{"id":1242,"date":"2026-05-28T23:36:03","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T23:36:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1242"},"modified":"2026-05-28T23:36:03","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T23:36:03","slug":"wakes-student-enrollment-has-dropped-overall-but-pockets-of-growth-remain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1242","title":{"rendered":"Wake\u2019s student enrollment has dropped overall, but pockets of growth remain"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n

Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

Fewer students attended Wake County public schools this year, but you wouldn\u2019t be able to tell by looking at the neighborhoods around Apex Friendship Elementary School.<\/p>\n

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New residential housing is constantly springing up by the campus shared by Apex Friendship elementary, middle and high schools.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been 50 years since Wake County and Raleigh City Schools merged, and there\u2019s no longer a guarantee that the district\u2019s enrollment will grow. But pockets of highly concentrated growth remain that school leaders say still needs to be addressed.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes I\u2019ll go by and I\u2019ll be like, \u2018I can\u2019t believe a whole neighborhood fits there,\u2019\u201d Tara Yunker, principal of Apex Friendship Elementary, said in an interview with The News & Observer. \u201cBut somehow they make an entire neighborhood, many times of townhomes, fit. So we\u2019re still growing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Growth has been a significant player in the school system\u2019s story since 1976. Enrollment has nearly tripled over the past 50 years to 160,413 students in the 2025-26 school year.<\/p>\n

Wake is now the largest school district in the state and the 14th largest nationally.<\/p>\n

The growth has brought annual fights with parents over reassigning thousands of students to fill new schools and to ease crowding at existing schools.<\/p>\n

Tyler Swanson<\/p>\n

Wake County\u2019s growth isn\u2019t slowing down. It had seven of the state\u2019s 15 fastest-growing towns last year, The N&O previously reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur counterparts on the (Wake County Board of) Commissioners tell us every day that 18 babies a day are being born at WakeMed,\u201d school board chair Tyler Swanson said in an interview. \u201cThat\u2019s a kindergarten class that\u2019s happening daily.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet the number of students in the district dropped by 702 this school year and remains below pre-pandemic levels. Planners project the district will grow by only 48 students this fall and by 2,633 students<\/a> over the next decade.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s still enough growth that the school board has asked for a $680 million construction bond referendum<\/a> to be placed on the Nov. 3 ballot. It would help pay for three new schools, eight major renovations and other projects.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are growing, just not at the rate that we would anticipate, and a lot of it has to do with the landscape of choices that parents are able to make,\u201d Wake County Superintendent Robert Taylor said in an interview.<\/p>\n

The array of school choices means more than a quarter of the county\u2019s students attend charter schools, private schools or are homeschooling instead of going to a district school.<\/p>\n

The town of Apex\u2019s popularity as the state\u2019s 10th-fastest growing town last year means the area has attracted more charter schools and private schools.<\/p>\n

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But Apex Friendship Elementary is holding its own against the increased competition. There\u2019s a waiting list of 178 students trying to get into Apex Friendship. Those students are going to Baucom Elementary School until a spot opens up for them at Apex Friendship.<\/p>\n

Families are attracted to Apex Friendship\u2019s strong academic reputation and the chance to stay on the same campus through high school graduation.<\/p>\n

Apex Friendship earned an \u201cA\u201d school performance grade from the state in the 2024-25 school year. Students exceeded academic growth targets on state exams.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe challenge our students, we grow our students,\u201d Yunker said. \u201cUltimately, it is a family\u2019s choice, but we still think we\u2019re the best choice for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like other schools, Apex Friendship also has to navigate a politically charged environment. As exemplified in the state\u2019s Parents\u2019 Bill of Rights law, critics are looking at what materials are in schools and what\u2019s being taught in classrooms.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike all schools, we follow WCPSS Board policy regarding instructional materials. In everything we do, we are driven by a simple principle: Do what\u2019s best for students,\u201d Yunker said.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a price for being so popular.<\/p>\n

Apex Friendship has an enrollment of 862 students, putting it 20% over its enrollment capacity this school year. It\u2019s among 18 Wake County schools that are under an enrollment cap this year,<\/a> down from 22 schools last year.<\/p>\n

Despite the crowding, the school district hasn\u2019t transitioned Apex Friendship to a multi-track year-round calendar as a way to increase building capacity.<\/p>\n

Instead, the school does the best it can with its limited space.<\/p>\n

State K-3 class size limits restrict how many children are in the younger grades. But class sizes hit 30 students in fourth and fifth grades.<\/p>\n

Small groups of students meet in the hallways. As many as 60 children cram into the gym for physical education classes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just do things in a big way,\u201d Yunker said. \u201cEverything\u2019s big,\u201d<\/p>\n

Amy Skorich, the school\u2019s PTA president, helps out by serving as the substitute teacher while the regular physical education teacher is on maternity leave.<\/p>\n

Things can get crowded, but Skorich said she prefers that to the smaller schools she experienced while growing up in Massachusetts.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just opens your eyes to all of the different types of families,\u201d Skorich said in an interview. \u201cIt just brings that much more of everything to our lives, and I think having it bigger just allows you to do many more things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Woman accused of trying to \u2018steal\u2019 Raleigh man\u2019s $4M home is back behind bars<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published May 28, 2026 at 5:15 AM.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Despite districtwide decline, Wake County has concentrated growth in towns like Apex, driving overcrowding, reassignment and a November bond vote.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1241,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nWake\u2019s student enrollment has dropped overall, but pockets of growth remain - Durham Moving Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1242\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wake\u2019s student enrollment has dropped overall, but pockets of growth remain - 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