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The neighborhood elementary schools with generally the best reputations include: Mangum, Little River, Easley (year round), EK Powe, Forest View, Hillandale, Creekside, Hope Valley, and Southwest. DPS magnet schools with good reputations include: Watts and Morehead (nearly impossible to get in if you don't live in the neighborhood priority zone), Pearsontown Year Round, Easley (if you live out of the zone it is a year round magnet option for some), and Club Blvd.
This list is not meant to be authoritative or exhaustive but rather reflects feedback from friends, colleagues, & personal experience, etc. over my 16 yrs in Durham. There are some odd 28 elementary schools or so, and I'm presumably missing some that people like, though there are some in the district that I would not choose for my children. I work at Duke, and plenty of our staff and faculty kids go to Durham Public Schools, including my own. For those who love Durham and want to live and educate our kids here, don't listen to the haters.
It's true that those schools I listed vary a lot in size, free and reduced lunch populations, and racial and socio-economic status of students. Powe is quite small while Creekside is huge. Forest View has a lot of ethnic diversity, prob due to the international population at Duke. Some people love the year round schedule of Easley. My kids are doing great in their DPS schools. They are not caught up in a rat race of wearing certain brands or keeping up with the Jones'. They perform well and receive gifted services. As I like to say, they're not likely in the best schools, but their schools are good enough. I'm ok with good enough. Lots of people are not and move to Chapel Hill, whose schools are ranked among the top in the State.
It's tricky to move here without having a good sense of which schools might be right for you but I'd continue to ask around and visit some if you get the chance. What I've learned over the years is that people have wildly individual priorities for a school and opinions about what makes a school good. With 2 kids and 8 yrs total experience at our elementary, we've had overall a wonderful experience. But I know many families who have left over the years for a variety of reasons - some unhappy with the school we love. Different kids need different types of educational environments, a change in principals or one sub-par teacher can send families fleeing, and what one family values in a school, others might not. The elementary schools have 3 different bell schedules starting this year (some go 7:45-2:15 and others as late as 9:15-3:45), and school times even have influenced people's choice this year. Neighborhood (non-magnet) Middle schools are the weak link, so many opt for charters, not because their elementary choices aren't good, but because they're planning ahead and feel like a K-8 or K-12 school takes the worry out of figuring out what schools their kids will go to for middle/high school.
Hard to generalize about what kind of school you might like for your kids - it's so personal. It's less about finding "good schools" but rather finding schools that are a good fit for your learners, your family, and that align with your values and priorities for an educational environment. Trust me - there are many people in Durham who send their kids to Durham Public Schools. You'll need to decide whether that will work for you or not. I know that's not easy. Best of luck.
Last edited by jill7930; 08-15-2016 at 08:42 PM..
Reason: fixing stuff
The neighborhood elementary schools with generally the best reputations include: Mangum, Little River, Easley (year round), EK Powe, Forest View, Hillandale, Creekside, Hope Valley, and Southwest. DPS magnet schools with good reputations include: Watts and Morehead (nearly impossible to get in if you don't live in the neighborhood priority zone), Pearsontown Year Round, Easley (if you live out of the zone it is a year round magnet option for some), and Club Blvd.
This list is not meant to be authoritative or exhaustive but rather reflects feedback from friends, colleagues, & personal experience, etc. over my 16 yrs in Durham. There are some odd 28 elementary schools or so, and I'm presumably missing some that people like, though there are some in the district that I would not choose for my children. I work at Duke, and plenty of our staff and faculty kids go to Durham Public Schools, including my own. For those who love Durham and want to live and educate our kids here, don't listen to the haters.
It's true that those schools I listed vary a lot in size, free and reduced lunch populations, and racial and socio-economic status of students. Powe is quite small while Creekside is huge. Forest View has a lot of ethnic diversity, prob due to the international population at Duke. Some people love the year round schedule of Easley. My kids are doing great in their DPS schools. They are not caught up in a rat race of wearing certain brands or keeping up with the Jones'. They perform well and receive gifted services. As I like to say, they're not likely in the best schools, but their schools are good enough. I'm ok with good enough. Lots of people are not and move to Chapel Hill, whose schools are ranked among the top in the State.
