Fuquay-Varina - a place where kids thrive

Let's face it — all kids really want to do is learn and have fun.

Whether it's playing at the park, joining a sports team, taking an art class or splashing around to cool off in the summer, kids are able to thrive in Fuquay-Varina. The town is a place with plenty of educational and recreational opportunities alike for children, and as parents, all we want for our kids is a strong education, healthy socialization and good old fashioned fun.

The great news is Fuquay-Varina offers it all, keeping both kids and their parents happy all year long.

Fuquay-Varina schools are part of the Wake County Public School System, the largest school system in North Carolina, which also happens to be one of the highest performing in the country.

Wake County's incredible reputation for its great public schools has generated national recognition year after year. The county boasts excellent scores, a focus on increasing graduation rates and lowering dropout rates, as well as more nationally board-certified teachers than any school district in the nation.

As part of WCPSS, Fuquay-Varina is similarly known for its excellent schools, teachers, administrators and incredible parent volunteers. In fact, Jonathan Enns, the principal at Fuquay-Varina High School, was named Wake County 2017 Principal of the Year.

Currently, the town has five elementary schools, one middle school, a public charter school, as well as private options. This fall, a brand new school, Willow Spring High School, will open and Fuquay-Varina High School will undergo a $70 million renovation.

When it comes to Fuquay-Varina, there's a place for every child to get a great education.

"The public schools in Fuquay-Varina have such an awesome, community feel," said Wanda Denning, chair of the Fuquay-Varina Chamber of Commerce Education Council. "I am incredibly proud of our teachers, staff and administrators, and their commitment to our children. They really care about the success of these kids, and it shows in everything they do."

Kids in Fuquay-Varina certainly have every opportunity to be active and creative. The town's thriving division of parks, recreation and cultural resources has plenty to offer between athletic teams, classes, activities and events throughout the year.

Sports enthusiasts can rejoice because the Town of Fuquay-Varina's sports programs offer great fun, team-building, camaraderie and good sportsmanship skills for kids all year long.

"We offer three organized youth sports seasons — fall, winter and spring. The winter season is strictly basketball and the dance troop program. In the fall and spring we offer everything from flag and tackle football, cheerleading, baseball and tee ball, softball, volleyball and soccer, " said Jonathan Cox, director of parks, recreation and cultural resources for the Town of Fuquay-Varina. "We operate an all-inclusive youth sports program, and our mission is that all kids can participate. We do not stress the competitive nature of sports, we want kids to learn life skills and the fundamentals of the game."

The Arts Center boasts an art gallery, dance, painting and digital studios, as well as four classrooms where kids of all ages can get creative and learn new art skills.

"The Arts Center was created for kids and adults of all ages to learn about the visual and performing arts in fun, interactive ways," explained Maureen Daly, director of the Fuquay-Varina Arts Center. "We encourage families to bring their children to exercise their imaginations, get their hands dirty or learn a new dance step. We offer children's classes and camps – and even fun summer activities such as a week-long production camp where kids get to put on a real stage production. We're so proud of the new center and hope everyone will come by and find their creative side with us."

Classes designed exclusively for kids are offered year-round, and this summer's options include "Once Upon a Loom," "Imagination & Play – Big, Brave Stories," "Discover Puppetry," "Journaling & Creative Writing," "Printing Without a Press" and much more. Track-out camps for year-round students are also available at the Arts Center, and are fun and affordable.

Additionally, the Town of Fuquay-Varina offers more than 22 parks covering more than 430 acres throughout the town. From playgrounds to soccer fields and tennis courts, greenway and walking trails, picnic areas and much more, kids can just play to get their energy out.

One family favorite is the relatively new Splash Pad, where kids can splash from June through September to beat the scorching summer heat. The 6,000-square-foot splash pad features more than three dozen jets of shooting water – not to mention the giant bucket of water that douses screaming-with-joy kids with gallons of water.

"The Splash Pad is one of our most popular amenities and is free for residents," Cox said. "Residents just need to stop by the Fuquay-Varina Community Center and pick up an annual pass that gives them free admittance into the splash pad during the summer."

Non-residents are welcome for a nominal fee of $2 per person.

Summer camps are another popular offering at the Community Center.

Each week of camp is themed, whether it's "Stars and Stripes Week" or "Science Week" or "Animal Planet Week," kids can expect to learn and have fun. Each theme is accompanied by a weekly field trip that's tied to the topic and boredom is rare.

Kids can try their hand at cooking in the new Community Kitchen, which offers a variety of classes — it's a bit chaotic and sometimes a mess, but always fun.

Dawn Russell, downtown manager for the Town of Fuquay-Varina, is someone with a vested interest in the town, but as a parent herself, loves Fuquay-Varina for all that it offers her children.

"We moved to Fuquay-Varina right before we started having children," she said. "The school systems, the neighborhoods and the downtown area businesses, they all become your family. People in town became your family. It's a great place to raise kids with sports, music opportunities and a little bit of a slower pace than Raleigh."