange county. It does not affect the average kid.
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Originally Posted by jennyloup
Do all the schools in the county spend the same amount per child, regardless of which school they go to?
Not really sure about that, but I'm guessing that is the intention.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jennyloup
I also saw that there are a lot of "reassignments," does this mean that you can buy a house in a certain school boundary, but then get switched to another school? And how do you find out which schools you will be going to? If you pick a different school than the one you are assigned to, does your kid get bussed there, or do you have to drive them back and forth?
Well, I don't know about a LOT, but yes, there are reassignments and you can get switched to another school, especially if you buy a house in a rapidly growing section of the county where they are adding new schools.
For Wake county schools, you can look up the "node" that your house is in on their website and it will give you a list of base schools and alternate schools for you to choose from (i.e., alternate calendar, and magnet). Transportation is provided, unless, I believe, you choose a magnet school, in which case you have to provide transportation.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jennyloup
I also saw something about NC potentially going to a year round school schedule - is that actually happening or is it just talk?
It already exists. There are lots of schools on a traditional calendar and lots on a year-round calendar. Everyone is given the choice what they prefer when you enroll your child each year.
Do all the schools in the county spend the same amount per child, regardless of which school they go to?
Highly unlikely, but I doubt the differences are meaningful. To "spend the same amount per child" per school, you'd have to have identical, teacher salaries, electricity costs, depreciation costs, etc. for every school. For your purposes, I think the answer would be "yes," but for special needs programs, etc.
Orange County (which includes Chapel Hill) is one of the few that does NOT have a county system. Since you mention Chapel Hill, the CH/Carrboro school system is said to be the best in NC and it's compact, so reassignments would be minimal. Of course, it's also the most expensive place to live in NC (the two are not unrelated, as you might have guessed).
Wake county is undergoing a lot of scrutiny and change right now. It's one of the largest systems in the country and still growing by leaps and bounds due to migration to the area, which means continual overcrowding and need for new schools, which causes the reassignment problem when a new school needs to siphon off some students from an existing one.
Where would you be working if you came to the area?
Orange County (which includes Chapel Hill) is one of the few that does NOT have a county system. Since you mention Chapel Hill, the CH/Carrboro school system is said to be the best in NC and it's compact, so reassignments would be minimal. Of course, it's also the most expensive place to live in NC (the two are not unrelated, as you might have guessed).
Wake county is undergoing a lot of scrutiny and change right now. It's one of the largest systems in the country and still growing by leaps and bounds due to migration to the area, which means continual overcrowding and need for new schools, which causes the reassignment problem when a new school needs to siphon off some students from an existing one.
Where would you be working if you came to the area?
Husband is self employed, and can work out of the house if need be. So, we really have the whole country open to us. I am trying to do research to narrow down the choices, and I am getting serious about CH, Cary, somewhere around there. School system is very important to me. I realize it is more expensive to live in CH, is there that much difference between Wake County and CH in terms of the education your child might get?
I was leaning towards Cary because I feel that I might like the immediate community you get in some of those neighborhoods with the clubhouse and pool, etc. But the idea of overcrowding and problems with not enough teachers, etc. in school kinda scares me.
We currently live in a neighborhood where there are few kids, I would like to find someplace where they can easily find friends and play without having to drive them to their friend's houses. Although the idea of a planned community sounds good for that right now, maybe there are problems with it once you get there?
You might want to ck out www.wcpss.net for indepth info on Wake Co schools which covers Raleigh, Cary, Wake Forest, etc...
Thanks - lots of information on there! I just took a look at the year round calendar and the tracks, etc. I've never seen anything like it! How do people like it?
The year-round system with all of the different tracks can be frustrating for families. You may have a middle schooler on a different track than your elementary student. Or you may have an middle schooler on year-round and a high schooler on a traditional calendar. I believe the district tries to have all children from a family on the same track if they are at the same school, but you could have children at one school on different tracks.
The redistricting happens every year. The district is attempting to balance all of the schools so that there is similar socio-economic make-up at each school. Where we lived in (in Raleigh), different parts of our neighborhood were slated for different schools. Which means that your children may not even go to school with the kids in the neighborhood. Every year brings stress and wondering where your children will be going to school the next fall.
The year-round system with all of the different tracks can be frustrating for families. You may have a middle schooler on a different track than your elementary student. Or you may have an middle schooler on year-round and a high schooler on a traditional calendar. I believe the district tries to have all children from a family on the same track if they are at the same school, but you could have children at one school on different tracks.
The redistricting happens every year. The district is attempting to balance all of the schools so that there is similar socio-economic make-up at each school. Where we lived in (in Raleigh), different parts of our neighborhood were slated for different schools. Which means that your children may not even go to school with the kids in the neighborhood. Every year brings stress and wondering where your children will be going to school the next fall.
That sounds awful. I was thinking year round school would be good. Never thought of all those conflicts.
Most people really love year round and the only real conflicts come when you have one in high school and one not. Otherwise, Wake keeps families on the same tracks.
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