Orange County vs. Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools (Raleigh, Durham: fit in, real estate, house)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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I've been doing a lot of searching around the Raleigh Durham area. I went to the NC report card site and noticed there are two school systems for the Hillsborough/Carrboro area. Can anyone tell me the difference between the Orange County Schools and the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools?
Thanks so much!
The Chapel Hill & Carrboro's school system covers just those two towns. All other homes in Orange County are assigned to Orange County's public school system.
And it's slightly more complicated than that, too, because you should not automatically assume that a house with a Chapel Hill address or Carrboro address is assigned to that school system. There are some homes that are technically not in Chapel Hill but have a Chapel Hill address. Most of those homes are along the border of Chatham County and Durham County.
The best thing to do is double check which school system is assigned to the house. Most real estate websites in the area list that information on the house listing.
For hear say alone, I would say that Chapel Hill/Carrboro schools have the better reputation. I went through the Orange County School system and my only complaint is that the administration at the time payed attention to specific groups of students and the rest of us could fend for ourselves. Other than that it was wonderful, tons of fun and loads of activities for students. However, there has been some violence at both systems. Orange High School fell victim to a school shooting a couple of years ago and Chapel Hill/Carrboro schools had a student hold folks hostage. I don't mean to scare you but if you are considering I thought you should know.
With that being said, check your address to see what system you would be in. I am including links to both systems so you can research if you wish.
I think the answer to "which is better" is complicated! Many people believe the chapel hill carrboro (chcss) is better, but it is complicated. The controversy over the years has been this: Chapel hill carrboro schools have a special tax for the residents in their area, that is specifically a school tax. The constituent population (for the most part) in the chcss area has more money than the constituent population in orange county. So, there is a special tax and now the chcss has more money for more programs, etc than orange county. Orange county residents say they should not be penalized because their population does not seem to make as much money as chcss, since they are all in orange county.
The issue is still not resolved. So, from personal experience.....I went to carolina friends school (private school in durham) for most of secondary education (my dad worked there, hence I went to school there) until high school. I was slated to go to orange high, but my parents paid something like 500 bucks a year to allow me to go to chapel hill high school. The school was very good, very competitive and almost competitive to the point where I felt that the students were expected to excel, and if you did not fit into that mold, then not as much energy was put into your education.
I have friends who have kids in the chapel hill school system, and some of them have left because of the pressure (even in elementary school) of excellence and high test scores. The point being, the system may not be for everyone!
I think there are some excellent schools within the orange county system as well. When I was growing up, there was a definite disparity between chcss and orange county schools, I don't think the gap is quite as big any longer.
I appreciate the honest comments - thanks everyone! We're considering a move down from Northern Virginia. I absolutely LOVE our school and it's so hard to think about entering a new school system and really not knowing much about it. Guess I'll check out the NC report card site.
Thanks again!
While the NC report card is a good guide, it shouldn't serve as your only guide. The best thing to do is visit the schools and know what your child(ren)'s needs are. Are your kids elementary age, middle or high school? The differences, based on reports which were conducted during a merger talk a few years ago, showed that there weren't many differences in the quality of education at the elementary age however the gap did begin to widen at the middle school level and more into high school. While there has been much discussed and attempts made at collaborative efforts (rather than merger), and some progress, the drop out rate in OCS is still higher for example than in CHCCS. CHCCS scores are higher, but some would argue that the pressure to score well (and in turn "teach to the exam") can and has been made. ECCHS is a good school, as is Chapel Hill High. Orange High School has new administration and hopefully will see a turn-around there (the teacher turn over in that school I believe is lower than in most other schools, and that says something about the teachers there). Cedar Ridge offers an IB program (only one in Orange County), and is a school equilavent to the CHCCS high schools. But each school offers different programs, so it is really beneficial to compare programs as well as scores and simply know what your kids needs are (not just what your desires are). As for violence...those were extremes, and not the norm by far! The only experiences either district had with violence like that.
Only CH school employees or CH town employees (I'm not sure which) are allowed to enroll their children from outside the Chapel Hill Carrboro School district.
The school was very good, very competitive and almost competitive to the point where I felt that the students were expected to excel, and if you did not fit into that mold, then not as much energy was put into your education... When I was growing up, there was a definite disparity between chcss and orange county schools, I don't think the gap is quite as big any longer.
Leigh
A very nice summary. CHCSS is just horrible for some students. The school system also tends to include students of more economic extremes (very wealthy and quite modest/working class), so that is another complication to the experience.
BTW, there are now 2 high schools in Orange County (Orange High and Cedar Ridge). It can be worth looking at the differences between these (and their associated lower levels), too.
Overall, Orange county schools are quite good---and probably a better match for a greater number of students than CHCSS. Exceptionally able and competitive students will thrive in CHC, but others can easily fall through the cracks in that environment.
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which is "better"?
