Village of Whispering Pines, North Carolina

This is the third installment about the charming Village of Whispering Pines, North Carolina prepared by resident Betsy N. Robinson of Area Real Estate Partners, Inc.  In this article we will feature the wonderful educational faciliities located in this area.  

While Whispering Pines was originally developed as a retirement community, the 2000 Census reported that 28.4% of the population in the Village is now 44 years of age or younger.  This number will certainly increase with the information being collected in the 2010 Census, as many of the buyers of recent homes are younger families with children.  Parents of elementary school age children are particularly attracted to the quality of education offered by the Farm Life School System (http://www.greatschools.net/modperl/achievement/nc/1359).  The New Century Middle School  also lives up to its reputation of being a quality school, [http://www.greatschools.net/modperl/achievement/nc/1367)and high school age students have the choice of attending the local Union Pines High School (http://www.greatschools.net/modperl/achievement/nc/1362  or the larger Pinecrest High School located in Pinehurst. (http://www.greatschools.net/modperl/achievement/nc/1356)   

Those families who chose private schooling will find the noted O'Neal School http://www.onealschool.org/ located just two miles from the Village.   There are other options also available, such as the Episcopal Day School http://www.episcopalday.org/ as well as the public charter school known as the Sandhills Theater Arts Renaissance School http://www.sandhillsrenaissance.com/about.htm.

High school graduates who wish to start their college training at the very successful Sandhills Community College http://www.sandhills.cc.nc.us/ will find that campus also located within two miles of the Village just across the street from the O'Neal School.  This Community College was chartered in 1963, officially opened October 1, 1965, and was the first comprehensive (i.e., offering a college transfer degree) community college in North Carolina.

The Sandhills Community College is not just for the recent high school graduate.  Numerous classroom and on-line classes at reduced rates or free are available for Moore County retirees.  In 2001, the Center for Creative Retirement was established at the college to provide programs and resources to enhance the intellectual, physical and personal well being of the large number of active seniors in the Sandhills area.  There is no excuse not to be proficient on the computer, in the garden, or with a camera and/or many other creative fine arts given all the programs available here.  The classes and activities are too numerous to mention so here is the link to access the catalog yourself at http://www.sandhills.edu/ced/sccr.html. 

The College also offers a wide variety of lectures and concerts, including the free Ruth Pauley Lecture Series (www.sandhills.edu/news/pauley.html.), and various exhibits such as the popular 27 acre Horticultural Gardens that includes a formal English design, collections of conifers and holly, a native wetland trail, a fruit and vegetable garden, roses, azaleas, rhododendrons, and a xeriscape devoted to cacti, yuccas, and other succulents.

Please stay tuned for more information about this wonderful diversified community.  Should you have any questions please call Betsy N. Robinson @ 910-639-0695 or Anita M. Emery @ 910-639-1751 to explore what you can expect if you were to choose to live in the Village of Whispering Pines, North Carolina.