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Ok, so we are originally from NC, are in the NE now, and would like to escape the rat race somewhat and move closer to family to raise our 3 kids. The oldest is in kindergarten this year in private school, and another reason for the move is that schools are terrible where we are and we cannot afford to send 3 kids to private school here. My job would be in NW Raleigh, husband probably in RTP or Duke.
I have been scouring this forum for public school information, and for an outsider it is completely overwhelming. We consider excellent schools to be extremely important to where we move. I am now considering moving to another NE city mainly due to the school issue. Am I silly for thinking this way? How in the world would we find and gain admission to a good school if we moved in July? Wake County parents I am feeling your pain. Thanks in advance for any helpful advice.
While the Chapel Hill to NW Raleigh commute is not the best, if you can afford it move to Chapel Hill and make sure you are zoned for Chapel Hill / Carrborro. Ch/C is not a county district like most. So it is easier to "buy yourself into a good school" since all the schools in Ch/C are good. It seems this model is the most common in the NE (buying yourself into a township with good schools) and thus CH/C would mimic that.
It's going to be tough in the near future to move to Wake County. People thought it was bad before - that had nothing on this scenario! I agree if you can move into Chapel Hill do so, but moving here from the NE we considered that jumping from the frying pan into the fire, housing wise.
Actually you might not be in a bad spot...if you move here this summer your oldest would be assigned a school, then i THINK your younger ones would be assigned the same school.
If you are working in North Raleigh I would focus on Leesville HS and the elementary schools that feed there. You really can't go wrong.
Might you be able to afford to send all three to a private in Raleigh? Lots of folks moving from the NE can afford it with the cost of living adjustment, but obviously everyone's individual situations are different. Chances are good that if you can afford to move to Chapel hill, you can probably find a decently priced private school for all of your kids in Wake.
IMO, yes, Wake County schools are in a true state of upheaval right now. We are smack dab in the middle of a very historic policy and assignment change and there are definitely some kinks to be worked out, but I still have faith that WCPSS are good schools, with good teachers and administrators. People are in freak out mode right now, but I am confident that things will settle down and get back to normal.
I would go farther than NC..Land in Cartersville Ga.
Excellent Schools, low cost of living and kids go to college
free because ga uses lottery $ to send students to college
with the Hope Scholarship.
If I were you, I'd call Wake County Public Schools and voice your confusion and see what they suggest.
It is nice to have people's opinions but in this case, you need the facts. You need to know exactly what best case and worst case senarios are going to be.
I'm also an NC native, and one of the few things I like about the fact that we had to move away from NC is that we got a really good stable school system out of it. If I could move back to NC, I would not go for WCPSS right now. I'd go to North Durham (I have friends who had great experiences in the pubic schools there), or as a PP suggested, Chapel Hill/Carrboro.
We will look into Chapel Hill, but I was hoping with the move south our commutes would improve as well. I have been unpleasantedly surprised by the financials of the move - same or lower salary, housing costs in the neighborhoods we like easily rival those of the northeast, and the private schools I've investigated so far are in the same tuition range as the DC area. I'll call the Wake County school board also (thanks), but I feel like my vision of returning to my southern childhood utopia (and finally coming to terms with the heat), are being crushed. Ah well, at least the air quality is a little better and we'd be closer to some nice beaches and camping
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Thanks
