Can someone give me the lowdown on Wake County schools? (transfer, magnet schools)

[mama2three]

Hi everyone. We are moving to Wake County this summer from MA. Can someone give me the quick low-down on what the schools there are like - I've heard a lot about year-round schedule for elementary/middle schools as well as rezoning. Also, do parents pick what schools they want their kids in or do they just get assigned? It's so different from MA that I'm just trying to get my head around everything! Thanks!

[lamishra]

Here is a good "overview" of how the system works. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wake_Co..._School_System

You do not really have a choice in schools, but there are options. Assignments are based on your address, but you can apply for spots in either 1.) magnet schools 2.) year round schools if your assignment is traditional 3.) traditional calendar schools if your assignment is year round and 4.) charter schools.

You are not guaranteed a spot in any of your choices. You apply and receive a letter stating whether or not you were accpeted. Acceptances are done by lottery, but it's not truly a random lottery, there are other factors as well such crowding, socioeconomic status at the school and other things as well.

Occasionally transfers to other schools are granted, but there is a specific set of criteria that must be met for transfers. Examples are things like a child needs before school or after school care and your base assignment does not offer that, or a child has special needs (such as ESL) that is only offered in a few schools. Things that are generally not accepted are things like "my daughter takes advanced dance classes and there are no dance classes at her school".

Magnets are generally on traditional calendars and high schools in the entire county are NOT year round. Students are regularly reassigned and parents do get VERY upset about it. Schools which are generally reassigned are usually overcrowded or are starting to tilt on the socioeconomic scale one was yor the other, or a combination of both.
On the WCPSS website, you can look at each school's building capacity and current enrollment, you can also look up the school assignment for any specific address in the county. Over crowded schools try to ease the burden by have select nodes reassigned to less crowded schools. Sometimes these reassignments are

also done for balancing socioeconomic factors in a particular school. Sometimes a school may begin to have too large a population of LOW SES students and either those kids get bussed OUT of that school to a higher SES node OR students from higher SES areas will be reassigned into that school to maintan the balance. Reassignments are usually done to relieve crowding at schools or to readjust for social factors.

I hope this helps!

[NC man]

Check the other posts from today..Wake co is in a mess and its getting worse just like predicted

[luvmyguys]

hey! where in MA you coming from???

Originally Posted by mama2three

Hi everyone. We are moving to Wake County this summer from MA. Can someone give me the quick low-down on what the schools there are like - I've heard a lot about year-round schedule for elementary/middle schools as well as rezoning. Also, do parents pick what schools they want their kids in or do they just get assigned? It's so different from MA that I'm just trying to get my head around everything! Thanks!