Another goal of the 2017 high school redistricting plan had been to provide rigorous academic programs at each high school, as well as to even out the distribution of low-income and minority students, historically heavily-concentrated at Cummings and Graham High schools.
The Alamance-Burlington school system conducted two surveys, in 2016 and 2020, to gauge potential interest in enrolling in the future specialty schools at Cummings and Graham but received tepid responses.
Approximately 45 percent of the 2016 respondents said they had little or no interest in having their child participate in a school of the arts at Cummings or a skilled trades academy/early college at Graham High School; 35 percent said they were interested; and about 20 percent said “maybe” but wanted more information on which to base a decision.
Approximately 69 percent of the 2020 respondents said they were “very unlikely” or “unlikely” to enroll their child in a specialized arts program at Cummings High School; and 63 percent of respondents said they were “very unlikely” or “unlikely” to enroll their child in a skilled trades/early college program at Graham High School, based on survey results that were presented to school board members at the time.
