279 Cromwell Ct
Raeford, NC 28376

The lack of communication between the VP and Principle is astounding. To start, I introduced myself, and the vice-principal said, oh, so you're the big dog? What is that supposed to mean? I recently had an issue with my son and another student. My son was suspended for two days without having any problems before this, minus minor stuff. Yet, when I talked to the VP, they didn't seem to care about my child's needs. I had expressed several times to the principal and VP that my son is going through medication changes. We are currently waiting for a psych eval, and so far, the system has failed him in getting him tested. Even the school said we don't or can't test him because of lack of personnel and the same issue last year when I requested my other son to test for an IEP. I am currently seeking a psych eval. Instead of being understanding and supportive, the administration said, we are treating this no different as if your son brought a gun to school. Keep in mind that my son is five and did no physical harm to the other student. I have asked several times to speak in person with the VP or Principle to no avail. I showed up this morning, and the person at the door said they were helping in the car lane couldn't speak to me right now. I emailed the school on Friday to set up a time to talk to them about what happened. This was at 5:12 pm Friday. I still don't have a response back from anyone. I emailed again this morning, and still no response back. I even left my cell number. Yes, I understand that my son isn't the only kid in the school, but If a parent shows his concern, It's important to address that parent rather than ignore him.

Please don't send your child here. We moved to this district with high hopes after having bad experiences with another NC high school. Hopes were dashed quickly. NC schools, in general, seem to not care about IEPs or 504 plans. We were told in our meeting with the counselor and only one teacher that since our child was making at least a B in every class that they did not need accommodations! My child has chronic health conditions that include widespread chronic pain and brain fog and orthostatic intolerance, etc. They sometimes need to use a cane due to joint weakness! They also have mental health conditions brought on due to their chronic health conditions. This school was a nightmare for my teenager. My teen tried to drop a class that was causing them to feel depressed and they had been having suicidal thoughts because of the stress of the entire experience (between having classes that were spread out across the entire campus that they had almost no time to rush to while using a cane and nearly passing out due to tachycardia, not being able to eat lunch because there are so many students and the line is so long that the lunch break is over before half of them get to get their food every day!, and dealing with one teacher who may as well have been a Confederate soldier who yelled at everyone and another who was putting extreme pressure on them to be his pet artist due to my kid's talent). The last straw was when we got called to pick my teen up because they were a "suicide" risk due to looking up ways to AVOID suicide on their Chromebook at school one day. They were told not to come back unless they had a note from a random mental health place that assesses for suicide risk. Even though my child already had a therapist and doctors. This place is why they dropped out of school. They are now doing amazing at the end of freshman year at WCU, after getting a high school equivalency diploma. Oh and this high school never even gave me my kid's records when asked.

This school is a living NIGHTMARE! I was here for 6th grade and Q1 7th grade and I'm SO GLAD I changed schools and my best friend moved before she could join. Here were almost all the issues I saw happen here: First, bullying. Second, kids being extremely loud every second. Third, not being able to go to the bathroom often even if you had bladder issues or was on your cycle. Fourth, not letting kids that need earmuffs or noise cancelation headphones use them. Fifth, discrimination. Sixth, the principle was literally friends and defending the immature kids. Seventh, (a personal experience I had as someone with a 504 plan for ADHD combo, Anxiety and PTSD) I was supposed to go to a separate room for testing and they wouldn't let me. Eighth, horrid lunch. Nineth, not good leadership. Tenth, rude staff. Eleventh, some students didn't have a locker when they should've already got one and paid for it. Twelfth, not letting kids go to the nurse's office when actually sick, like, I just vomited, I have a fever, my throats sore and I've been in the bathroom stall for an hour, what more proof do you need? There's more, but I'll stop there. I don't recommend this school unless you want your child to either be immature, disrespectful and inappropriate or terrified, quiet and uncomfortable.

My son is currently a sophomore SandHoke early college high school. He is a very smart kid & pretty good student who ALWAYS completes his work although at times not to his greatest ability. Now, at this school he has flourished, he had grown in maturity as well as academically. While he still doesn't LOVE going to school (what teen does) he doesn't want to miss a day. He comes home telling me all that he has learned and has a new eagerness to learn. He has 2 college classes he has just started and I can just see the pride he has when he tells people he is taking college courses and will graduate with a diploma & an Associates degree. Unfortunately, we have just found out that we will be relocating VERY soon to another area with a poor school system. As heartbreaking as this is we may consider having our son stay behind with family because he loves his school. So, as rambling as the review may be just know this...my family would highly recommend this school. Im just sad that my soon to be middle schooler will be missing out on this opportunity.