I really need input from NC fans - please!

[momtokendantom]

Can anyone offer more information about the education of Special Needs students in NC? Two of my children are dyslexic and currently receiving services in MA. Also, my oldest son (14) has been diagnosed with Aspergers Disorder and attends a therapeutic Day school.

Please feel free to PM me with any assistance,
Michelle

 

[tar heel]

Re: Special needs children.

Federal law requires services, although I'm sure the definition of what that entails varies some among school systems. There is no question your children would get services, however.

I do not know of any public schools specifically for Asperger's, but there are people who move to North Carolina b/c of TEACCH, the statewide autism services/research program headquartered at UNC and including several regional centers. Once a child is identified by TEACCH, they have services for life. There is a waiting list for testing. I don't know whether a child already identified elsewhere would be immediately part of the program or have to wait until he/she was tested here. You might call TEACCH and also the NC Autism Society if you have questions. Just google "autism" and "North Carolina" for the basic informaiton.

 

[jjohnson]

This hasn't even occurred to me:

My youngest DS8 is classified with speech/language delay & is receiving services 5 days a week at his current school. Does anyone know any web sites where I could check schools in NC?

 

[NCRedding]

I don't know of any websites for special needs, but even our small system has a number of services for special needs. I think any of the systems would be happy to talk with you about available services.

As for the quality of schools, yes, we do have some low performing systems. However, Newsweek named the top 100 public high schools in the country in an issue this fall. I was delighted to see that 9 high schools from NC were named--and they didn't include our public high school for high performers--the School of Math and Science in Durham.

I know that NC usually scores lower in SAT averages, but that is due in part to so many students taking the test, In our high school, 72% of the school population takes the SAT, including those who probably have no intention of going to college.

 

[simpilotswife]

Federal Law requires special education but let's face it there is special education and then there is "special education".

And now with the Supreme Court ruling that parents have the burden of proof when it comes to the appropriateness of the special ed programs school districts are going to be sure to take advantage of that.

 

[luvthatdisney]

The school system my kids attend here in NC is the 6th largest (I believe) and is probably not the best - not sure have not looked at the stats lately. But my kids do receive a quality education in their schools - yes sometimes it is school by school not just district by district. There are usually some lower performing schools in each district.

My DH's aunt is a teacher's assistant for special education students at the middle school level. Her class is for autistic children only. I'm not sure how many kids are in her class, but their disabilities vary. Some can function really well and others cannot, but they are all main-streamed into this public school. Whats neat is that she also drives a bus and is with these kids all day long so she is with them from the time they get on the bus until they get home. She even takes them to the local shopping mall a few times a month to get them used to being in public and using money and shopping. I have ran into her and her class a few times. Really neat that they do this for them!

That is the only special education class I know of myself, but I am sure there are many more at other schools. The best thing you can do is to visit some of the schools and actually talk to the staff and parents. Mainly the parents as they would give you all of the info - just not what you want to hear. Gleaning info off the internet is great, but with special needs kids I would want to see things in person and do a more hands on search.

 

[jjohnson]

The school system my kids attend here in NC is the 6th largest (I believe) and is probably not the best - not sure have not looked at the stats lately. But my kids do receive a quality education in their schools - yes sometimes it is school by school not just district by district. There are usually some lower performing schools in each district.

My DH's aunt is a teacher's assistant for special education students at the middle school level. Her class is for autistic children only. I'm not sure how many kids are in her class, but their disabilities vary. Some can function really well and others cannot, but they are all main-streamed into this public school. Whats neat is that she also drives a bus and is with these kids all day long so she is with them from the time they get on the bus until they get home. She even takes them to the local shopping mall a few times a month to get them used to being in public and using money and shopping. I have ran into her and her class a few times. Really neat that they do this for them!

That is the only special education class I know of myself, but I am sure there are many more at other schools. The best thing you can do is to visit some of the schools and actually talk to the staff and parents. Mainly the parents as they would give you all of the info - just not what you want to hear. Gleaning info off the internet is great, but with special needs kids I would want to see things in person and do a more hands on search.

I will do that thank you for the advice.

 

[jjohnson]

DH is wondering how the area of Clayton is. We did drive thru there but it's all blurring together. I remember it being "flat" & not much of a downtown. Am I wrong? Also is anyone familiar with Hillsborough?

From looking at stats online it seems these are the top HS:

Apex
Fuquay
Chapel Hill
West Johnston
Cary

In Charlotte area:

Weddington
Providence
Piedmont
Butler

Does this sound correct? At least then I could start searching by school districts for homes.

Thanks again. We really appreciate everyone's input.

Joyce

 

[tarheel]

I haven't read this whole thread, but if you'd like to look through the Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools web site and haven't done so before, their web site is www.cms.k12.nc.us that might help you look up the school statistics ect.

