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We are unhappy with our child's school up north and have learned by experience that ratings and test scores hardly tell the whole story. Our school is rated very highly, but we find that the school culture is not to our liking.
There's little creativity in the curriculum, they have a closed-door policy with parents that is almost hostile, recess is like a prison courtyard, they are laxed with bullying issues and the curriculum material seems arcane and catering highly to "tests" rather than to true learning. Languages and instrument lessons don't kick in until the upper elementary grades (we believe these are optimally started at younger ages). Many adults in the school have a very "stern" approach toward interactions with children, which keeps good discipline, but strikes me as negative and unnecessary. The school lunch, as it is throughout much of the country, is crap. After school program offerings are pretty lame -which translates into parents having to invest extra time and money in outside extracurriculars.
Despite the high ratings, the high school graduates seem to go to below average colleges and lots of community colleges. There's little ethnic or other types of diversity (99+ white). Children that struggle with learning issues aren't well supported (that will be my second child once he starts) and easily fall behind.
We've done our homework with the Chapel Hill/ Carrboro schools, but truth be told, there's only so much one can know by looking at scores, statistics and websites. We plan to visit, but even our school looks good on a just a visit - it's the parents that really know the inside workings. And I'd like to hear from you.
For those of you that have (or have had) children in any of the schools in the district, could you please state the school and provide your assessments (positive and negative) of the school culture, the style of teaching, the school policies that affect you, the staff's attitude toward parents, how much parents can/are involved (and not just "PTA-approved" parents), how you feel the school supports creativity and free-thinking, how much importance the school places on recess and other physical activities, the level of diversity (and is it segregated or integrated), the availability of strong and varied after-school programs. And anything else you'd like to mention. Thank you so much in advance for taking the time to help us navigate this.
We moved to Chapel Hill specifically for the schools.
When we came on our first house hunting trip we stopped by the school we would most likely be enrolled in. It was the end of the day on Friday and I was not allowed to take a tour. The lady was crabby and I was very disappointed. But we bought in that neighborhood and I got in touch with the principal. I told her about my first impression and she was truly embarrassed. She was so pleasant, accommodating and completely changed my first impression. She gave me all her e mail and telephone info including her personal info and encouraged me to get in touch with her as soon as our move was final.
Our kids have been in the school for 2 years and we couldn't be happier.
The School is McDougle Elementary. It has a middle school right next door.
there are plenty of parent involvement opportunities outside PTA. Every week we get notices from the teachers asking for volunteers for every aspect of school work. Some teachers need more than others.
the halls are busy and cheerful and the kids are quiet as they transition.
This school emphasizes hard work, individual responsibility and including everybody. There are so many outside activities to choose from.
As any community, if you don't find what you need in school, you will have extra curricula opportunities. It just depends on how much you are willing to spend and how busy you want your kids to be.
Chapel Hill, of course, is extremely education oriented. I think all kids have to study an instrument in 5th grade.
Every time I step foot in the school, I am warmly greeted by the very popular secretary Ms. Lin as well as any staff I meet.
Some minor negatives are: the outside of the school does not reflect the inside. I guess budget cuts mean less money for lawn maintenance and upkeep. But I am an avid gardner so I probably am more critical than others.
The kiss and go lane takes too long at the end of each day. and we are not on a bus route.
Last year we had a 22 year old new teacher who was not a good match for one of my kids. I expressed my concerns to her as well as the principal and I feel I was heard.
I think there are not many people from Chapel Hill on this forum and those who are don't seem to have kids in school so you might not get much response. But this system is extremely popular and well respected. The property taxes here are high to maintain the schools. When you are looking at real estate, it is always a selling feature to state "In the Chapel Hill school district"
they have a closed-door policy with parents that is almost hostile
That was one of my biggest frustrations when I lived in western Connecticut. The public elementary school that my kids attended had a handbook that actually stated that parents were discouraged from visiting the school and that any visits must be pre-arranged through the office. The schools there seemed trapped in the 1960s in so many ways.
I lived in Raleigh for many years, but moved to Chapel Hill a few years back primarily for the schools and to escape some of re-districting uncertainty of Wake County. We've had extremely positive experiences at the elementary, middle and high school levels. I don't think there's much debate that the Chapel Hill Carborro schools are very good (although I do think they tend to give themselves too much credit when in fact the quality of the students they serve is a big factor in the schools' success). The schools offer a lot of enrichment opportunities at all levels and provide programs both for the academically gifted and for the challenged students. The school environments themselves are very family friendly - in many ways reflecting the community-oriented culture of Chapel Hill and Carrboro.
We've had great experiences with Ephesus Elementary, Seawell Elementary and Smith Middle. And I have friends who have kids at Phillips Middle and East Chapel Hill High and they have great things to say about those schools. We've been very happy with the schools.
And, CHTransplant, I see that you know what I am describing. We also have it clearly stated in the handbook, but worse than the policy is the negative attitude that comes with it.
Are there perceived differences between the elementary schools or middle schools? It's clear that all the schools seem to be very solid ACADEMICALLY, but what about other areas - do some have any particular areas of strength or weaknesses or a special reputation for x, y, z? In other words, I feel confident these are good schools ... now I want to "know" them and their subtle differences a bit more, if that makes sense.
There are most definitely "perceived" differences between the schools. I don't know how much of that is based on reality because my kids have only attended 2 of the 10 elementary schools. Like another person noted, some of this is due to the student population and less to do with what the actual schools do. For example, FPG has low test scores (compared to the other elementary schools in CHCCS) but this may have more to do with the fact they have more low SES, ESL kiddos and less to do with the quality of the teachers/staff, etc.
I have had kids at Scroggs and Ephesus. We have been very happy with both schools but the populations of those two schools are like night and day. Both good, but very very different. One of my children is in special education and I feel that has been poor, overall. We have had to hire outside tutors and send him to outside speech and occupational therapies because the school doesn't want to bother. What I have noticed is that if a child has obvious needs for special ed then they are warehoused in a special ed classroom that unless you are blessed with a great teacher it's little more than babysitting. If they don't have obvious needs, then they don't qualify.
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