voyager academy lockdown

Police: No threat found at Durham charter school after concerning phone call

List: dozens of threats made against nc schools in recent months, more on this.

Excelsior Classical Academy put on lockdown in light of social media threat

Durham police give update on situation at Excelsior Classical Academy

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• Public, Charter

Voyager Academy

• grade  B+ Overall Grade
• Rating 3.63 out of 5   162 reviews

Report Card

• Academics grade  B
• Diversity grade  A minus
• Teachers grade  A
• College Prep grade  B+
• Clubs & Activities grade  C+
• Administration grade  B
• Sports grade  A minus
• Food grade  B minus
• Resources & Facilities grade  B
• Charter School
• Elementary School
• Gifted Prog. Offered
• High School
• Middle School
• North Carolina

Voyager Academy Rankings

Niche ranks nearly 100,000 schools and districts based on statistics and millions of opinions from students and parents.

• Best Charter High Schools in North Carolina 24 of 78
• Best Charter Middle Schools in North Carolina 60 of 155
• Best Charter Elementary Schools in North Carolina 62 of 151

Popular Colleges

Niche users from this school are most interested in the following colleges.

• grade  A North Carolina State University 137 Students
• grade  B+ University of North Carolina at Charlotte 118 Students
• grade  A+ University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 108 Students
• grade  B+ University of North Carolina - Greensboro 105 Students
• grade  B East Carolina University 99 Students
• grade  B+ Appalachian State University 94 Students
• grade  B North Carolina A&T State University 68 Students
• grade  B+ University of North Carolina - Wilmington 64 Students
• grade  B minus North Carolina Central University 52 Students
• grade  B Western Carolina University 50 Students

Home Listings

Homes for sale.

Living in the Area

• Cost of Living grade  B minus
• Good for Families grade  B+
• Housing grade  B minus

Culture & Safety

• Basketball games are usually fun 24%
• Immersions 17%
• Homecoming 13%
• Senior Trip 13%
• SPRING MUSICAL 8%
• Immersions are the best. I went to Costa Rica 6%

Clubs & Activities

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Voyager Academy Reviews

• Rating 5 out of 5   Excellent 21   reviews ( 13 %)
• Rating 4 out of 5   Very Good 77   reviews ( 48 %)
• Rating 3 out of 5   Average 50   reviews ( 31 %)
• Rating 2 out of 5   Poor 11   reviews ( 7 %)
• Rating 1 out of 5   Terrible 3   reviews ( 2 %)
• 3 months ago
• Overall Experience
• 6 months ago

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Voyager Academy

quick stats

Total Enrollment

Overview of Voyager Academy

Voyager Academy is a charter school located in Durham, NC, which is in a large city setting. The student population of Voyager Academy is 1,358 and the school serves K-12. At Voyager Academy, 53% of students scored at or above the proficient level for math, and 70% scored at or above that level for reading. The school’s minority student enrollment is 45%. The student-teacher ratio is 14:1, which is the same as that of the district. The student population is made up of 50% female students and 50% male students. The school enrolls 10% economically disadvantaged students. There are 98 equivalent full-time teachers and 3 full-time school counselors.

At a Glance

Voyager academy 2024 rankings.

Voyager Academy is ranked #418 in North Carolina Elementary Schools and ranked #99 in North Carolina Middle Schools . Schools are ranked on their performance on state-required tests, graduation, and how well they prepare their students for high school. Read more about how we rank the Best Elementary Schools and Best Middle Schools .

All Rankings

• # 418 in  North Carolina Elementary Schools
• # 99 in  North Carolina Middle Schools
• # 48 in  North Carolina Charter Elementary Schools
• # 31 in  North Carolina Charter Middle Schools

Ranking Factors

How Voyager Academy placed statewide out of 1429 elementary schools and 687 middle schools ranked in North Carolina .

Elementary School Reading Proficiency Rank

Middle School Reading Proficiency Rank

Elementary School Math Proficiency Rank

Middle School Math Proficiency Rank

Elementary School Reading Performance

Meets Expectations

Middle School Reading Performance

Somewhat Above Expectations

Elementary School Math Performance

Somewhat Below Expectations

Middle School Math Performance

Students/Teachers at Voyager Academy

These counts and percentages of students and teachers are from data reported by state education agencies to the federal government

School information is provided by the government.

