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The assignments are much more stable and the schools within the district are much more equal even if you do get reassigned.
Excellent statement from michgc. Wake County can be a crap shoot in terms of academic opportunity from school to school. Chapel Hill is more straight forward--you know what you're getting.
in Wake County, Elementary Magnet school attendance has NOTHING to do with your child' braininess by the way. Nothing at all.
I do understand the FULL purpose of a magnet school as they were originally designed in the '60s. But programming, personal achievement and parental attitude/involvement for those that attend a magnet of ANY curriculum tend to push the student body to higher achievement - even at the elementary level.
The Gifted and Talented Program is based on the belief that every child has gifts and talents to be valued and nurtured. Children explore a wide variety of learning experiences through core and elective courses that continually develop individual strengths and interests.
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I know that participating (or not) in a TAG program, for example, does not guarantee success and that those who don't can be equally academically successful. I personally did NOT get into the TAG program in my middle school, but ended up as a student who took every AP class offered in high school and graduated 13th in my class with an entire semester of AP credit.
BUT - I have never forgotten that I was excluded from a program that as a 7th grader I thought I would have enjoyed and flourished in.
As a parent you play the odds - the odds are that a good focused program will improve your child's probability of success in whatever they choose to do. And in my case - it would have made me happier as a child. Both are things that I want for my kids.
Not picking a fight and not trying to turn this into a "my kid's brain is bigger than your kid's brain". Just trying to do the best by my family.
Whoa...every school has TAG programs, you don't have to go to a magnet to get gifted programming.
You didn't say why not being able to choose between year round and traditional calendars is untenable. Hope you understand that either way, kids attend for the same number of days...many prefer the year round calendar because it give you a chance to take vacations during off peak season. It's a good thing!
I just started to work at a year round school. It is newish and doesn't have much of a reputation. I was worried it wasn't one of the highly regarded schools. But---turns out, It is a fine fine school. I would be happy if my kids went there.
On the flip side, my daughter attends a magnet middle school. The advantage is funding for a better choice of electives. But frankly, The academics there are ho-hum at best.
You could move to Wake Forest...can't really go wrong there. and it is a nice place to live.
I would definitely not stress about it. A huge majority of the schools here are pretty good, we have many many many satisfied customers!
Wake county only has some bad schools in the inner city. Nothing outside of that is really bad.
The reason people move to Wake aside from some others counties is the jobs combined with the schools.
You could always rent first to calm your fears.
The stats on many schools sites aren't really accurate for Wake since the schools assignments changed a lot in the last few years. You need to visit the schools to get a feel for them and the staff. I was happily surprised at some that I went to because the stats and reviews on the school sites didn't do the school justice.
I am a transplant from PA & have lived in Cary, NC for 5 years. I have a 6th grader & a 3rd grader. When i moved here I was very involved in attending School board meetings as our school was vying to change from year round to traditional. At this point, I can honestly say I am so disheartened by the school board's desicions the past few years that I have totally given up and am a completely apathetic parent in WCPSS. My side of my neighborhood is just over the 1.5 mile radius for "neighborhood schools". With the crazy assignment plan of last year - My street is only 6 blocks long but we have 4 school buses come down to make stops for 4 different elementary schools and 3 additional for 3 different Middle Schools - all because we live .2 or .3 miles outside of our schools travel radius - CRAZY!!! There are lots of kindergarteners at our bus stop - two of the elementary buses are the same number & color, very confusing for those kids if there is a substitute driver or if their parents are not at the stop to confirm what school the bus is going too!
If I had to do our move over again to NC, I would have moved to North Chatham County. I have learned as a parent that it doesn't so much matter the test scores of the school as a whole, what really matters is how involved you are with your own child's education. If you are a great parent and a great advocate for your child, they will excel in whatever school they attend. The schools in North Chatham may not be as good as West Cary schools but they will get there eventually the parents are involved and I wouldn't have had to deal with 3 reassignments in 3 years and all the political drama that the Wake County school board just can not seem to overcome
I have learned as a parent that it doesn't so much matter the test scores of the school as a whole, what really matters is how involved you are with your own child's education. If you are a great parent and a great advocate for your child, they will excel in whatever school they attend.
Wake county only has some bad schools in the inner city. Nothing outside of that is really bad.
Just curious--which schools in the "inner city" do you think are bad? I'm also wondering what your definition of bad is. There are several schools in Wake that have limited academic opportunities so to me I would say those are 'bad' in the overall scheme of things.
Just curious--which schools in the "inner city" do you think are bad? I'm also wondering what your definition of bad is. There are several schools in Wake that have limited academic opportunities so to me I would say those are 'bad' in the overall scheme of things.
For me it is the passing rates at or above grade level.
If a job is not bringing you here (and thus a commute would be a factor) and your biggest prioirty is "good schools", then Chapel Hill/Carrboro is your answer, plain and simple. Wake county is only going to grow and grow and the wildfire-like growth rate is a huge factor in the continual reassignment plans, as schools become overcrowded, new schols built and kids shifted around, etc. Chapel Hill also has a high concentration of professors' kids due to the University, plus the University is right there with its libraries, etc for easy access. If I were moving JUST for schools, I would definitely pick CH.
If schools are absolutely IT for you and commute time is a non-issue and community fit is a non-issue I would go with Chapel Hill/Carrboro, too. However, if finding a community that feels right is important to you, too, I'd do a little more research. While the points of the Triangle are not as different as say, New York City and Peoria, they are different.
Chapel Hill is a quintessential college town and the most liberal community in the state. You are expected to root for the Tar Heels if you live here in town and will be tolerated if you don't, but don't go rooting for Duke or you might get thrown out . If you are staunchly conservative it might be a hard place to put down roots. It's a very liberal community with something like more than 70% of voters going for Obama in '08. It's small and wants to stay that way. Very unwelcoming to chain stores and chain restaurants with an emphasis on local food and shopping. Lots of businesses and bars catering to college students downtown. If that sounds like your kinda town, it's a great place to live.
Last edited by poppydog; 10-10-2012 at 04:30 PM..
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not bad
. If you are staunchly conservative it might be a hard place to put down roots. It's a very liberal community with something like more than 70% of voters going for Obama in '08. It's small and wants to stay that way. Very unwelcoming to chain stores and chain restaurants with an emphasis on local food and shopping. Lots of businesses and bars catering to college students downtown. If that sounds like your kinda town, it's a great place to live.
