19 Red Lane
Raleigh, NC 27609

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 are now in my daughter's second year at Farmington Woods, where she has attended kindergarten and is now in first grade. Overall, we have had a great experience. First, I want to highlight the positives—this may be the most important indicator of a good school for me: my daughter genuinely loves going to school every day. She is excited in the mornings at drop-off and equally enthusiastic at pick-up as she shares stories about her day. As a parent, it's wonderful to see her so engaged. She also adores her teachers and insists on visiting her teacher from last year during every family school event. I appreciate her teachers as well and can see that they genuinely care about their work.The school emphasizes community values, which I value greatly. However, my daughter has faced challenges with learning, particularly in reading and spelling. Her teachers have been proactive in intervening, creating a plan, and maintaining communication with me to ensure she receives the support she needs. I am extremely grateful for their efforts.My experience with communication from staff and teachers at the school has been inconsistent, which is why I rated it a 4 out of 5. I rated the Special Education services a 3 out of 5. My daughter has struggled with speech, and her kindergarten teachers recognized this early, suggesting an evaluation for speech therapy. Unfortunately, there was a delay due to a new speech therapist transitioning into the role, so she didn’t start therapy until the last month of the school year.As we enter the second year, I have received no communication from the speech therapist, which is concerning. This lack of communication creates a disconnect and makes me feel unaware of the support my child is receiving. I don’t think it's a matter of the therapist's ability or care; rather, it seems to stem from poor communication and possible staffing issues. Overall, the positives at Farmington Woods Magnet Elementary outweigh the negatives, and we’re happy to be here.

I mean I guess it’s a fine school? They have a LOT of electives and the teachers are…fine? If you’re a kid/parent who wants a HELPFUL and SUPPORTIVE teacher it really depends on which one you get. Some are better than others. They have an AMAZING arts programs with good teachers (though if you’re interested in dance, good luck with that). One major problem is the bullying. If you’re a kid who is like DIFFERENT from others, whether it be queer or just interested in “weird” things, you’re screwed. Some kids are fine, but many are quite obnoxious and even violent at times. Really the only other problem is vaping/fighting. Fights happen pretty much every few weeks, and kids DO IN FACT go to the bathroom to vape or just scroll on their phones. If you’re thinking about sending your kid here, make sure to remind them to SAY NO TO DRUGS. Also make sure that they have a way to contact a parent if they are going bus because that gets screwed up a lot. Otherwise it’s not a bad school, it doesn’t really have any problems that you wouldn’t find at any other school. In fact, it is a great school if your kid is interested in arts or wants a lot of clubs/electives to choose from.