Durant Road Middle School

Durant Road Middle School is located at 10401 Durant Road in Raleigh, North Carolina. Serving students in grades 6-8, it is part of the Wake County Public School System. The principal is Robert Smith. The school day is from 7:40am to 2:40pm.

About the School
Durant Road Middle School is a year-round school, operating on the year-round calendar. Students at the year-round schools are divided into four groups, called tracks, with each track having its own calendar. In a year-round middle school, the traditional 180-day school year is divided into nine-week quarters with a three week break at the end of each quarter. Students are in school the same number of days as their counterparts in traditional schools. Their days are simply redistributed throughout the year. The reorganized schedule is called a 45/15 - 45 days in school, 15 days off.

Schedules are staggered so that, at any given time, three tracks are in school and one is on break. These staggered schedules make it possible for the school to serve up to thirty-three percent more students than its intended capacity.

Year-round school provide a more continuous learning process. Since students do not have long summer vacations, major reviewing in the fall is eliminated. Students and teachers are more energized throughout the year due to regular breaks. The three-week breaks provide frequent enrichment and remedial opportunities for students during the year.

Comment from year round student- "I like year round school because I get frequent breaks and I'm not out of school long enough to forget what I have learned."

School Programs/Activities
Durant Road Middle School offers a variety of electives, such as Band. Each year, all band students play at a school held concert. Along with this is Jazz Band, an audition only band. Finally, starting at seventh grade, band students have the opportunity to participate at Concert Festival. They also have extra activities, such as the Newbery Club, where students get together to read new books and discuss them. There is also Battle of the Books, which is a competition-based book club. Each year, the North Carolina School Library and Media Association establishes a list of 25-30 titles for North Carolina middle school students. They have fall, and spring sports such as Football, girls and boys Basketball, Soccer and Softball. Their Football team had been undefeated for the last 3 years, making the Durant Dolphins the northern conference's powerhouse under coaches Jimmy King, and Richard Barfield.

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