Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I am considering moving to Raleigh, but I am very confused by the Wake County school reassignment situation. How often are kids reassigned? Are entire neighborhoods usually reassigned together? How far from your neighborhood could your child be sent? Do you considedr the state of Wake County schools reason to NOT move to Raleigh? My biggest concern is having my younger kids in a year-round school, while my oldest is in a traditional year school. BTW, we have 3 kids (10th gr., 6th gr., & 2nd gr.)
This may be one of the toughest questions concerning Wake County. I think that the most realistic explanation is that the issue is up in the air, and nobody can give you an answer at the present time. Maybe a better-informed poster can discuss schoolboard elections.
I am considering moving to Raleigh, but I am very confused by the Wake County school reassignment situation. How often are kids reassigned? Are entire neighborhoods usually reassigned together? How far from your neighborhood could your child be sent? Do you considedr the state of Wake County schools reason to NOT move to Raleigh? My biggest concern is having my younger kids in a year-round school, while my oldest is in a traditional year school. BTW, we have 3 kids (10th gr., 6th gr., & 2nd gr.)
We decided to move to Durham instead of Wake in part because I wanted to avoid reassignment for my kids but we picked Durham for other reasons too. I've met many people in my area (SW Durham) who did not move to Wake because they did not want to deal w/ Wake's reassignment.
All high schools in Wake are on a tradition calendar. But some elementary and middle schools are on year round schedules. So yes, it is possible your oldest will be on a different schedule. But I've read Wake Co. does try to get siblings on the same track if you have 2 or more children in year round schools.
In terms of distance from your home, I've also read on here that Wake Co buses kids for no more than 30 mins from ones home.
I have friends who live in Wake Co and love their schools. Honestly, even though we are happy w/ our Durham Schools, in retrospect, I think if we had chosen Wake Co for schools we would have been happy. But it's stressful trying to navigate a move and figure out schools etc. It's a lot to figure out. Good luck.
We decided to move to Durham instead of Wake in part because I wanted to avoid reassignment for my kids but we picked Durham for other reasons too. I've met many people in my area (SW Durham) who did not move to Wake because they did not want to deal w/ Wake's reassignment.
All high schools in Wake are on a tradition calendar. But some elementary and middle schools are on year round schedules. So yes, it is possible your oldest will be on a different schedule. But I've read Wake Co. does try to get siblings on the same track if you have 2 or more children in year round schools.
In terms of distance from your home, I've also read on here that Wake Co buses kids for no more than 30 mins from ones home.
I have friends who live in Wake Co and love their schools. Honestly, even though we are happy w/ our Durham Schools, in retrospect, I think if we had chosen Wake Co for schools we would have been happy. But it's stressful trying to navigate a move and figure out schools etc. It's a lot to figure out. Good luck.
That was an excellent and very fair post re: WCPSS! I have to spread rep around though.
We moved out of Wake County last year to Durham in large part because of the schools. While our node had been stable for years, there was no guarantee that it would continue to be stable beyond the 3-year plan the school system had released. We also didn't like that our child had to be in certain magnets for certain programs (i.e. foreign language in middle school). I am a product of Wake Schools & they offer a great education. Just make sure you're comfortable with the possible instability in assignments and the disparate schedules from one child to the other.
This is one of those questions that can generate a lot of emotion, and as is typically the case, those who are the most upset about it are the most vocal. Keep that in mind as you explore this issue.
There are those who have lived in Wake County who can tell their personal horror story, myself included. If you listen only to them (us) you'll come away with a dismal picture.
Here's my personal point of view based on my experiences. (Note that I no longer live in Wake County, having moved to Chapel Hill a few years ago in part to escape the school situation.) Wake County, in general, has good schools. The school system, however, has some problems. In our first 3 years in Wake (late 90s/early 2000s), we were re-assigned 3-times. That was largely because we were placed in what the school board calls a "node assignment." It's a little circle of houses they want to pull out of one area and send to another - largely to achieve "economic diversity." The assignments made little sense. One example from one year: The board decided to ship 2 students from one street in North Raleigh to a school inside the city. The transportation department told us "we can't send a bus out to North Raleigh just to pick up 2 kids for this school. No one told us." We complained and escalated. They said, "OK, we'll send the ESL bus (that hits many areas and schools). Have your kids (mine was 12) at the bus stop by 5:50 a.m." You can imagine how thrilled we were with that (and so we carpooled with the one other affected family). Now, the school itself was fine - I don't have any complaints about it. The board eventually got it right, and assigned us to the schools that were right across the street from our subdivision. But in time we left for reasons that included the uncertainty of future reassignment.
Again though, that's just one story, and I can't claim it's typical.
P.S. Also keep in mind there are other places to live here besides Wake County.
We left Wake because of instability in school assignment, and because in my opinion I thought it GROSSLY disturbing that the board seems to care more about the "healthy look" (economic diversity of the student population) of the schools, rather than whether or not ALL children are getting the BEST POSSIBLE education.
I refused to have my child be a potential pawn in their game of shuffling the kids around to hide WCPSS's true problems.
I could not be happier with my decision.
Since leaving, I frequent this city-data board in the hopes of encouraging people to do their homework before committing to Wake County schools... I'm a firm believer than NO ONE (not anyone here, certainly not your Realtor (as was the case with us), no one that works for WCPSS) can equip you with the all the knowledge you need to make a TRULY informed decision except YOU. And that will take time, patience and a willingness to learn ALL the ins-and-outs of how WCPSS works (assignment policy? What's a node? What's a "spot" node? Why are magnet lotteries weighted? HOW are they weighted? Can my children REALLY be on multiple schedules during the same school year (yes, they can)? and on and on...)
It's a LOT to learn.
I wish you the best of luck in your research and your decision! Remember to use the "search" function at the top of the page to see MANY (dozens and dozens) threads on this very issue which have been hashed and rehashed (ad nauseum) on this board.
Just coming on to say that we love Wake County schools, we have never been reassigned. I guess there is always the possibility, but them I got reassigned when I was in middle school and I am 50! My parents didn't make a big deal about it, so I never noticed that is was a "big deal".
Anyway, just wanted to post, as whenever someone posts this question (about once a week) the people that respond are usually the people that have bad stories, while the majority of us that are perfectly happy tend to sit happily by and not say anything.....
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
