Heritage High School

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.

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.

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2026, resulting in two different teachers for 5th grade that year.The building itself needs updates, the building is outdated and run down.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