It's tricky to move here without having a good sense of which schools might be right for you but I'd continue to ask around and visit some if you get the chance. What I've learned over the years is that people have wildly individual priorities for a school and opinions about what makes a school good. With 2 kids and 8 yrs total experience at our elementary, we've had overall a wonderful experience. But I know many families who have left over the years for a variety of reasons - some unhappy with the school we love. Different kids need different types of educational environments, a change in principals or one sub-par teacher can send families fleeing, and what one family values in a school, others might not. The elementary schools have 3 different bell schedules starting this year (some go 7:45-2:15 and others as late as 9:15-3:45), and school times even have influenced people's choice this year. Neighborhood (non-magnet) Middle schools are the weak link, so many opt for charters, not because their elementary choices aren't good, but because they're planning ahead and feel like a K-8 or K-12 school takes the worry out of figuring out what schools their kids will go to for middle/high school.
Hard to generalize about what kind of school you might like for your kids - it's so personal. It's less about finding "good schools" but rather finding schools that are a good fit for your learners, your family, and that align with your values and priorities for an educational environment. Trust me - there are many people in Durham who send their kids to Durham Public Schools. You'll need to decide whether that will work for you or not. I know that's not easy. Best of luck.
The neighborhood elementary schools with generally the best reputations include: Mangum, Little River, Easley (year round), EK Powe, Forest View, Hillandale, Creekside, Hope Valley, and Southwest. DPS magnet schools with good reputations include: Watts and Morehead (nearly impossible to get in if you don't live in the neighborhood priority zone), Pearsontown Year Round, Easley (if you live out of the zone it is a year round magnet option for some), and Club Blvd.
This list is not meant to be authoritative or exhaustive but rather reflects feedback from friends, colleagues, & personal experience, etc. over my 16 yrs in Durham. There are some odd 28 elementary schools or so, and I'm presumably missing some that people like, though there are some in the district that I would not choose for my children. I work at Duke, and plenty of our staff and faculty kids go to Durham Public Schools, including my own. For those who love Durham and want to live and educate our kids here, don't listen to the haters.
It's true that those schools I listed vary a lot in size, free and reduced lunch populations, and racial and socio-economic status of students. Powe is quite small while Creekside is huge. Forest View has a lot of ethnic diversity, prob due to the international population at Duke. Some people love the year round schedule of Easley. My kids are doing great in their DPS schools. They are not caught up in a rat race of wearing certain brands or keeping up with the Jones'. They perform well and receive gifted services. As I like to say, they're not likely in the best schools, but their schools are good enough. I'm ok with good enough. Lots of people are not and move to Chapel Hill, whose schools are ranked among the top in the State.
It's tricky to move here without having a good sense of which schools might be right for you but I'd continue to ask around and visit some if you get the chance. What I've learned over the years is that people have wildly individual priorities for a school and opinions about what makes a school good. With 2 kids and 8 yrs total experience at our elementary, we've had overall a wonderful experience. But I know many families who have left over the years for a variety of reasons - some unhappy with the school we love. Different kids need different types of educational environments, a change in principals or one sub-par teacher can send families fleeing, and what one family values in a school, others might not. The elementary schools have 3 different bell schedules starting this year (some go 7:45-2:15 and others as late as 9:15-3:45), and school times even have influenced people's choice this year. Neighborhood (non-magnet) Middle schools are the weak link, so many opt for charters, not because their elementary choices aren't good, but because they're planning ahead and feel like a K-8 or K-12 school takes the worry out of figuring out what schools their kids will go to for middle/high school.
Hard to generalize about what kind of school you might like for your kids - it's so personal. It's less about finding "good schools" but rather finding schools that are a good fit for your learners, your family, and that align with your values and priorities for an educational environment. Trust me - there are many people in Durham who send their kids to Durham Public Schools. You'll need to decide whether that will work for you or not. I know that's not easy. Best of luck.
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