Summary:
Wake Forest, North Carolina, is home to 15 schools serving roughly 15,492 students across elementary, middle, and high school levels, offering families access to a broad mix of traditional Wake County Schools campuses and independently operated charter schools. Eight are elementary or K-8 schools, two serve middle school students, three are high schools, and two are K-12 or alternative schools. The city stands out for its remarkable concentration of top-ranked charter and K-8 schools, but outcomes are notably uneven across the traditional public attendance zones.
The strongest academic performers are predominantly charter schools. Endeavor Charter School, ranked #12 of 1,492 elementary schools statewide, averages roughly 91% EOG proficiency with just 6.7% chronic absenteeism. Envision Science Academy ranks #60 statewide at about 87% proficiency, and Franklin Academy posts outstanding results at every level, including 97% English II EOC proficiency and the city's lowest chronic absenteeism at 6.3%. Among traditional public schools, Heritage Middle ranks #49 of 778 middle schools with a 5-star rating, Jones Dairy Elementary ranks #92 of 1,492 elementary schools, and North Wake College and Career Academy is the top public high school at #110 of 662 with EOC results dramatically above state averages.
The flip side is stark. Wake Forest Middle School ranks just #443 of 778 middle schools with 2 stars, and 8th grade math proficiency sits at 35.9% versus 76.3% at Heritage Middle. Chronic absenteeism at Wake Forest Middle is the city's highest at 34.7%, and 57.18% of its students receive free/reduced-price lunch, compared with 16.9% at Heritage Middle. The two comprehensive high schools, Wake Forest High School and Heritage High, both post Math I EOC scores below the state average despite solid graduation rates. Families will find some of North Carolina's very best schools here, but the higher-poverty schools with elevated chronic absenteeism remain the critical focus for improvement.
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