Enrollment by Grade

Kindergarten

Enrollment by Gender

Student Diversity

Minority Enrollment

Black or African American

Hispanic/Latino

Two or more races

Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander

American Indian or Alaska Native

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander is not included in this breakdown due to an enrollment of 0%.

economically disadvantaged students at Voyager Academy

Full-time teachers

Percentage of full-time teachers who are certified

Student-teacher ratio

Percentage of teachers with 3 or more years experience

Number of full-time school counselors

Test Scores at Voyager Academy

At Voyager Academy, 53% of students scored at or above the proficient level for math, and 70% scored at or above that level for reading. Compared with the district, the school did about the same in math and about the same in reading, according to this metric. In Voyager Academy , 70% of students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 53% tested at or above that level for math. Voyager Academy did better in math and better in reading in this metric compared with students across the state. In North Carolina , 43% of students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 38% tested at or above that level for math.

Subject Proficiency

School Data

School profile information is based on government data.

Charter School

Magnet School

This information relates to schools run by this school's state operating agency. Many districts contain only one school.

Total Schools (all grades)

Total Students (all grades)

Elementary Schoolers Proficient in Reading (district average)

Middle Schoolers Proficient in Reading (district average)

Elementary Schoolers Proficient in Math (district average)

Middle Schoolers Proficient in Math (district average)

101 Hock Parc Drive, Durham, NC 27704

Nearby Schools

4100 N Roxboro Street, Durham, NC 27704 (0 miles)

4019 Holt School Road, Durham, NC 27704 (1 mile)

3507 Dearborn Drive, Durham, NC 27704 (1 mile)

2400 Broad St Ste 2, Durham, NC 27704 (2 miles)

1417 Old Oxford Highway, Durham, NC 27704 (2 miles)

1001 Leon Street, Durham, NC 27704 (2 miles)

400 W Club Boulevard, Durham, NC 27704 (2 miles)

2730 Hillandale Road, Durham, NC 27705 (2 miles)

1305 W. Club Blvd., Durham, NC 27705 (2 miles)

302 Lebanon Circle, Durham, NC 27712 (3 miles)

913 9Th Street, Durham, NC 27705 (3 miles)

700 Watts Street, Durham, NC 27701 (3 miles)

724 Foster Street, Durham, NC 27701 (3 miles)

117 Milton Road, Durham, NC 27712 (3 miles)

401 North Duke Street, Durham, NC 27701 (3 miles)

311 Dowd St, Durham, NC 27701 (3 miles)

227 Milton Road, Durham, NC 27712 (3 miles)

511 Cleveland St, Durham, NC 27701 (3 miles)

Po Box 3537, Durham, NC 27702 (3 miles)

None, Durham, NC 27701 (3 miles)

721 Burch Ave, Durham, NC 27701 (3 miles)

2415 E Geer Street, Durham, NC 27704 (3 miles)

Dumc Room 3605, Durham, NC 27710 (4 miles)

807 West Chapel Hill Street, Durham, NC 27701 (4 miles)

1107 Holloway Street, Durham, NC 27701 (4 miles)

Voyager Academy ' s high ranking earned it eligibility to display U.S. News Best Elementary Schools and Best Middle Schools award badges . Badge eligibility recognizes educational excellence, as described here . Officials at badge-eligible schools can learn how to promote their awards here .

Insufficient student data was reported by six states (California, D.C., Delaware, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington). As such, the rankings for these states were held at their previous positions. They are therefore based on assessment data from 2018-2019 and include schools that were active as of 2019-2020. Updated directory information from 2021-2022 was provided for schools when available.

Data is based on the 2020 - 2021 and 2021 - 2022 school years.

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Everybody safe, no threat found during Durham charter school lockdown

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- Durham Police Department found no threat at a Durham charter school after receiving reports of an active shooter. The school is no longer on lockdown, police said Friday shortly before 1:45 p.m.

Investigators said they responded to Excelsior Classical Academy in the 4100 block of North Roxboro Street after receiving the emergency call around 11:15 a.m. When they got to the school, they searched and found nothing out of the ordinary.

"They were here almost immediately. Officers went in. We train," Durham Police Chief Patrice Andrews said. "Unfortunately, this is what we have to train for. This is the world we are in now and our teams mobilize quickly."

The school was on lockdown as police did a "secondary active search" of the school.

"At this point, we do not believe there was an active shooter at the building," Andrews said. "We do not have any evidence nor have we found any firearms or any evidence of a firearm being fired."

