What’s the difference between Johnston Co. and Wake Co. Schools?

What’s the difference between Johnston County and Wake County Schools?


This is a topic that came up recently as Wake County Schools have started their new school allocation system for the first time this week. I have no idea how it works but here is what I have read. Earlier this year parents had to register their child/children with the school they wanted to attend, it was done on a first come first served basis, so if you weren’t in time your child would then be sent to your second choice and if that was full then your third and so on.


Some schools filled up immediately and others had spaces on Monday July 9TH when the schools opened, ( Wake County is on a year round system so some kids went back Monday). This does not surprise me as obviously the higher rated schools will fill up first. Now the question arises is what happens if you are relocating to the Raleigh area and you want to enrol your kids in a good school?  What if you are ready to move up to a bigger home where will the kids go to school? The other issue facing parents is choosing a traditional calendar school versus a year round school.

Now we all know school districts and school boards  have to manage the big picture and you are always  going to have good schools and bad schools in each one, and the Johnston County School District is no different when it comes to that. Each school in Johnston County should be judged individually. Here’s where things get a little easier to understand, in Johnston County each school has an area of the county it serves, so you can tell if a certain neighborhood or subdivision or even a particular lot is in a certain schools area. All schools in JOCO are on the traditional calendar for now!

There is a state wide grading system for schools where you can and should go to check on the schools your kids might be attending. Johnston County student achievement ranks among the top 20% of all North Carolina districts. There has been tremendous growth in recent years and Johnston County has added schools like Corinth Holder High, Cleveland High, but with the influx of families to Johnston County it won’t be long before they have to build more.

Home prices in Johnston County have traditionally been lower than most of Wake. Land is more available and so people who want a larger lot and more space have moved to JOCO.Transportation has improved greatly with new highways.