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Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lamishra
WCPSS works the same way. Your assignment is based on your address. If you live at 123 Main, you are assigned to ABC school. Except for a few years of that ridiculous choice plan, it's always been that way.
But what if the school you are assigned to is capped? Then you cannot attend that school, correct? So it's not the same way. Someone just came on here the other day and asked a question about it and was told her daughter could not attend the capped school her home would normally be assigned.
WCPSS works the same way. Your assignment is based on your address. If you live at 123 Main, you are assigned to ABC school. Except for a few years of that ridiculous choice plan, it's always been that way.
Yes, Lamishra is right -- WCPSS does assignment based on your address. And, even during the choice plan year (I think it was only one year), your assigned choice of schools was based on your address.
And if that was the whole story, no one would ever have any questions about WCPSS on this board, school board elections wouldn't be such big news and parents could just go back to feeling like idiots because they don't understand their 3rd grader's math homework (oh wait -- is that just me?).
The point is that, while assignments may be crystal clear, where you actually go to school in WCPSS is more complex than it is in neighboring counties. You can move to an address that has never been reassigned, but the school is capped. You can live in a neighborhood that hasn't been reassigned in over 20 years, and suddenly the school board has proposed reassigning parts of your neighborhood to a different high school that's further away (MacGregor Downs/Apex HS/Athens HS -- 2008/2009).
And then the positive side of it all is that you have a choice of multiple elementary/middle/high schools per address (with calendar option and magnets). It's not a bad thing -- it's just a complex thing to people who are not used to it (which, btw -- is pretty much anyone outside of WCPSS).
Good thing Chapel Hill schools have never seen redistricting, at least since last year. There was discussion of further spot redistricting this year, but I didn't follow whether that's been resolved.
Hi Folks. Like many others who've posted to this forum my wife and I are considering relocating our family from the New York area to either Cary or Apex (possibly Chapel Hill). Everything I've heard and read seems really great but the main question and concern I have is which public school district, and specifically which elementary schools would be the best for the kids, and which if any should I try to avoid (we have a 3 1/2 year old daughter and a 9-month old son).
It appears that Apex has only one elementary school but Cary has several. Although I've heard that the schools are really good, I've seen on the NC Schools Report Card site that in some elementary schools in Cary, only 60-65% of kids in each grade are at or above grade level in English and Math (the Apex public elementary school has similar numbers). That doesn't sound too good, yet still it's well above the state average according to the site.
Would appreciate any thoughts, recommendations, or warnings.
Thanks!
Bob
Though a lot has been answered, I too came from NY (Long Island). I moved here to Cary just in time for the chaos to happen while the school system was changing over to year-round and new schools were being opened and families were being forced to go to different schools than where they were originally. Things have gotten a lot better now so less craziness. We decided to move to Cary because the schools here specifically were among the best in the area. All of Wake county schools are good and you won't find too many that are of a low standard. There are many elementary schools in Apex and a lot of them are very good. Cary just has the majority of higher rating schools. I live in Cary, but my boys go to an Apex elementary school simply because it was their base school and the closest one to home. It's rated very well and it's year round...which I prefer. Not all schools are year round (all high schools are traditional, but about half the other schools are year-round). The schools you do have a choice on that could be scattered elsewhere in Wake are Magnet and Charter schools.
By the way, Cary is considered to be one of the safest towns of it's size in the US. You won't have a problem with having to deal with a school in a poor neighborhood in this town.
By the way, Cary is considered to be one of the safest towns of it's size in the US. You won't have a problem with having to deal with a school in a poor neighborhood in this town.
Thanks, Azile. That is obviously the biggest fear one would have (investing in a new home in an area where you think the schools are good, only to get re-districted into a bad school shortly after arriving). Based on what I've read I think that you're right: In Cary, you might not know which school you're going to get exactly, but you can be pretty sure it will be a good one. The only thought I had was that I heard there are certain areas of Raleigh that are not that great, and Raleigh is also within Wake county. But from what I've read it seems if you live in Cary, you might get sent to a school in Apex (or vice-versa), but you won't get bumped to a school as far away as Raleigh or some other part of the county.
Thanks, Azile. That is obviously the biggest fear one would have (investing in a new home in an area where you think the schools are good, only to get re-districted into a bad school shortly after arriving). Based on what I've read I think that you're right: In Cary, you might not know which school you're going to get exactly, but you can be pretty sure it will be a good one. The only thought I had was that I heard there are certain areas of Raleigh that are not that great, and Raleigh is also within Wake county. But from what I've read it seems if you live in Cary, you might get sent to a school in Apex (or vice-versa), but you won't get bumped to a school as far away as Raleigh or some other part of the county.
It's possible for a child in Raleigh (which by the way. has some fantastic schools.....even some that blow Cary schools away) to be send to a Cary school and vice versa....and it might still be the closest school to an address.
Cary and Raleigh butt up againest each other....there is no dividing line...if you don't see on a sign on the highway...you wouldn't be able to tell you've crossed a boundary.
Thanks, Azile. That is obviously the biggest fear one would have (investing in a new home in an area where you think the schools are good, only to get re-districted into a bad school shortly after arriving). Based on what I've read I think that you're right: In Cary, you might not know which school you're going to get exactly, but you can be pretty sure it will be a good one. The only thought I had was that I heard there are certain areas of Raleigh that are not that great, and Raleigh is also within Wake county. But from what I've read it seems if you live in Cary, you might get sent to a school in Apex (or vice-versa), but you won't get bumped to a school as far away as Raleigh or some other part of the county.