School administrators sent a notification to parents afternoon to alert them that students could be picked up after police finished their sweep of the school. The school said buses would run as usual and there would be no after-school programs Friday.

Lindsey Williams, the parent of a fourth- ad eighth-grader at the school, said she was on the way there for a meeting when her older child texted her.

"When I pulled here, the police were blocking all the entrances and at that point, we didn't have any communication from the schools so I'm relying on my son to give me information," Williams said. "Panic, panic and then I'm past this entrance and try and go to another one and then there were ambulances staged and then you really are panicking because why there are ambulances. It's like a frenzy trying to figure out what's going on, are your children safe? Panic."

Excelsior opened in the 2015-2016 school year with classes from kindergarten to fourth grade. The school has been adding a new grade each year and will have its first graduating class in 2024.

Pacific Avenue was closed between North Roxboro and Capitol Street and the entrance to Excelsior Classical Academy was closed while police investigated.

Kelly Knight, a parent from Oxford, said her daughter called her and said she didn't feel safe.

Knight has a 6-year-old and a 15-year-old at the school.

"It doesn't make the terror any less when you have your children in there, you don't know that it's nothing until you get them back," Knight said. "This is the world we live in, no this is the country we live in now ... we do our best to keep our kids safe and that's the best you can do. Social media is good and bad."

Chief Andrews added: "This is the worst nightmare for us."

All week ABC11 has been reporting on how schools across the Triangle are doing everything they can to have safer schools for students and staff. Here's a look at some of the stories you may have missed.

Durham students band together to get more mental health resources in school

'Stay vigilant': Keeping schools safe with School Resource Officers

Not all North Carolina schools have submitted required safety plans

New technology promises to make Wake County schools safer by efficiently tracking school guests

New security system boosts goal to keep offenders off campuses of Cumberland Co. Schools

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• SCHOOL SHOOTING
• ACTIVE SHOOTER

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About 1 in 4 U.S. teachers say their school went into 'gun-related lockdown' last school year

About 1 in 4 U.S. teachers said their school went into a “gun-related lockdown” during the 2022-23 school year, according to new findings from the Pew Research Center .

The Pew Research Center surveyed about 2,500 teachers who are nationally representative of U.S. K-12 public school teachers on many different topics, including lockdowns prompted by guns, Associate Director Juliana Horowitz told NBC News.

"We do know from the conversations that we had leading up to developing the survey that in speaking about the challenges and concerns that they have in their day-to-day job as a teacher, this topic about being concerned about the possibility of a school shooting came up fairly frequently," Horowitz said. "And so that's one of the reasons that we thought it'd be important to put this topic on the survey to get a nationally representative read on how teachers are feeling on this."

The teachers told the research center they experienced lockdowns “because of a gun or suspicion of a gun at their school,” with around 15% saying it happened once during the year and 8% saying it happened more than once.

“High school teachers are most likely to report experiencing these lockdowns: 34% say their school went on at least one gun-related lockdown in the last school year,” according to the research center. “This compares with 22% of middle school teachers and 16% of elementary school teachers.”

In 2023, 15 people were killed and nine were injured by gunfire in eight school shootings, while in 2022, 29 people were killed and 29 were injured by gunfire in seven school shootings, according to NBC News’ school shooting tracker .

Urban school teachers (31%) were more likely to say their school had a lockdown that was gun-related than teachers at rural schools (20%) and suburban schools (19%), according to Pew.

Horowitz said while there are some differences across teachers who work in different types of schools and areas, a majority of teachers across the board say that they have at least some concern that a shooting can happen at their school.

About 59% of K-12 public school teachers said they were “at least somewhat worried” about a shooting happening at their school, with 18% saying they were “extremely or very worried,” the organization said. Around 31% of teachers were “not too worried” about school shootings, and 7% were “not at all worried.”

Almost 40% of teachers surveyed by the Pew Research Center said their school had done a fair or poor job preparing them to deal with a potential active shooter, while 30% said their schools did an excellent or very good job.

Most of the teachers (69%) said that “improving mental health screening and treatment” would be effective in preventing school shootings, while 13% said teachers and administrators carrying guns in school would be effective. Around 49% said having armed security in schools would be a big help, and 33% said the same about metal detectors.

