2019-2020 Wake School Assignments will Change with 3 New Cary Schools

Cary school assignments will change for 2019-2020

Three new Cary area schools

Three new schools are opening in the Cary area for the 2019-2020 school year. Parkside Elementary, Alston Ridge Middle and Green Level High The opening may affect the caps in several Cary schools. Along with helping out with the overcrowding there will be reassignments too.

Changes in attendance areas

With the new schools opening two changes are worth paying attention to. The first is the change in attendance areas (reassignment). Neighborhoods that have been assigned to a base school in the past may be moved to another school. Here is the final Board of Education Draft 3 proposal which will be voted on November 20th 2018. This is just the attendance plan for the changes in attendance areas and doesn’t reflect the possible capping changes. Here is a link to the Envision Wake public discussion board and a summary below of the draft proposals from the site.

Here are the main staff proposals in Draft 3. This is for all of Wake County, not just Cary.

• Remove Draft 2 recommendation to assign some Poe Elementary students to Southeast Raleigh Elementary.
• Remove recommendation to assign some students at Highcroft Drive Elementary and Weatherstone Elementary to Green Hope Elementary.
• Remove recommendation to move some Davis Drive Middle students to East Cary Middle.
• Remove recommendation to move some students in Kingswood Elementary base to West Cary Middle. They would remain at Reedy Creek Middle.
• Remove recommendation to assign some Martin Middle students to Reedy Creek Middle.
• A portion of the Reedy Creek Middle base proposed to attend West Cary Middle will now be proposed to attend East Cary Middle.
• The grandfathering rules for middle school students are proposed to change. Under Draft 3, 7th and 8th graders assigned to an existing school, i.e. not the new Alston Ridge Middle, would be eligible to grandfather.
• Remove recommendation to assign portion of Sanderson High base attendance area to Southeast Raleigh Magnet High.
• Staff continues to recommend that Parkside Elementary and Alston Ridge Middle open as multi-track year-round schools. This is to provide additional student capacity in a heavily populated area.
• Students assigned to Parkside Elementary would have the opportunity to apply to Powell Magnet Elementary or Pleasant Grove Elementary. Powell students would be eligible for neighborhood transportation. Pleasant Grove students would be eligible for express transportation.

Changes in capped schools

Capped schools for 2019-2020 haven’t been decided. Typically capping changes are in January but that’s just a guess. Here is some info about the capped schools for 2018-2019.

You’ll see that it’s pretty impossible to know for sure where your kids will go to school. The good news is that they are all highly ranked and the new schools attract good teachers and draw from good schools. Schools are really close together too.

Parkside Elementary

Parkside Elementary will open in Morrisville.

Schools possibly impacted by reassignment for the 2019-2020 school year

Schools that will be possibly impacted by Parkside Elementary opening are Mills Park Elementary (capped), Alston Ridge, Carpenter (capped), Morrisville and Cedar Fork (capped). At this point it hasn’t been decided if the new school will be year around or traditional calendar. Traditional is more popular but the schools are really overcrowded in that part of Cary/Morrisville and multi-track year around could increase the enrollment by over 200 students.

Neighborhoods possibly impacted by redistricting

Some of the big neighborhoods that could have changes in elementary schools when Parkside is opened are: Cary Park, Breckenridge, Cameron Park, Carpenter Village, Evans Farm, Greystone, Indian Wells, Kitts Creek, Preston, Stonewater, Sedgefield, Savannah, Town Hall Commons and Weldon Ridge.

Alston Ridge Middle School

Alston Ridge will be next to Alston Ridge Elementary

Schools possibly impacted by redistricting

Schools possibly impacted when Alston Ridge Middle School opens are East Cary, Davis Drive, Mills Park (capped), Reedy Creek (capped), West Cary and Salem. The board hasn’t decided if it will be traditional or multi-track year around. Year around would add around 300 more students. I was going to list neighborhoods but there are too many. Pretty much everything in Cary could be impacted.

Green Level High

Schools that may have reassignments when Green Level High opens

Green Level High is a new school in West Cary/Apex and has been home to Apex High students and staff for the past school year and will continue through 2018 when Apex High renovations are completed. Green Level will open for 9th-11th grades 2019. Schools on the possible impact list are Panther Creek, Green Hope, Apex, Panther Creek and Cary.

It’s hardest for high school students

It’s always hard for high school students to change schools. They have their school identity and all of the sports and activities that go along with it. It is sort of expected that a new high will open for 9th and 10th. Having Green Level open for 11th grade the first year will be interesting. The local news will have lots of material showing angry parents and students!

Marianne Howell Wright 919-274-4365