Herbert Akins Rd Elementary

Posted: August 9, 2025

My son has attended HARES since he was in 1st grade and now he’s in 5th. He’s an advanced learner but he has adhd so struggles with socio-emotional and behavioral development. Every teacher he has had took great care to build a relationship with him, experiment with what worked for him to succeed, treated his misbehavior with fair consequences but didn’t shame him. The office staff is also easy to work with too. There are activities for kids and families throughout the year to create a community. I’ve also enjoyed the diversity at the school and how they honor kids and family’s various backgrounds.

Posted: August 9, 2025

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Posted: July 18, 2024

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Posted: July 18, 2024

I have 10 years experience with children at this school. There are some wonderful teachers here who care greatly about their students. However, there are some who do not. Your student's experience here is likely directly related to who their teacher is that year. As a whole, I do not believe this school adequately supports children with Special Needs, especially with the current administration under Mr. Murdock. Non-neurotypical behavior is seen as requiring discipline rather than support. They are not neurodiversity-affirming. Non-compliance is viewed as a choice and not a nervous system response. There is not enough support given to the General Ed teachers from the Special Ed team due to heavy caseloads. Rather than collecting data, they will build a disciplinary file against your child for things directly related to their disability. This is a problem throughout Wake County as their motto is "They are a Wake County student first and disabled second." I'm not referring to aggressive or physical communication, but things like the inability to participate due to heightened anxiety or eloping from the classroom. If your child fits inside the neurotypical box, they will have an average experience here comparable to other Wake County Elementary schools. If your child requires support or has any additional needs, I do not recommend this school.

Posted: December 18, 2022

Great teachers and service. Good experience with school environment.

Posted: December 18, 2022

Posted: July 20, 2022

Great school with all facilities required for elementary.

Posted: July 20, 2022

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Posted: June 9, 2017

This is a great school with caring and dedicated staff!

Posted: June 9, 2017

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Posted: December 6, 2016

HARES has demonstrated high quality education, caring, and support for my 5 year old son. I was worried about his experience in Kindergarten since he struggled in preschool. Would they label him a behavior problem? There has not been one minute at HARES where I have NOT felt my child is receiving the HIGHEST quality education, CARE, and support. His teacher is phenomenal in her knowledge in teaching his kindergarten class. Other support staff have also been excellent in their professionalism and care of my son. The principle is a champion for kids and families and is very active in student life. I recommend this school to anyone who is looking for a high quality staff and education for their child(ren). I come from a young children education background and can be a critic if things are not good.

Posted: August 6, 2016

We couldn't be happier with our daughters learning as evident by her EOG results. The teachers are knowledgable.

Posted: August 6, 2016

Posted: August 6, 2016

Posted: August 6, 2016

My daughter has been at this school for 5 years. The staff really works with the kids to help them when they struggle in areas and excel in other areas. Everyone is always friendly and there is a great feeling in the building that people are happy to be there.

Posted: May 19, 2016

Great school, fantastic teachers and assistants . My two daughters love going to this school cause it's a safe environment , everybody is just so nice and , above all, they learn a lot everyday. PTA is such a great team of caring people. Five stars!

Posted: May 19, 2016

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Posted: December 11, 2015

Teachers are great. Not happy that we do not have a full time nurse in the school. She shares her time between this school and others in the district. Quite strange...

Posted: February 5, 2014

My son attended this school for2nd through 5th grade. He was lucky enough to have a wonderful teacher Mr. Pete for 2 of those years. He was innovative and loved teaching. This was a great school and I would recommend it to other students and parents.

Posted: September 11, 2013

This is my daughter's second year attending this school, and I am impressed with both the leadership and the teachers at this school. The teachers are concerned not only for my daughter's academic success, but they are also concerned for her success as a social being interacting with others. When I attended the parent teacher conference, I was amazed at the level of education they were providing to my 1st grader. This school is definately rigerous and my daughter has lots of home work each night, but I love seeing my daughter learn and comprehend new things. For the 1st grade they are doing math with unknown variables, reading followed by an analysis, and some awesome science projects. There is a huge emphasis on not only learning words but comprehending what is happening in a book and being able relay this information to another person. My daughter loves the school, and they have been very proactive in working with my wife and I to help my daughter succeed.

Posted: December 17, 2012

My son is in first grade at this school and we absolutely LOVE it. He is quiet and both his kindergarten and current teachers know him very well. They have drawn his personality out and he is thriving. He is reading up a storm and always has his nose in a book now. His math skills have always been a strength for him, his teachers have allowed him to expand on these exponentially as well. I have sent one email to the Vice Principal, expecting it to take a couple of hours for her to get back to me. It was under 5 minutes. She is terrific. She knows all our names and always goes out of her way to speak to or acknowledge us. The office staff is also extremely helpful and pleasant to work with. The computer teacher is fantastic and my son is very adept at using our home computer now. They have smart boards and computer classes... not sure what else one would need at the elementary level. We've been impressed overall. I was worried about my son starting kindy, but his teacher ended up being who we would have manufactured if we were able to build the PERFECT kindy teacher for our child.

Posted: November 10, 2011

My son is in the 4th grade and reading and writing has always been his tough subject. This year he has improved in reading comprehension and writing. His current teacher is Mrs. Hollingworth she truly cares about her students and makes learning fun for the kids. The school also have online resources for the kids such as: study island, xtra math and these sites help with EOG testing. My rating is based on Mrs. Hollingworth's dedication to her students education.

Posted: August 23, 2011

Fantastic teachers. Not so hot leadership. I have two kids at this school and have been consistently impressed with the quality of the teaching staff - they are caring, motivated, and energetic, and absolutely dedicated to making sure their kids truly learn. I am considerably less impressed with the principal and school-wide communication and leadership. All we ever get are the broadcast phone calls which are annoying since they go so quickly you can't write anything down and invariably seem to ring during dinner. I also get the feeling that the school isn't particularly child-centered - last year's yearbook had the first five or six pages dedicated to various teachers and administrators, and oh, yeah, around page ten, there's some kids who hang out here too. If it weren't for the absolutely fantastic teachers we'd be looking for alternatives.

Posted: July 26, 2011

Great School. Warm and friendly front desk. Caring, competent, and knowledgeable staff. The administration is wonderful. This school just opened but give it a chance. I think this school is one of the best I've seen.

Posted: March 16, 2011

Wake Co. Schools in general, has serious issues. Just watch the national news! Herbert Akins has been a disappointment. No use of technology, nothing to challenge students to read, low test scores, no school functions (except for a "select" few), Zero school spirit. Our former school in this system has lots of educational, community, and family centered programs. So far this year at HARES - zero - only a book fair with a rude clique of volunteers - no thanks! We are pestered to death by the PTA to donate for a shade structure (hello? bad economy! get a business to sponsor), yet they do nothing for our kids or the teachers. Cancelled a fun run, no field trips, no newsletters, outdated website. Only a random automated phone call with too much information to write down quickly, and your child will listen to it, so you will still have no clue what is going on at school. Teachers are the only saving grace. Pay cuts, no assistants, overcrowded classrooms, and no apparent direction from the admin make this an uphill battle for them. Our former school Holly Grove is outstanding, so it makes us score this school well below average.

Posted: March 12, 2011

This school has caring individuals who work with the children and give everything they have. Staff and administation who do not work with my kids actually know their names. Some spend endless working for the children. The office staff is very helpful. I would highly recommend this school to others. The PTA has implemented some good things this year. Turnover has been low.