Teachers’ political views came into play when they were asked about what could be done to prevent school shootings, with 69% of Republican-leaning teachers saying that having armed security in school would be helpful, as opposed to 37% of Democratic-leaning teachers. Having metal detectors in schools received support from 43% of Republican-leaning teachers, compared to 27% of Democratic-leaning teachers. Meanwhile, allowing teachers and administrators to carry guns in school received 28% Republican-leaning support and 3% Democratic-leaning support.

Pew conducted similar research among parents with K-12 age children in 2022, where it was determined 32% were "extremely or very worried" about a shooting happening at their child's school, while 37% were "somewhat worried." Similarly to the teachers, 63% of surveyed parents also said "improving mental health screening and treatment" would be very effective at preventing school shootings.

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Create Change

• Technology and Gaming Technology is a fact of life for 21st century learners. Voyager prides itself on teaching our students to think critically and creatively, to overcome the difficulties that may arise. Providing the ability to learn a new language through coding will give them an invaluable toolset when they enter the workforce. Exposing students to different coding languages, robotics equipment and other forms of technology will cultivate productive members of society capable of joining the workforce in higher paying positions. Gaming and technology are more similar than they are different. Through gaming, we expose students to the notion that any one move can have limitless potential and can create a significant impact. Gameschooling skills fosters critical and creative thought, but also work to help students navigate difficult social situations.
• The Arts By establishing education in the arts, we are able to provide children with a tangible resource for managing big feelings. Not only can we guide them through an education in emotional intelligence through art, but we are able to solve for one of the biggest problems facing incoming kindergartners: readiness. Contra Costa County is currently faced with having 1 in 4 preschool students who are not ready for kindergarten. With the numbers on the rise, the biggest indicator of failing kindergarten resides in fine motor development. By utilizing the arts daily, children are able to develop their fine motor skills enabling them to tackle more difficult concepts like writing and reading which opens the door to lifelong learning.
• History Voyager will be working along side members of our community to give our students dynamic history lessons that demonstrate the importance of perspective. In formulating our own curiculum based on diverse and historically significant individuals and project based learning, students will receive an education that enables them to see beyond themselves and into a different period of time. It gives them an opportunity to make real decisions and see the outcome of their choices, but most importantly it helps them to see that just one person, perhaps someone just like them, can have a significant impact on their community and their world.
• Wellness (Physical Education Redesigned) Physical Education at Voyager will offer dynamic lessons with activities that range from hiking and yoga to the more traditional soccer and basketball. Students will be engaged with a teacher who promotes physical fitness, but who also teaches them about how to make healthy choices and explains concepts important to health education such as how to take a pulse. PE programing will also combine with elements of occupational therapy (strength training activities) and physical therapy to create a well-rounded class that aims to better serve all of our students. The goal of the physical education program at Voyager does not solely rest on passing the Presidential Test of Physical Fitness, but is instead to create students who will lead a lifelong goal of making healthful choices. Studies have shown that when children can regularly connect with nature, they are more resilient and have higher self- esteem, concentration, cognitive development, cooperation and flexibility. Being on the edge of town and on several acres, gives us the ability to access nature and all the wonder that pertains to it.
• Math and Science Reading books and completing worksheets are perhaps the most tedious aspects of math and science class. There are some benefits, but there are even more when you provide real-life experiences, real-world applications and use a multi-sensory approach to teaching. By combining these three elements, we can reach all of our students. By offering a few different ways to learn the material and showing its importance in our world, students can see how these two subjects impact them directly. With this understanding, we equip students with a growth mindset that allows them to navigate more challenging information as they learn new material. One of the most difficult pieces of feeling motivated to do well in school comes from the question of if what you are doing matters to your larger picture. At Voyager, we will supply our students with opportunities to gain real experiences from forming a company to marketing products and services, to experiencing factories and building upon life skills. Students will spend their academic careers not wondering why they have to complete a task, but asking and answering questions to help in better navigating to find real world solutions.
• Global Studies Voyager’s Global Studies course will be implemented throughout the child’s academic career with our school. This course offers an inside look at cultures around the world. While our students are learning about geography and are exploring the intricate details of culture, they will also hear from students in these areas. Voyager is actively developing a network of progressive schools around the world. This will provide our students with a chance to experience another child’s culture uniquely, helping them to become more aware of our interconnectedness.
• Literacy Literacy will be explored and learned through multi-sensory approaches. We understand that students can best learn to read once they have mastered writing the alphabet. We understand that students best learn to identify letters with the use of visual, auditory and kinesthetic components. Literacy will be a course that explores the senses and aims to create students who value reading and writing. Voyager will also provide unique opportunities for students to read to the animals located in our on-site animal sanctuary. Mini-pigs, donkeys, cats and goats all enjoy the various stories they can read to them.
• Ongoing Nature Study By altering the status quo and providing students with weekly opportunities to reach beyond the textbook and experience the magic that exists in nature. Through meticulously planned outdoor adventures, students will grow in the understanding that the value of land and that which inhabits it are far more than monetary. Many positive interactions in nature will help in building memories that will serve these students throughout their lives- from identifying plant and animal life to discerning between animal tracks and scat, tracking migratory patterns, tracking identified species in differing locations and bearing witness to the incredible force that is mother nature.

