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Athens Drive has a very diverse student body. It did not have a great reputation the last few years.
They do have a great Band program. The families I know who live in that area, tried very hard to get their kids into Magnet or Charter schools.
In Lochmere, there are not many young families, and those who have school aged children, go to private Christian schools.
With the new STEM focus, and new Principal, ADHS may turn out to be better than before, who knows ?
I agree. My mom still lives in Lochmere. Most of her neighbors children attend Magnet schools or private schools.
Definitely consider MacGregor Downs/MacGregor West, which is assigned to Apex High School, if you are looking for a lake, larger wooded lots and a variety of homes. You can find just about any style of home there, some of which have been remodeled and some might need some TLC simply due to age. The appreciation of property is quite high there, with some older homes actually being torn down and replaced by much larger ones (something I don't particularly like to see) but good for your future property value.
Ridiculous or not. Every single school day, our neighborhood sees large groups of Hispanic kids that are skipping classes on their way down to Lake Johnson.
Our HOA has been in constant contact with the school, the school resource officer and the local PD because of this delinquency.
There is a single resource officer for the entire school of 1900 students. As you can imagine this is simply not enough.
Asides from our neighbors house that was broken into by "current" students. I found out from the police that the same students when caught after the burglary had drugs on them.
Last year the entire school was put on lockdown with police helicopters flying overhead when a riot broke out. One student had a gun and one a knife. Large numbers were arrested. Take a look at the N&O.
Ah yes...we all used to skip class and go to Lake Johnson 20 years ago, luckily there were no nosy neighbors back then to turn us in!
If Wake School Board's goal of it's "diversity" policy is to replace diligent, hard working students with a ethnic criminal underclass at great expense to the taxpayer, they have accomplished their goal handily.
We are not talking about a small group of bad apples at Athens HS. We ARE talking about large groups of ethnic students that are bused to Athens at the taxpayers expense and then proceed to cut school and cause problems in the neighborhoods next to the school.
I as a taxpayer am helping finance the increase in crime in MY neighborhood. This has to stop.
If Wake School Board's goal of it's "diversity" policy is to replace diligent, hard working students with a ethnic criminal underclass at great expense to the taxpayer, they have accomplished their goal handily.
We are not talking about a small group of bad apples at Athens HS. We ARE talking about large groups of ethnic students that are bused to Athens at the taxpayers expense and then proceed to cut school and cause problems in the neighborhoods next to the school.
I as a taxpayer am helping finance the increase in crime in MY neighborhood. This has to stop.
Seems like calling someone a racist is playing a well used card. I welcome students of all colors to Athens HS, as long as they go to class and stay out of trouble.
The truth is that I see certain colors in my neighborhood when school is in session.
I usually just read here, but after reading these comments I wanted to post a reply.
I have a child in the STEM program and also live in Lochmere.
Lots of kids attend the base schools in Lochmere and seem to be happy, mine included. Sure there are people who do magnets or private school but in my experience, that is the exception, not the rule. The people who do private (that I know personally), would do private even if the base schools were different, mainly because they want a Christian school regardless. There are also lots of young families. More move into the neighborhood every day. Just go look at the pool, swim team, or tennis courts one day in the summer.
We actually got into a charter school for 9th grade, but after my child attended the Athens freshman camp and talking with the staff there (who were incredibly responsive and supportive), we opted to go to Athens. All the teachers and staff (and I have met with all of them multiple times - I have a child with an IEP) have been extremely good (and I am hard to impress) and very concerned with the well-being of the student. My child has really liked all of the teachers. The STEM program is very rigorous and I have been pleased with it. They also have a health sciences STEM academy as well.
I don't know the exact demographics of Athens, but I do know if your child is in Honors classes, you shouldn't have any problems.
As far as kids skipping school, I find that hard to believe. A child of a friend of mine, went out to lunch twice with eligible friends without having a lunch card (only juniors and seniors can leave campus for lunch), and was caught and disciplined both times. I find it hard to believe that whole groups are leaving campus and not being caught. Lunch is early (from 10:30-11:30 I think) so maybe they are on their lunch hour instead of skipping school.
On a side note, we did have an issue with one class (that had to do with high school in general, not Athens specific). We wrote a note to the principal and actually received a call within a week from him (the old principal) telling us that that our concerns were taken care of and they were changing their policy in respect to it. We also had 2 separate issues with bullying (that I heard about from my child) but the teachers took care of it immediately and I never had to be involved. They seem very responsive and quick to action. In neither case did my child even have to say anything. The teacher witnessed it and quickly acted.
I agree with fishing2002 - there are tons of young families in Lochmere and Lochmere Highlands with more moving in all the time. There are also many families who do send their kids to Athens and speak highly of it. Like most high schools, there are some problems but honestly it seems very blown out of proportion from what I hear from firsthand accounts. I think a lot of the negative press about Athens is based on second-hand hearsay which is often like the old game of telephone. From what I've heard from the kids in our neighborhood, they don't feel threatened or unsafe in any way. And these are "normal" everyday teenagers - not hooligans or delinquents. Are there some rough kids at Athens? I'm sure there are but they're certainly not the majority. In some ways, I think it's important for kids to be exposed to different types of behavior. In life, not everyone we meet is going to be responsible, respectful, courteous, etc... and we need to know how to deal with all types of people.
As mentioned by another poster, the STEM program at Athens is a big draw and who knows what will happen in the 2015-2016 school assignment plan which is supposed to have BIG changes.
My kids attend ADHS, have had a couple go thru there in the current and past four years. Decent school, very diverse. Seems to have been neglected over the years for funding compared to Green Hope, Panther Creek, Middle Creek.
Each time I've stopped by school during the school day I've witnessed a fight, often right outside the principal's office.
My girlfriend lives in a neighborhood near Apex and her kids attend Green Hope HS. Her kids tell me they can get any drug at any time from multiple sources. The school is high scoring and privileged because geographically it's too far away to bus enough non-white kids to blend it they way Athens has been. The student parking lot is filled with BMW's, Volvos, Acuras, Lexuses, and Audis. The saying is that the Green Hope student lot is the highest value parking lot in the Southeast during a school day. With that much wealth comes a lot of access to trouble that the poorer kids don't have
Teachers make or break the experience, and getting your kids in honors or AP is important. Most all the high schools of wake county are great, including Athens, we are talking first world problems here compared to most other cities. Don't let people scare you away from Lochmere because of Athens. You can also do a magnet HS. Some over here send their Lochmere kids to Enloe (talk about being in the 'hood).
Fights vs. Drugs. Choose your poison. Athens just got approved for a huge and much needed expansion to their decrepit football stadium so soon their facilities ought to be more on par with other newer schools. Lochmere is so convenient vs the locations to have Green Hope your high school are in the middle of nowhere (although growing). Unless you need to be that far West I would pick an area closer in like Lochmere or McGregor as others have suggested.
I will say this: When I moved, I offered to have my kids go to Cary HS, and they knew enough about issues there they wanted NOTHING to do with Cary HS, so per their request, I stayed living in an Athens District in Lochmere on purpose. Good luck.
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I have a child at Athens in the STEM program
