Hundreds of Wake students may change schools in 2026. Are your kids being moved?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Wake County plans to reassign students in 2026 to address school crowding.
- Hilltop Needmore Elementary will open on a year-round calendar to hold more students.
- Families can review maps, submit feedback, and seek transfer options post-approval.
Hundreds of Wake County public school students could be moved to different schools in 2026 as part of the new reassignnent plan.
Wake County school administrators on Tuesday presented the first draft of a student assignment plan for the 2026-27 school year that fills one new school and relieves crowding at existing schools. Most of the plan impacts southwestern Wake, where the new school will open.
Student reassignment has historically been a contentious topic, drawing complaints from families who don’t want to be moved. But student assignment staff said Tuesday that the proposed moves will bring needed relief to overcrowded schools
View the assignment plan
Last year, the school board approved a plan that moved more than 3,500 students. Most of the moves were meant to fill four new schools.
The exact total of the number of students who could be reassigned this year wasn’t provided on Tuesday. But school assignment staff said it will be fewer students than last year.
“We tried to keep it as small as we could,” said Susan Pullium, senior director of student assignment.
The public can view the plan at the district’s new student assignment plan website (https://www.wcpss.net/Page/58486). People can go to https://osageo.wcpss.net/enrollment-proposal-lookup/ to search if their address will be affected.
People can provide feedback at an online forum (https://my.thoughtexchange.com/scroll/697753802/welcome). School officials say they use the feedback to decide whether to make changes for the second draft, which will be released Oct. 21
Under the proposed timeline, the school board will hold a public hearing Oct. 21. The final plan is scheduled to be presented to the school board on Nov. 18 for a vote.
Filling a new school
In prior years, Wake would move thousands of students to fill multiple new schools. But growth has slowed.
In 2026, Wake is only opening Hilltop Needmore Elementary School in Fuquay-Varina.
School administrators are recommending opening Hilltop on a multi-track, year-round calendar. This will allow the building to serve more students than it would on a traditional calendar.
The proposal recommends filling Hilltop by moving some students from Ballentine, Banks Road and West Lake elementary schools. This would reduce overcrowding at Ballentine and Banks Road.
Moves related with filling Hilltop Needmore
The filling of Hilltop will cause several moves at other schools:
- Move some students from Middle Creek Elementary to Oak Grove Elementary or West Lake Elementary. This is meant to reduce future projected crowding at Middle Creek and fill Oak Grove and West Lake.
- Move some students from Vance Elementary to Banks Road Elementary. Wake says it would reduce crowding and make better use of available space at Vance.
- Move some students from Herbert Akins Road Middle and Dillard Drive Middle to West Lake Middle. Wake says it aligns feeder patterns and reduces crowding at Herbert Akins.
- Move some students from Willow Spring High to Middle Creek High. Wake says it aligns feeder patterns and reduces overcrowding at Willow Spring.
Growth coming to Eastern Wake schools
Other assignment moves in the plan include:
- Move some students from Lufkin Road Middle and Salem Middle to Apex Middle. Wake says it aligns feeder patterns for families assigned to Baucom Elementary.
- Move some students from Apex Friendship High to Apex High. Wake says it aligns feeder patterns for families assigned to Baucom Elementary.
- Move some students from White Oak Elementary to Turner Creek Elementary. It’s meant to relieve crowding at White Oak and fill Turner Creek.
- Move some students from Mills Park Elementary to Salem Elementary. It provides feeder pattern alignment and K-8 calendar alignment, relieves crowding at Mills Park and helps fill Salem.
- Move some students from Zebulon Elementary to Carver Elementary. It would address growth in the area and relieve crowding at Zebulon.
- Move some from Zebulon Middle to Wendell Middle. It aligns feeder patterns.
- Changes are proposed for the calendar application schools for several neighborhoods.
The growth coming to eastern Wake is not something that people might be used to, but it is coming, according to Pullium.
“We’ve got a lot of homes coming online quickly,” Pullium said.
Stability transfers
Once the plan is approved, Wake will open a “stability transfer period,” or what used to be called “grandfathering.” This is an option that allows some students who are being moved to stay at their current school in exchange for losing bus service.
The proposed stability rules will vary depending on whether a student is being reassigned to a new school or an existing one.
- Current students rising into grades 4-5 who are reassigned to Hilltop Needmore can stay if they provide their own transportation. In addition, their younger siblings can stay with them at their current school.
- Current students rising into grades 1-5 who are reassigned to an existing elementary school can stay without bus service at their current school. Their younger siblings who are entering kindergarten next year can stay with them.
- Current students rising into grades 7-8 who are reassigned to an existing middle school can stay without bus service at their current school. Their younger siblings who are entering sixth grade next year can stay with them.
- Current students rising into grades 10-12 who are reassigned to an existing high school can stay without bus service at their current school. Their younger siblings who will be rising freshmen next year can stay with them.
This story was originally published September 2, 2025 at 6:07 PM.