Lunar Landing Preschool

Take a look at the program that started it all, Lunar Landing Preschool for students ages 3-5.

Elementary Program

Ready to learn more? Take a peek into elementary programming at Voyager Academy.

Moscow partially shuts down as Russia sees record COVID cases

Moscow shuts down non-essential services for 11 days to fight the surge in COVID-19 infections.

Russia has reported record numbers of daily COVID-19 cases and deaths as Moscow shut down non-essential services for 11 days to fight the surge in infections.

The country hardest-hit in Europe by the pandemic, Russia has struggled with low vaccination rates despite developing several of its own jabs.

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Recent weeks have seen daily numbers of cases and deaths hit the highest of the pandemic, with the official government tally on Thursday reporting new records of 40,096 infections and 1,159 fatalities in the past 24 hours.

Authorities have shied away from the kind of severe lockdowns imposed in many countries, but have shut down all non-essential services in the capital, Moscow, from Thursday until November 7.

Retail outlets, restaurants, and sporting and entertainment venues are all closed, along with schools and kindergartens. Only shops selling food, medicine and other essentials are allowed to remain open.

Vaccinations lagging

President Vladimir Putin’s government has been pinning its hopes on homegrown vaccines like the Sputnik V jab, but Russians have proven stubbornly resistant to being inoculated.

As of Thursday, only 32 percent of Russia’s population had been fully vaccinated, according to the Gogov website, which tallies COVID-19 data.

Putin last week ordered a nationwide paid holiday between October 30 and November 7 in a bid to reverse rising infections, and Moscow authorities followed suit by ordering the shutdown of non-essential services in the capital from Thursday.

Roads in Moscow on Thursday morning were slightly less congested than usual, but the city’s sprawling Metro network was as busy as ever, with many passengers not wearing masks.

Authorities have not required Russians to stay at home during the non-working period and many were planning to use the days to travel across the country and abroad.

The mayor of the Black Sea resort city of Sochi has warned of a huge influx of tourists, and demand in Russia for flights bound for Turkey and Egypt has soared.

Downplaying pandemic

Russia has recorded totals of nearly 8.4 million cases and more than 235,000 deaths, though independent experts say authorities have downplayed the severity of the pandemic.

Figures published by statistics agency Rosstat in October suggest that more than 400,000 people have died in the country from the coronavirus.

After a severe months-long lockdown early in the pandemic, Russian authorities have been hesitant to impose further restrictions that would hurt the economy, instead urging Russians to get vaccinated.

Moscow locks down as Russian COVID-19 deaths surge to new highs

• Medium Text
• Nationwide COVID deaths, cases soar to new highs
• Kremlin blames slow rate of vaccinations
• Officials to revamp troubled vaccine ad campaign - report
• Kremlin denies U-Turn, but says campaign being adjusted

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As Russia Chief Political Correspondent, and former Moscow bureau chief, Andrew helps lead coverage of the world's largest country, whose political, economic and social transformation under President Vladimir Putin he has reported on for much of the last two decades, along with its growing confrontation with the West and wars in Georgia and Ukraine. Andrew was part of a Wall Street Journal reporting team short-listed for a Pulitzer Prize for international reporting. He has also reported from Moscow for two British newspapers, The Telegraph and The Independent.

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Voyager Academy Elementary School

4210 Ben Franklin Blvd Durham, NC 27704 Phone: (919) 433-3301 ext. 4 Fax: (919) 471-3932

Voyager Academy Middle School

101 Hock Parc Durham, NC 27704 Phone: (919) 433-3301 ext. 5 Fax: (919) 433-3305

Voyager Academy High School

4302 Ben Franklin Blvd Durham, NC 27704 Phone: (919) 433-3301 ext. 6 Fax: (919) 620-0554