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I've read alot of posts that have said something to the effect of if you have kids in public schools then Durham probably isn't for you. I've see the NC School Reports numbers and greatschools website. So what is the deal with Durham? Why do they have such dismal numbers at the majority of their schools?
We have friends w/ 3 kids in Durham Public Schools (SW Durham) and they keep trying to get us to move to Durham. Our families regularly vacation together so it would be WONDERFUL to be near them. But I'm just not sold on the schools and there taxes are a bit higher in Durham. What do they use that extra money for? Is it going to the schools but just not helping?
I've also heard there are problems with the Durham School Board. But I don't know specifics. Can anyone point me to newspaper articles about the specifics? Or provide any detail? BTW, we are hoping that the next house will be the last one until the kids move out and the oldest is in 1st grade. So we need a good Elem, Middle, and HS.
Lastly, how hard is it to get into the Moorehead School ... magnet school in Durham? I assume you can not transfer in mid year.
I looked into the magnet schools in Durham. I was told that they take most of their students in kindergarten and that they had practically no openings for the higher grades, especially for the Montessori schools.
If you can afford Chapel Hill, you could be closer to them and have uniformly highly rated public schools (but no magnet choices).
I have been trying to figure out how to write this!!! There has been controversy in the durham school board since 2003, here is one link to an article then:
http://www.wral.com/news/2029943/detail.html (broken link)
I feel like at the heart of it, the problems on the school board do not stem from people not wanting the best things for the kids, but moreso that they do not like each other personally and they are letting it get in the way of progress. Many times the police were called to the school board meetings and parents were completely outraged at the lack of progress the schools were making academically. So, parents wanted a change, but it seemed they were stopped by the school boards inability to make decisions.
Now, that is JUST my perspective after reading about the issues and hearing things on the news. I don't have kids in school in durham, so I don't have a first hand account
As far as your friends go, the area they live in (hope valley) tends to be a wealthier area (back in the day, that was the considered the RICH part of durham) has good schools, hope valley, githens, jordan. My cousins kids went through those schools and they loved them. So, yes, there are good schools in durham, as a whole though the schools are not as competitive as wake county system wide. Why is that? Well, wake county is much wealthier than durham, durham has typically been blue collar, and unfortunately (which completely sucks in my opinion) the less money you make the schools in that district tend to have less money. Durham seems to be a case of the have and the have nots, which doesn't make sense because durham supports companies and organizations with great wealth.
The morehead school, it is a magnet school so you can only apply to it based on where you live. For instance, one of the magnet schools that is near me is not a school I can apply to, they only accept applications from certain districts, and I am not in that district. When you go on the durham county schools website, you can put in an address and it will tell you what your base schools are and what your magnets are as well. I don't know about transferring in mid year, my guess would be it would depend on available space.
hopefully this sort of answers your questions, and the articles might help.
Leighbe & Alice_61,
thank you for your informative replies. And Leigh, thank you for your well thought out reply to a sensitive subject matter... obviously more sensitive than I realized being an outsider.
I find it so disheartening when I see such problems in the public school systems in wonderful cities like Durhams. For pete's sake they are home to one of the best universities in the nation and their public schools are troubled.
This summer we rode through old "downtown" Durham. It was great to see the beginnings of revitilization. In 5 years that place will be full of hip art galleries, exotic resturants, and speciality shops... not mention million dollar lofts. But I don't think these things will make the schools better.... people with kids in tow don't usually live in lofts. Too small and too expensive. Not to mention NO one would want to live in a loft beside my kids. There is no amount of sound proofing that can curb their loud voices.
I grew up in the Northeast and virtually everyone went to the very good public schools there (except for the parochial students.) I get the sense that attending private school is more common in the south when the schools have not been as strong or as well funded. The acquantenances that I know in Durham (liberal, middle to upper middle class, very educated) have all sent their children to Carolina Friends School (Quaker). Unfortunately, it's expensive.
I went to carolina friends (back in the day) and now it is expensive! Back then it was people who wanted alternative education for their kids (quaker based but more aligned with the montessori philosophy) and now I cannot afford to send my kids there!
Anyhow, I do agree, many send their kids to private.
Durham is in a state of flux. Many "inner city" type problems including gangs, violence, drugs. It is a challenge for the educational system. On the other hand, out from the inner city area, new construction, some of it very expensive, is introducing a different population of middle and upper class wage earners eager to address the problems with the schools. Those that can will frequently send their children to private school in order to avoid some of the problems in public education. Without a doubt many of the schools that have large student populations from some of the newer areas wil improve to the point that they will compare with Wake County schools, like those in Cary and Apex.
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Politically Incorrect
