Forest Pines Elementary

This school is going downhill because the administration is not supportive. The principal and her assistant are all about their EGO. They are not good listeners to parents' concerns. The principal "Chell Smith" is creating an atmosphere that makes the teachers stressed out, afraid, and not teaching at their full capacity. This school needs better leaders so kids and teachers can show better progress.Leaders in Wake County need to keep a close eye on the administration in this school; they are all covering each other against any negative concern, denying the incident, and acting very rudely.

Parents should focus less of schools overall education performance numbers and focus on the diversity rate percentages. There’s a reason Wake Forest Heritage Elementary is 18% Black and/African American.

North Forest Pines is a fabulous year-round elementary school. The teachers and administration are experienced, compassionate, and enjoy being there. We have two kids there, one of which is moving on to middle school, and have no complaints.

We have only been at Casa for 2 years, but my daughter is having a great 1st grade year and really likes her teacher and is learning the appropriate material for her age. She seems engaged and enjoys school.

St Catherine of Siena has a lot of teacher turnover. The academics are lenient. If some students in the class are behind, unfortunately the rest of the class cannot move ahead. During the 2025–2026 school year there was a permanent sub for PE. They weren’t able to secure a permanent PE teacher.The summer of 2025, a 5th grade teacher and assistant were hired, the teacher resigned a week before school began. The assistant was then made the lead teacher until a qualified 5th grade teacher was hired in January 2026, resulting in two different teachers for 5th grade that year.The building itself needs updates, the building is outdated and run down. You'd think the school building would be in better shape since the church uses the school building outside of school hours. There are mobile classrooms in the back of the school that were added a few years back as a temporary solution for increased enrollment. Those are now permanent. The church has financial resources the school is limited.

The wake forest campus was an amazing place for our children. It was the best decision we could have made to set our children up for success and the love of learning. We have been through several of the administration team and they are top notch. The right balance of truly caring for children and their families and academic focus. Teachers are empowered by admin and the campus hums with perfection. The school is a safe, nurturing environment giving your child the best education. I would repeat this decision time and time again. Unfortunately, things fall down once children head off to the Rolesville campus. Which is incredibly unfortunate and disheartening. This isn’t the forum to show that admin in Rolesville is where an amazing school gets off track. I don’t want that to take away from the incredible school Thales Wake Forest is to the community. I hope that they continue to thrive!