North 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.

We have been at this school over 6 years with 3 different principals, not counting interims. Bell, Baggio and Bransome. We currently have Bransome and she is largely absent. She arrives later than most staff and is not a visible presence in the school for students and staff nor at events for parents. She regularly forgets meetings, phone calls and emails. Our children have never been bullied more than this school year and we are so thankful WCPSS granted us a hardship transfer to get our youngest out. Bullying is not being properly documented and I have never felt more unsafe for my children at school. The principal does not want to be at this school and it SHOWS. Apply to your year-round application school or magnet schools if this is your base.

This is our 3rd year at Casa! Our experience has been nothing but great. My kids love going to school and have learned so much. We love the Montessori method and the dual language program helps my kids grow immensely!

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2026, resulting in two different teachers for 5th grade that year.The building itself needs updates, the building is outdated and run down.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!