 

[DisneyTarheel]

From looking at stats online it seems these are the top HS in Wake County:

Apex
Fuquay
Chapel Hill
West Johnston
Cary

I would rank W.G. Enloe as the top public HS in Wake County. Some consider it to be one of the best public high schools in the country, actually.

W. Johnston is in Johnston County, and Chapel Hill is in Orange County, btw.

 

[jjohnson]

I would rank W.G. Enloe as the top public HS in Wake County. Some consider it to be one of the best public high schools in the country, actually.

W. Johnston is in Johnston County, and Chapel Hill is in Orange County, btw.

I corrected my post. Thanks.

 

[tar heel]

In the Charlotte area, I definitely agree with Weddington and know less about Piedmont but will continue to advise you to avoid Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. No matter how good Butler or Providence looks on paper, I wouldn't do it. The schools are way too big and have problems constantly.

Be careful about putting too much stock in test scores. We have a lot of ESL students in North Carolina, who are tested as if they know the language. For example, the elementary school in our district is one of the two or three highest socioeconomically and has the highest concentration of gifted students, but it also has almost 10% ESL. The test scores are solid but don't convey that it's probably the best elementary school in the district.
Likewise, while our high school (an impressive new facility like Weddington) has a big concentration of top students, we also serve the poorest area in the county -- makes for a good diverse student body but pulls down test scores.

In other words, look at the test scores, but also talk to real live people who are not employed by the school systems.

 

[tar heel]

Look at all these Tar Heels posting here! Shouldn't we all be watching the Davidson game?

ETA: I'm losing my mind -- the game's tomorrow night.

 

[jjohnson]

In the Charlotte area, I definitely agree with Weddington and know less about Piedmont but will continue to advise you to avoid Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. No matter how good Butler or Providence looks on paper, I wouldn't do it. The schools are way too big and have problems constantly.

Be careful about putting too much stock in test scores. We have a lot of ESL students in North Carolina, who are tested as if they know the language. For example, the elementary school in our district is one of the two or three highest socioeconomically and has the highest concentration of gifted students, but it also has almost 10% ESL. The test scores are solid but don't convey that it's probably the best elementary school in the district.
Likewise, while our high school (an impressive new facility like Weddington) has a big concentration of top students, we also serve the poorest area in the county -- makes for a good diverse student body but pulls down test scores.

In other words, look at the test scores, but also talk to real live people who are not employed by the school systems.

That's why I'm so grateful there are "live" people like you to help me out. I told DH tonight that I'd prefer to stay in the Raleigh area & not Charlotte so we have spent most of the evening doing home searches. Do your children attend Enloe?

 

[DVCajun]

We've lived in Raleigh for 7 and a half years and we LOVE it here! The weather is awesome-- you get the best of both worlds, a change of seasons, but a mild climate.

Re: schools-- Wake county (Raleigh) is growing sooo fast that the schools are trying to play catch up. That means that they're building schools as fast as they can but the population is ahead of them. HOWEVER, children in the same family shouldn't ever be on different tracks (in year-round schools). We're heading for kindergarten next year for our oldest child and we're opting for year round if we can get in. Year round schools are considered "magnet" schools at this point and aren't necesarilly a given.

re: RACISM-- I'm an adoptive mom of a black baby boy and a white boy. We're hoping to add to our family again with whatever God has for us, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a girl next time. ;-) Before we adopted our second child (black baby) we were very concerned about public opinion and whether our child would face negative attitudes from the community. We belong to a very diverse church family and our friend community is also very diverse so we felt we were bringing our son to a safe place otherwise-- but you can't control the world. BUT to our surprise and joy we have had nothing but wonderful reception from the community at large. Our son is 16 months old now and I rarely even think of the fact that he's a different color than me. Most people don't blink twice when they see us-- we're just a family in the community. I have several friends who also have families of mixed origen-- and there are many other families in this area that are the same. I've found Raleigh to be a wonderful place to raise a mixed-race family-- please feel free to PM me about this. I am always happy to talk about my experiences!

Bottom line-- I've lived in many states across the southeast-- North Carolina is truly one of the best places I've ever lived. Ok, it's THE best. The only reason I would ever leave is if I could live in Celebration, Florida. And you guys understand why.

 

[tar heel]

I'm in the Charlotte area instead of Raleigh. If you decide to go in this direction, I would recommend that you look at Concord/Cabarrus County.

 

[Straitlover]

DH is wondering how the area of Clayton is. We did drive thru there but it's all blurring together. I remember it being "flat" & not much of a downtown. Am I wrong? Also is anyone familiar with Hillsborough?

