DURHAM, N.C. (WNCN) — Hundreds of students and parents in Durham are about to feel the growing pains of the school district.
Beginning in late July, more than 1,000 Durham elementary students are being reassigned to new schools. It comes out of the system’s new Growing Together plan, adjusting its district boundaries for the first time in nearly 30 years. Durham Public Schools is now dividing its elementary boundaries into five regions, designed to ensure diversity and equitable access to academic programs for all.
“It’s important that we do define diversity, because what we mean by diversity is we want our schools to look like our larger community,” DPS Magnet Specialist Rita Rathbone said during a press call on Tuesday. This upcoming school year, more than 1,500 Durham elementary students are switching buildings as part of this Growing Together plan. According to the district, each school is adding special programs including arts, global language and STEM.
Families can still apply to year-round and Montessori schools close to home. The goal is to make access to those options easier. “What we’ve seen historically is that our application programs had priority zones, and those priority zones often traced wealthy neighborhoods,” DPS school planning director Matthew Palmer said.
Leaders are also working to make options closer for families, providing shorter transportation to class. “For these babies and these families that are participating, we do acknowledge t.