People make way too big a deal of this bussing thing. VERY VERY few kids in Cary/Apex/Holly Springs/West Raleigh/Northwest Raleigh/Morrisville are bussed to a low performing school. Honestly I don't think there are any. Now, yes, it's true you might get bussed to a school that is a few (and I mean a few - 3 to 5 maybe) miles from your house due to crowding issues, and maybe you even pass a few other schools on the way there. And maybe the school near your house is a "10" and the school you are bussed to is an "8." For some families that's frustrating, and I get it. But I honestly don't know of any nodes in these areas that are bussed far away to a "bad" school when they live near a "good" one (I put these descriptions in quotes as what makes a school good/bad is subjective, but generally people look at test scores). The VAST majority of kids though are assigned to schools within a couple miles of home.
Now, sometimes people talk about the "satellite nodes" we have here. That is an entirely different issue. These are nodes in Wake County that ARE bussed further away - but they are all in low performing areas (think East/Southeast Raleigh), and those kids are bussed further away to HIGH performing schools in an effort to balance schools from a demographic standpoint. Some people have a huge problem with this, social engineering, etc. - but that's an entirely separate issue/debate than whether or not your kids will be bussed to a school in a different city that isn't performing as well. That just really doesn't happen.
People make way too big a deal of this bussing thing. VERY VERY few kids in Cary/Apex/Holly Springs/West Raleigh/Northwest Raleigh/Morrisville are bussed to a low performing school. Honestly I don't think there are any. Now, yes, it's true you might get bussed to a school that is a few (and I mean a few - 3 to 5 maybe) miles from your house due to crowding issues, and maybe you even pass a few other schools on the way there. And maybe the school near your house is a "10" and the school you are bussed to is an "8." For some families that's frustrating, and I get it. But I honestly don't know of any nodes in these areas that are bussed far away to a "bad" school when they live near a "good" one (I put these descriptions in quotes as what makes a school good/bad is subjective, but generally people look at test scores). The VAST majority of kids though are assigned to schools within a couple miles of home.
Now, sometimes people talk about the "satellite nodes" we have here. That is an entirely different issue. These are nodes in Wake County that ARE bussed further away - but they are all in low performing areas (think East/Southeast Raleigh), and those kids are bussed further away to HIGH performing schools in an effort to balance schools from a demographic standpoint. Some people have a huge problem with this, social engineering, etc. - but that's an entirely separate issue/debate than whether or not your kids will be bussed to a school in a different city that isn't performing as well. That just really doesn't happen.
Yes, this. Kids from western Wake and other higher income burbs generally don't "bused" out of western Wake to low performing schools. They do often get into low performing magnet schools, but that is a choice. And they do sometimes have to go to a school that is not their closest school due to crowding issues, but it's generally within a reasonable distance. The only I can really think of might be Lochmere, where I believe the kids are assigned to Athens Drive High school in Raleigh, but like a PP mentioned, it's right on the border between Raleigh and Cary.
Each address has its own "base" school where the student is guaranteed a seat unless the school is capped. See the site above for a list of capped schools. If a school is capped, and an address is assigned there, then that address will also have a list of overflow schools from which a parent can choose. Transportation is guaranteed for all of these. Your base school may be the closest school to your house, and it may not. There is no way to balance the tremendous growth in this county and send everyone to their closest school. Some schools would probably be at 400% capacity if they did this. Then, outside of your base school, there are 1-2 calendar options for each address that have a different calendar (Year round vs. traditional) that you can apply for if you prefer that to your base. This is NOT guaranteed admission although the majority of these applications are granted.
Beyond the options above, you can also apply to a magnet school. These schools have special programming. Some provide transportation and some do not. The more desirable ones are very difficult to get into, but it's a weighted lottery (for example, siblings have top priority). You can also technically apply for a transfer to any school except a magnet in Wake County, and if the school has available seats, they will typically let you in. If you attend a school as a transfer you must provide transportation.
Those are the basics but I feel like I've barely scratched the surface Also..FYI - Apex has several elementary schools. The Wake County Schools website above will list them all.
I have also been learning about the Wake County Schools. I do have a question - if your base school is one kind of schedule, say year-round, and you apply for and get into the school with a traditional calendar that is attached to your address, are you then responsible for transportation to that different school? I know that you need to provide your own transportation to the charter or magnet schools. I am only asking because if we move into the area, I would like my 5 kids to be on the traditional calendar for a variety of reasons, but am not really interested in always needing to provide transportation. Thanks!
Just because your kid might end up going to a school in a neighboring town, doesn't mean it's far away. I'm literally 5 minutes away from my boys' elementary school which is in the neighboring town. They are only on the bus because they wanted to ride on it to be big boys. It's not often you'd have to "bus" your kids far at all unless you chose a private, magnet, or charter school. That might be worth it to you if you don't want the public schools near you. Magnet and charter are free to you, but private you have to pay for (I assume you already knew that).
Apex is also a good area. Not much crime at all in that town either, but Apex definitely has a different feel to it than Cary. Cary is more developed and is very groomed. There are playgrounds and parks all over the place and a growing greenway system (they are trying to connect all greenways to the Tobacco Trail). Obviously I'm a big advocate for Cary, but I remember when I moved here, I did like Apex, but Cary was closer to the main hospitals which was important for me.
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Start here with the office of student assignment for Wake County:
