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We are trying to narrow down neighborhoods to buy/build a house, having lived here a couple of months now. The Hamptons at Umstead has the right combination of house and lot size, location, and price for us and seems to have really gotten off the ground. I hear a lot of families with kids are moving in, and we found a lot there that could work for us.
Does anyone have any information about Stough elementary or thoughts in general about the school situation for that neighborhood? My fear is that we would want to apply for a magnet or charter school if we lived there and we might not be able to get a spot. I think that is the biggest factor giving me pause about that neighborhood. Feel free to DM me as well. Thanks!
It's a toss up. You really won't know which schools have space until you have a contract. I know that's vague, but it's the reality of WCPSS right now.
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I know about the school situation, but Stough has been the base school for that area for years, so I am looking for information on it. I wouldn't want to move to an area if I was uncomfortable with the most likely base school, given that we do have a choice to move somewhere else. I am assuming that there will be a "base school" - I don't want to start a WCPSS thread here!
My daughter went there from K-4 before we moved to Cary and back then we were really happy with the school. I don't know what kind of changes have been made since we left many years ago. It was a pretty small school with a small, school feel (everyone knew everyone). It seemed to be sort of "middle of the road" academically speaking, but my AG daughter did well there and loved her teachers. All the kids in our neighborhood went there too. It always seemed very stable (few reassignments) because the area is sort of naturally diverse.
My daughter went there from K-4 before we moved to Cary and back then we were really happy with the school. I don't know what kind of changes have been made since we left many years ago. It was a pretty small school with a small, school feel (everyone knew everyone). It seemed to be sort of "middle of the road" academically speaking, but my AG daughter did well there and loved her teachers. All the kids in our neighborhood went there too. It always seemed very stable (few reassignments) because the area is sort of naturally diverse.
My eldest kid went to K there in 1995-96.
I liked it.
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I know a couple of people there and they are happy for the most part. Stough suffered greatly when Brier Creek ES opened; they moved a ton of Stough families to fill Brier Creek but never filled Stough back up. They struggled for a while but have built their base back up and have been good the past 2-3 years. I wouldn't hesitate to send my kids there.
As for getting into a magnet or charter, that's a different story. For charters, it doesn't matter where you live--it's a true lottery. For magnets, they have SES/achievement criteria. It used to be based on whether or not you lived in a high poverty neighborhood or attended a high poverty school. This year they used "achievement". If you live in a high achieving node you had first crack at magnets (after siblings or kids rising to the next level of a magnet program). I don't know what the criteria will be this year. You could look up the node number for that neighborhood but they are moving away from nodes so it won't be accurate but it might give you a general idea. There is a list of high performing nodes on the choice assignment plan website.
They also look at how crowded your base school is. If it is overcrowded you get picked first. If your school is underenrolled, then you have little chance of getting into a magnet. Last year Stough was at 96% but I haven't seen the numbers for this year yet. Some years the crowding percentage was set at 100% to get first choice into a magnet and other years it was lowered to 85%. Not sure what they are using now. Last year Stough was at 50% Free & Reduced lunch, which would make it more difficult to get into a magnet. Again, not sure what criteria they are using next year.
Not sure if any of this helps or just makes you more confused.
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