Triangle-Area Private Schools

• Bethesda Christian Academy, Durham, grades: K-8, www.bcacrusaders.org
• Bryson Christian Montessori School, Durham, 1 year-K, www.brysonchristianmontessori.com
• Camelot Academy, Durham, K-12, www.camelotacademy.org
• Cardinal Gibbons High School, Raleigh, 9-12, www.cghsnc.org
• Carolina Friends School, Durham, PreK-12, www.cfsnc.org
• Cary Academy, Cary, 6-12, www.caryacademy.org
• Community Independent School, Pittsboro, Preschool-K, http://www.communityindependentschool.org/
• Cresset Christian Academy, Infant-12, Durham, www.cressetchristian.org
• Duke School, Durham, Preschool-8, www.dukeschool.org
• Durham Academy, Durham, PreK-12, www.da.org
• Durham Nativity School, Durham, boys 6-8, no tuition, www.durhamnativity.org
• Emerson Waldorf School, Chapel Hill, PreK-12, www.emersonwaldorf.org
• Faith Assembly Christian Academy, Durham, K-12, www.faccministries.org
• Fellowship Baptist Academy, Durham, K-12, http://www.fbcofdurham.org/
• Five Oaks Seventh-Day Adventist Christian School, Durham, PreK-8, www.fiveoaksschool.org
• Gorman Christian Academy and Early Learning Center, Durham, PreK-8, http://www.gormanbc.org/gca.htm
• Immaculata Catholic School, Durham, PreK-8, www.immaculataschool.org
• International Montessori School, Durham, Age 2 ½ -Grade 3, www.imsnc.org
• Lerner Jewish Community Day School, Durham, Age 3-Gade 5, www.lernerschool.org
• Liberty Christian School, Durham, PreK-12, www.libertychristiandurham.org
• Montessori Children’s House, Durham, Pre-K-6, www.mchdurham.org
• Montessori Community School, Durham, Age 2-Grade 8, www.mcsdurham.org
• Montessori Day School, Chapel Hills, PreK-6, www.mdsch.org
• Montessori Farm School, Hillsborough, Age 3-4, www.montessorifarmschool.com
• Mount Zion Christian Academy, Durham, K-12, www.mzcadurham.org
• Pinewoods Montessori School, Hillsborough, PreK-4, www.pinewoodsmontessori.com
• Quality Education Institute, Durham, PreK-6, www.qeidurham.org
• St. Thomas More Catholic School, Chapel Hill, PreK-8, www.st-thomasmore.org
• The Hill Center, Durham, K-12, www.hillcenter.org
• Triangle Day School, Durham, K-8, www.triangledayschool.org
• Trinity School of Durham and Chapel Hill, Durham, K-12, www.trinityschoolnc.org
• Agape Corner School, Durham, K-12, no tuition, www.agapecorner.org
• American Hebrew Academy, Greensboro, 9-12, www.americanhebrewacademy.org
• Asheville School, Asheville, 9-12, www.ashevilleschool.org
• Christ School, Asheville, 8-12, www.christschool.org
• The Outdoor Academy, Pisgah Forest, 10^th grade, www.salemacademy.com
• Saint Mary’s School, Raleigh, girls 9-12, www.sms.edu

Alternatives to Traditional Public Schools

The Durham-Chapel Hill area has the highest concentration of private schools in the state with more than 5,700 students attending some 25 independent schools, according to Linda Nelson of the N.C. Association of Independent Schools. Yearly tuition ranges from $2,400 at one of the church-based schools to $39,495 at one of the exclusive college-preparatory boarding schools. For a complete list of area private schools, visit: http://ncolderhouse.blogspot.com/2010/01/triangle-area-private-schools.html


For parents who are unable to or who would rather not subsidize the property taxes they already pay to the public schools, there are the magnet schools and the charter schools. A magnet school is part of the public school system that focuses on a specific mission such as the arts, the sciences or mathematics. A charter school is not part of the county schools, but is overseen by the state board of education and has a specific mission.


The Durham Public School system has nine public magnet schools. To be eligible for enrollment, students enter a computerized lottery. In order to apply for the upcoming year in Durham for example, students must apply in January and there is a first drawing of names in February. Then there is another shuffle in May, which may or may not result in a student receiving an offer of admission. Student may reapply if they don’t make it in on their first try.


