Johnston County Teacher Thinking of Moving to Wake County (Goldsboro: middle schools, pros and cons)

[mactasic]

Hello all,
I'm a New England transplant who teaches elementary school in Johnston County. So far I really like it here in NC, but I don't like where I currently live (Wayne County, in Goldsboro). I'm toying with the idea of applying to Wake County this Spring.

I'd like to hear from other Wake teachers. Up until recently, I thought all schools were year-round, but I've since learned that's not true. If you DO work at a year-round school, can you tell me what tracking is like? I almost think tracking sounds great -- except the part about moving classrooms every few months .

Thank you!

[Herd33]

Year round school basically consists of 9 weeks in school and then 3 "tracked out"--all year long. Of the four tracks, one is always "tracked out" in the rotation. For example, Track 4 starts back tomorrow, after being off for three weeks. Track 3 now begins their three week break.
I can't speak for surrounding counties, but the benefit package from Wake is not as strong as where we came from (obviously it wasn't a deal-breaker-we were looking for better quality of life).
Year round school works for us--but that opinion isn't shared by everyone. Not until we moved here did we realize that YR school was a "hot topic."
As for changing classrooms--that may or may not happen to you. It depends on how crowded the school is--besides, it keeps you organized :-)
Check out Wake County Public School System and good luck in your decision :-)

[saturnfan]

The benefits are statewide. Salary supplements are different by county.

[aupanda]

What are the pros and cons of tracking? I would like to hear them from a teachers and parents point of view. Thanks.

[Herd33]

It works great for us. We started out on Track 2 when we moved here, and then they moved us to Track 4 this year. After coming from a traditional school year, we really like being able to do stuff at different times of the year (like going on vacation in October!). And every nine weeks, there's a three week break! In theory, the kids are supposed to retain more since they don't have three months of "down time."
The biggest con for us will be when our kids are older and one's at YR and one's in traditional. There are YR middle schools, but all high schools are traditional. We aren't there yet, but it's definitely something to consider.