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I taught in a year round system for awhile and it's definitely better for the kids from an educational standpoint. My students didn't forget nearly as much information as they did with a traditional summer vacation.
Ohhh, I didn't realize there is a 5 week break during summer. Is that the case no matter the track you're on? In other words, would both kids, differering ages/schools be off together in summer? Hmm....your information has me rethinking my stance!
I was specifically referring to Durham, sorry. Durham year-rounds have no tracks and everyone is out for 5 weeks in summer. That is different in Wake County, but as long as you could get your children on the same track, they'd still be in and out together even if the longest break didn't fall in summer.
Ohhh, I didn't realize there is a 5 week break during summer. Is that the case no matter the track you're on? In other words, would both kids, differering ages/schools be off together in summer? Hmm....your information has me rethinking my stance!
For Wake county there's just one week in the summer when everyone is off. My kids are off for 4 weeks in the summer, 5 weeks at Christmas, and two other 3 week breaks. Wake County Year Round School Calendar
Oh my gosh, my head is spinning! This is hard to get for a newcomer! I'm confused about all of it. How are "tracks" different from one another where people request certain ones?
Also are their similar communities to Cary that are closer to the ocean?
I am originally from Cary and currently live closer to the beach (New Bern). IMO there isn't any region close to the beach that compares to Cary or anywhere in the Triangle area. The closest would be Wilmington and I wouldn't want to live there full-time. The schools in Wilmington don't compare to those in Cary either (academically).
Yes, there are some decent schools scattered throughout eastern NC but they are few and far between. My son attends Creekside Elementary. It is an Honor School of Excellence. However, I would never send him to the public elementary school or high school here in New Bern. If we chose to live here we'd have to pay for private school (after the fifth grade). Thankfully we'll be moving back to Cary within the next year.
OP - if you'll look at the calendar link a previous poster shared, you will see there are 4 tracks. Not all schools have 4 tracks...some have less. You also need to go to the particular school's site to check this. Or call them. Track 3 only has 1 week vacation in early summer 4th july time. Then they are not off again until August. My 8th grader has tried all tracks. It's a personal preference thing as to which one is best. Basically they go to school for 9 wks and are off for 3wks. Track 3 changes grades when they return from 4th July break, unless they've changed it this year. There are plenty of camps here for track out time. All schools being county wide require the kids to attend school the same # of days. No difference between yr rd and traditional. Hope this helps!
Oh my gosh, my head is spinning! This is hard to get for a newcomer! I'm confused about all of it. How are "tracks" different from one another where people request certain ones?
GO TO THE WEBSITE!!! You've been provided a link to the website - here it is again:
Click on the left where it says calendars...then click on "year round" - you will have to enlarge it to be able to read it. But you can see it, color coded for your ease, showing all the different tracks and their various weeks in and out of school.
Honestly most of your questions can be answered by visiting the schools website, and yes it IS a lot of info to absorb, but isn't it better to get it all at once, straight from the source? Then you will be better equipped to come here and ask specific questions.
Ohhh, I didn't realize there is a 5 week break during summer. Is that the case no matter the track you're on? In other words, would both kids, differering ages/schools be off together in summer? Hmm....your information has me rethinking my stance!
I'm going to read up on the district website. I have called them but they too referred me to the website. I just thought I'd hear from other parents how it worked and what they think of it, etc...
Thank you!
*PS, I'm a newly single parent, definately a financial consideration to that regarding finding affordable care for them while I'm at work. So not sure how that's going to pan out with either calendar!
There is no 5-week break during summer for all YR tracks. I don't know if any of them have that in Wake--maybe tracks 1 and 4? 2 and 3 have August/September 3-week breaks I think. I would call the district directly with questions in hand and ask for information. It is SO confusing! With the "choice" model you could get assigned to YR if your traditional choice is full. My best advice would be to find schools you want and move less than a mile from them.
Not to be flippant, but try to budget for private school just in case. Education seems generally adequate, and there are several good schools (and many good teachers) here, but the constant thrashing around by various boards on bussing schemes, school calendars, assignment philosophies, various teacher work day arrangements (wacky Wednesdays), changing bell times, etc etc etc ad nauseum can make it hard to actually plan your schedule, work at a job with any kind of demanding schedule or to feel committed and connected to your school -unless you have tremendous flexibly and patience. A previous poster suggested buying a house within a mile of your chosen school. I would add that you may want to also consider buying a house surrounded by many schools you would not mind attending, and then just hope to get lucky to get into them because they might be full -or they may decide to switch philosophies again and shuffle kids around again to open up spaces to resume bussing for socioeconomic reasons- and then there are also the reassignments due to growth. You really never know where you might end up.
Not to be flippant, but try to budget for private school just in case. Education seems generally adequate, and there are several good schools (and many good teachers) here, but the constant thrashing around by various boards on bussing schemes, school calendars, assignment philosophies, various teacher work day arrangements (wacky Wednesdays), changing bell times, etc etc etc ad nauseum can make it hard to actually plan your schedule, work at a job with any kind of demanding schedule or to feel committed and connected to your school -unless you have tremendous flexibly and patience. A previous poster suggested buying a house within a mile of your chosen school. I would add that you may want to also consider buying a house surrounded by many schools you would not mind attending, and then just hope to get lucky to get into them because they might be full -or they may decide to switch philosophies again and shuffle kids around again to open up spaces to resume bussing for socioeconomic reasons- and then there are also the reassignments due to growth. You really never know where you might end up.
Amen.
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