116 Redfern Dr
Cary, NC 27518

As a parent of two students at Athens, we have had a great experience. Administrators and staff truly care about the well-being of students and encourage all students to get involved & pursue their passions. We feel that our students will be well prepared for college and have benefitted from a diverse student body.

We moved to the area in 2021 and Penny Road has been a wonderful school for all of my kids. It is a very welcoming community, with an engaged PTA, and several community events throughout the year. We've loved every teacher my kids have had K-5th- they are dedicated, caring, intentional, and hard-working. They have all gotten to know my kids' individual personalities and needs and shown compassion and understanding. Even though there has been some turnover in principals, the school still feels like a connected community with a lot of good energy. The AIG teacher is phenomenal, there is a great Music and Art program, and my son loves the new PE teacher who started this school year. We love that it is one of the smaller Wake County schools as teachers and admin are able to get to know everyone. The book fair in the fall, pizza and popsicle parties on the playground, and the Spring Carnival are such wonderful community events. Please don't let the lower test scores scare you - standardized test scores do not define a school. Penny Road Pandas are the best.

I have two 6th graders and we are very happy with DDMMS so far. I love the core principles they follow and instill into the kids, I love how it is phone-free during school hours, and I have had nothing but good interactions with all staff who are very friendly and helpful. They also have fun club options - mine are loving Dungeons & Dragons club and Chess club - and look forward to the Minecraft/gaming/coding club. I actually wish they were MORE strict with things, such as dress code for example (I've seen a few too may crop tops and pajama pants than I'd like), but that is on parents more than a school to teach better basics.I'd say to be weary of older reviews because the school has apparently changed very much for the good over the years, with new principal, staff, and magnet status. Also know that this is a large school that feeds from three elementary schools, so it has all the same basic problems as all schools with underpaid teachers, underpaid bus drivers & shortage, underfunded food program, and you will always have poorly-behaved children. PLEASE do everything YOU can at home as a parent and a fellow citizen to support our public schools (especially with your vote ;) otherwise you cannot complain. We are all in this education and parenting thing together! :)