From looking at stats online it seems these are the top HS:

Apex
Fuquay
Chapel Hill
West Johnston
Cary



Joyce

West Johnson is about 5 miles from my house! I don't have kids, but from secondhand info from some families in my church, it is a good school. It just opened in the last 2-3 years. Like most schools around here, though, it's probably close to being overcrowded. This area has exploded so much w/ people moving here that the school systems just can't keep up.

Regarding Clayton, the actual town, yes, there's not much to it. In fact, if you just drive through on Hwy 70, you don't even see "downtown". Most people who have a Clayton address don't even live in town. I have a Clayton address, a Smithfield telephone number, and I live about 8 miles from the Clayton city limits in one direction and about 15 miles from Smithfield in another direction (I live in what is called unofficially the Cleveland School area between Hwy 42 and 210right off I-40). Anyway, the town of Clayton is growing some. They got a Super WalMart a couple of years ago. That's about the only place for clothing except for a couple of small shops in downtown. For most of your non-food shopping, you would need to head to either Garner, Raleigh or Smithfield (big outlet mall there) if it's not at or you don't wnat to go to WM.

My personal opinion, if you're used to bigger cities, I wouldn't go directly to Clayton; too much culture shock. I would head to Cary/Apex/Raleigh first. Then if you want to go smalltown (Apex is kinda smalltown still but growing at a rapid clip), you could look around and get a feel for where you want to go. If you buy a house right off, you'll have a better time selling in that area than in Johnston Co should you decide to move.

 

[jjohnson]

West Johnson is about 5 miles from my house! I don't have kids, but from secondhand info from some families in my church, it is a good school. It just opened in the last 2-3 years. Like most schools around here, though, it's probably close to being overcrowded. This area has exploded so much w/ people moving here that the school systems just can't keep up.

Regarding Clayton, the actual town, yes, there's not much to it. In fact, if you just drive through on Hwy 70, you don't even see "downtown". Most people who have a Clayton address don't even live in town. I have a Clayton address, a Smithfield telephone number, and I live about 8 miles from the Clayton city limits in one direction and about 15 miles from Smithfield in another direction (I live in what is called unofficially the Cleveland School area between Hwy 42 and 210right off I-40). Anyway, the town of Clayton is growing some. They got a Super WalMart a couple of years ago. That's about the only place for clothing except for a couple of small shops in downtown. For most of your non-food shopping, you would need to head to either Garner, Raleigh or Smithfield (big outlet mall there) if it's not at or you don't wnat to go to WM.

My personal opinion, if you're used to bigger cities, I wouldn't go directly to Clayton; too much culture shock. I would head to Cary/Apex/Raleigh first. Then if you want to go smalltown (Apex is kinda smalltown still but growing at a rapid clip), you could look around and get a feel for where you want to go. If you buy a house right off, you'll have a better time selling in that area than in Johnston Co should you decide to move.

Thank you Lisa. There are alot of homes for sale in the Clayton area than most others. Do you have any idea why?

Joyce

 

[vipcruizer]

I have lived in NC all of my life. I have lived in Durham, Raleigh and Greenville. I wouldn't suggest anyone who has children move to Durham. The school system is pathetic. I currently have my child in private school. We are toying with the idea of moving to Apex or Morrisville before middle school. I recently researched Wake County schools, and those areas tend to have the better scoring schools. Green Hope High School had the highest EOG testing scores.

I love it around here. I only wish it were warmer, although compared to Northern states, I'll take it!

 

[Straitlover]

Thank you Lisa. There are alot of homes for sale in the Clayton area than most others. Do you have any idea why?

Joyce

They are building homes left and right in the area. It's just a booming area; tons of people are moving out this way.

The area is fine. I like it out here; just wish I was a little closer to Raleigh (I live about 25 miles from work, amy my commute if I hit no traffic is about 40 minutes). I just suggested moving to the bigger area first because if you're not used to living out in the suburbs/boonies and don't like it and want to move closer to Raleigh, you would be able to sell a house in the Cary/Raleigh/Apex area to move to Clayton a lot easier than the other way around, and you would get a better price. Part of that is because of all those houses for sale you saw. Lots of empty new houses hurt the resale market. Come check us out. We would love to have you here!

Oh, I agree w/ the previous poster about Durham, but not for the same reasons (since I have no kids, I don't know much about the schools). No offense meant to posters that live there, but to me Durham is a dangerous town, based on what I see on the news. Lots of troubles w/ gangs, shootings, drugs, etc. It's becoming more prevalent all around here (and the rest of the country), but it just seems like to me the majority of the news stories are about Durham. Maybe it's news bias, maybe not. All I know is it makes me nervous, and I don't go to the downtown area unless I have to, and that's usually only because I need to go to Duke Hospital.