Durham’s magnet schools are:
• Club Bouleveard Humanities Magnet School, grades: K-5, www.clubblvd.dpsnc.net
• R.N. Harris Integrated Arts/Core Knowledge Magnet School, K-5, www.harris.dpsnc.net
• Morehead Montessori School, PreK-5, www.morehead.dpsnc.net
• George Watts Montessori Magnet School, PreK-5, www.watts.dpsnc.net
• W.G. Pearson Gifted and Talented Magnet Elementary School, K-5, www.pearson.dpsnc.net
• Durham School for the Arts, 6-12, www.dsa.dpsnc.net
• Hillside International Baccalaureate High School, 9-10, Middle Years Program; 11-12, Diploma Program
www.hillside.dpsnc.net/academic-programs/international-baccalaureate-programme
• Shepard International Baccalaureate Middle School, 6-8, www.shepard.dpsnc.net
• W.G. Pearson Magnet Middle School, 6-7, www.wgpearsonms.dpsnc.net


Charter schools are prevented by state law from charging tuition. The entrance policies to the charter schools are similar to the magnet schools in that a lottery is also held for students desiring admittance. Lotteries are open to the public and held in late winter or early spring. Waiting lists with available spaces are based on the lottery results with applications often continuing to be accepted after the lotteries, with wait-listed students being accepted when openings are available. Siblings of already-enrolled students will receive priority placement.


I have a number of friends who live in some of Durham’s downtown historic neighborhoods, including Morehead Hill and Lakewood-Tuscaloosa and many of their children attend charter school Central Park for Children http://www.centralparkschoolforchildren.org


Voyager Academy, 4-8, http://www.voyageracademy.net/home/contactus.html, is located in North Durham. Voyager Principal and Managing Director Carl Forsyth attends church with me at Aldersgate United Methodist Church. Carl’s sons and my son are Eagle Scouts in Boy Scout Troop 400 at Aldersgate.


Other Durham charter schools are:
• Carter Community, K-8, www.carterschool.org
• Healthy Start Academy, K-8, www.healthystartacademy.com
• Kestrel Heights School, 6-12, www.kestrelheights.org
• Maureen Joy Charter School, K-8, www.joycharter.org
• Research Triangle Charter Academy, K-8, http://researchtriangle.heritageacademies.com


Hopefully the above web sites will supply you with everything you need to know about our schools. But if you would be interested in speaking to any of my friends with children who attend these schools, feel free to let me know and I will be happy to put you in touch!

Voyager Academy is a charter school located in North Durham.

An Up-Close and Personal Look at Durham Public Schools

Above, are two proud 2009 winter Durham Public School graduates.

My husband and I have always been advocates of public education and our college-aged son is a product of the Durham Public Schools. He will be graduating this spring with a 3.9 grade-point average from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He scored very high on his Graduate Record Examinations and is in the process now of applying at ivy-league schools across the country for entrance into their graduate and doctorate-level programs.


I mention all of this not to brag about our high-achieving, academically-gifted son, but to assure newcomers of the excellent quality of education that students can receive in the Durham Public School system. He attended Easley Elementary (a year-round school); and Carrington Middle and Riverside High (both traditional) schools.


Although it is shocking that the Durham Public School System has two of the worst high schools in the state (Southern and Hillside), the district ranks among the highest in per-pupil spending. In contrast, Durham's high-ranking high schools are Durham School for the Arts and Jordan; with Riverside and Northern not too far behind in ranking.


According to an editorial that ran in today’s Durham Herald-Sun newspaper, “DPS gets money from federal, state and local taxes. With a cumulative $9,335.09 spent per pupil in 2007-2008 (the most recent data available), DPS ranks 25th in the state for what it shells out per child. (We rank sixth for local dollars poured into our schools — $3,077.23 per pupil in 2007-2008, according to the Department of Public Instruction.)” The editorial pointed out that a huge chunk of this money was being poured into both Southern and Hillside to help boost them “out of the basement.”


When we first moved to North Carolina, we were thankful for an excellent resource through the NC Department of Education that annually ranks all the public schools in the state based on teacher quality, school safety, school technology class size and attendance. It’s an excellent tool that I like to share with all of my buyers with school-aged children: http://www.ncreportcards.org/src/