The real deal with Wake County schools (Franklin: houses, neighborhood)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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.
For all the folks thinking of moving here with school age children that post questions about the schools....
Yes, it is a great town to raise a family, BUT
the school system is awful! There is no way so many elementary schools should have missed the No Child Left Behind act. No way! It is overcrowded and most kids are in trailers or "cottages" as one school refers to them. The 9th graders at Wakefield are now being taught at a refurbished Winn Dixie - great......
For the out of towners...the school system wants each school not to exceed 40% (yikes!) of free to reduced lunch families (politically incorrect, but basically the poorer families). Therefore, they will bus higher income families to lower income schools and vice versa. This is usually done every Jan/Feb and usually causes quite a stir in the community - it's called reassignment. We have lived in 3 different houses and each time our neighborhood worried or was reassigned.
I can be at the nearest elementary school in 3 minutes yet I am supposed to drive my kids 14 minutes or about 45 -50 minutes on a school bus so they can make their numbers. You're kidding me!
We moved here in 2000 from NJ - great neighborhood schools - with a 6 month old - before he was 2 I knew our choice would be private schools.
So, for all those folks asking about a specific school it doesn't matter, you're not guaranteed a school and the dynamics at that school will change from year to year.
Since I have lived here I have met many good friends and I will honestly say that 99% say to me if I could afford it I would do private schools. That's pretty sad.
I don't usually offer much on these boards, but I will say if you have no kids or if your kids are over the age of 14 don't respond, well, don't bash me for this opinion because you're not feeling the same pain - the problem in overcrowding right now lies in the elementary schools soon to be middle as these kids get older. Sure, your kids got a great education in previous years but it's a little different now....
For all the folks thinking of moving here with school age children that post questions about the schools....
Yes, it is a great town to raise a family, BUT
the school system is awful! There is no way so many elementary schools should have missed the No Child Left Behind act. No way! It is overcrowded and most kids are in trailers or "cottages" as one school refers to them. The 9th graders at Wakefield are now being taught at a refurbished Winn Dixie - great......
For the out of towners...the school system wants each school not to exceed 40% (yikes!) of free to reduced lunch families (politically incorrect, but basically the poorer families). Therefore, they will bus higher income families to lower income schools and vice versa. This is usually done every Jan/Feb and usually causes quite a stir in the community - it's called reassignment. We have lived in 3 different houses and each time our neighborhood worried or was reassigned.
I can be at the nearest elementary school in 3 minutes yet I am supposed to drive my kids 14 minutes or about 45 -50 minutes on a school bus so they can make their numbers. You're kidding me!
We moved here in 2000 from NJ - great neighborhood schools - with a 6 month old - before he was 2 I knew our choice would be private schools.
So, for all those folks asking about a specific school it doesn't matter, you're not guaranteed a school and the dynamics at that school will change from year to year.
Since I have lived here I have met many good friends and I will honestly say that 99% say to me if I could afford it I would do private schools. That's pretty sad.
I don't usually offer much on these boards, but I will say if you have no kids or if your kids are over the age of 14 don't respond, well, don't bash me for this opinion because you're not feeling the same pain - the problem in overcrowding right now lies in the elementary schools soon to be middle as these kids get older. Sure, your kids got a great education in previous years but it's a little different now....
I don't even know where to begin to refute your post. I doubt you'd listen anyway because you've already made up your mind the schools are horrid.
Yes, there are growth issues. Yes, there is always room for improvement...but as bad as you paint it? Not even close.
I note you mention Wakefield...well...that tells a lot. I think many people moved there without understanding they'd have to deal with 'everyone' in Wake county...not just their little enclave....rude awakening for them, but I don't feel sorry for it.
I gotta agree with Desmonda on this one. I'm a pretty big critic of WCPSS on a lot of issues, but this post really is wayyyy off the mark. There are some fantastic schools in Wake County and lots of choices for families moving here.
What people really seem to mean when the mention 40% F&R lunch is that they don't like the fact that poor children attend their "neighborhood" schools and bring their numbers down.
If anything, it's more common that lower income children are bussed to higher income area schools to level the playing field. Lower income schools become magnets to attract the upper income students without forcing them to go and causing upper income families to retreat to private schools. I'll never forget the uproar when the then "new" Leesville schools suddenly got their first big reassigned lower income students and the Wakefield students were sent to the DuBois center.
I don't agree with everything Wake has done to maintain their numbers and I think there could be some changes made, but overall, Wake schools are excellent and your child will get a solid education in any one of them if your child is a motivated student.
Anyway, I'm a product of WCPSS as well as my children and we've never been reassigned a single time or even been considered for reassignment. It's been a very favorable and stable environment for my chidren.
Anyway, if diverse schools are not your cup of tea, I suggest staying out of Wake County schools all together.
I don't even know where to begin to refute your post. I doubt you'd listen anyway because you've already made up your mind the schools are horrid.
Yes, there are growth issues. Yes, there is always room for improvement...but as bad as you paint it? Not even close.
I note you mention Wakefield...well...that tells a lot. I think many people moved there without understanding they'd have to deal with 'everyone' in Wake county...not just their little enclave....rude awakening for them, but I don't feel sorry for it.
Do you have children in elementary school?
I posted to let others know the things that I am hearing. It is bad and getting worse. The number of applicants at Franklin Academy and the magnet schools are through the roof! That means people want an option to WCPSS!
Note, I do not live in Wakefield but have a lot of friends in that "community divided", it is an ugly situation over there with schools and I would never want to live there.
Again, I am stating what I have seen in the past 7 years, I would hope the people from outside will realize what they are getting into because we are growing with tremendous growth.
mm1234, by your own admission, you have formed your opinion not on personal experience, but on what you've heard. In my mind, that means your opinion is as valid as anyone else who has formed their opinion on hearsay alone. You have a right to your opinion, but so do others.
I posted to let others know the things that I am hearing. It is bad and getting worse. The number of applicants at Franklin Academy and the magnet schools are through the roof! That means people want an option to WCPSS!
Note, I do not live in Wakefield but have a lot of friends in that "community divided", it is an ugly situation over there with schools and I would never want to live there.
Again, I am stating what I have seen in the past 7 years, I would hope the people from outside will realize what they are getting into because we are growing with tremendous growth.
Yes, I do have a daughter in middle school here...she went to WF Elementary...and our house has never been redistricted either. Oh..and your options? Magnet schools? They are Wake county schools...and most of those parents wouldn't want them either because of the even longer bus ride and the fact they are in the poorest parts of the county with the a base student population to match. People choose them because of the programs themselves (they are good) not because they are 'neighborhood schools'.
Many of the parents in Wakefield are scared that their perfect little precious might find out there are all sorts of people in the world....tough ***** for them. They waste the school's money with silly lawsuits and are part of the problem.....not the solution.
Diversity is the best thing Wake County has going for it. I hope the fear mongers like you don't ever change that. Let them work on growth issues....but not at the expense of the good things our entire district has.
Yes, I do have a daughter in middle school here...she went to WF Elementary...and our house has never been redistricted either. Oh..and your options? Magnet schools? They are Wake county schools...and most of those parents wouldn't want them either because of the even longer bus ride and the fact they are in the poorest parts of the county with the a base student population to match. People choose them because of the programs themselves (they are good) not because they are 'neighborhood schools'.
Many of the parents in Wakefield are scared that their perfect little precious might find out there are all sorts of people in the world....tough ***** for them. They waste the school's money with silly lawsuits and are part of the problem.....not the solution.
Diversity is the best thing Wake County has going for it. I hope the fear mongers like you don't ever change that. Let them work on growth issues....but not at the expense of the good things our entire district has.
Wow, fear monger - Again, I do not live in Wakefield and I have was not invloved in a lawsuit, I just happen to educate myself on the area with the good old N&O.
Agai, I am not against diversity just PLEASE send my kids and my neighbors to the closest school to our house - what is wrong with asking that?
Mrs Steel,
I'm not sure what you were asking - I am open to views, I just wanted those who have already done the "school thing" to let the folks who are in it to get a go.
Mrs Steel,
I'm not sure what you were asking - I am open to views, I just wanted those who have already done the "school thing" to let the folks who are in it to get a go.
I'm not asking anything. I totally understand your concerns & it's obvious that you are not alone. Your tone sounded rather combative, however, so do not be surprised if many of the responding posts sound defensive.
If I were trying to decide whether or not to put my child in Wake County schools, I am far more likely to listen to people who have personal experience with the district. I hope more parents with children in Wake County schools respond to this post & tell us of their own personal experiences - both good and bad.
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.
