Panther Creek High School is a

public high school A state school, public school, or government school is a primary school, primary or secondary school that educates all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in part by taxation and operated by the government of the state. State-f ...

located at 6770 McCrimmon Parkway in

Cary, North Carolina Cary is a town in Wake County, North Carolina, Wake, Chatham County, North Carolina, Chatham, and Durham County, North Carolina, Durham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina and is part of the Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh-Cary, NC M ...

, United States. As part of the

Wake County Public School System The Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) is a State school, public school district located in Wake County, North Carolina. With 159,995 students in average daily membership and 198 schools as of the 2023–24 school year, it is the large ...

, the school operates on a 4x4 block schedule like other

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

s in the region.

History

Panther Creek High School was established in 2006. Rodney Nelson was the school's first principal, serving until his retirement in 2014. He was replaced by Camille Hedrick who was named North Carolina PTA Principal of the Year in 2017. The school's main building is a three-story design that includes 274,658 square feet. There are also five modular classroom buildings. The campus consists of 93 acres. The school's main building has that same design and walls as Knightdale High School.

Student population

As of the 2021-2022 school year, Panther Creek had an enrollment of 2,470 students. Of those students, 51% were female and 49% were male. In addition, 35.9% of the students are White, 35.5% Asian, 14.9% Black, 7.3% Hispanic, 4.1% two or more races, 0.2% American Indian, and 0.1% Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander. The total minority enrollment is 64.1%. In the 2024-2025 school year, Panther Creek had an enrollment of 2,435. 10% of the student body is economically disadvantaged, with 7% eligible for the free lunch program and 3% eligible for the reduced-price lunch program. The graduation rate is 98%.

Faculty

As of the 2021-2022 school year, there are 120.34 full-time equivalent teachers. The student to teacher ratio is 20.53:1. 97% of the teachers have three or more years of experience and are certified., In addition, the faculty includes one counselor for every 283 students or a ratio of 283:1. The current principal is Gregory Decker, who succeeded Camille Hedrick.

Academics

Curriculum

Panther Creek High School includes grades 9 through 12. The school offers Advance Placement® courses with the student participation rate being 81%. Of that number 65% pass at least one AP® exam. Students can also take virtual courses not available at Panther Creek or chose dual enrollment at local colleges and universities. 80% of the students take the

SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and Test score, scoring have changed several times. For much of its history, it was called the Scholastic Aptitude Test ...

, with an average score of 1,246. However 78% of the school's graduates pursue either college or vocational training.

Rankings

'' U.S. News & World Report'' ranks Panther Creek #2 in

Wake County Wake County, officially the County of Wake, is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,129,410, making it North Carolina's most populous county. From July 2005 to July 2006, Wake Count ...

, #18 in North Carolina, and #614 nationally. ''Niche'' gives the school an A+ score and a rank of #5 amongst public schools in North Carolina.

Student life

Athletics

Panther Creek is a member of the

North Carolina High School Athletic Association The North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) is the governing organization of high school athletics in North Carolina, United States. The association maintains the official rule books and governs the officiating standards across ...

and the Southwest Wake Athletic Conference with a 4A Classification. The school has the following co-ed sports teams: varsity cheerleading, junior varsity cheerleading, cross country, indoor track, swimming, and track. Sport teams for women include varsity basketball, junior varsity basketball, golf, gymnastics, varsity lacrosse, junior varsity lacrosse, varsity soccer, junior varsity soccer, varsity softball, junior varsity softball, stunt, varsity tennis, varsity volleyball, and junior varsity volleyball. Men's sport teams include varsity baseball, junior varsity baseball, varsity basketball, junior varsity basketball, varsity football, junior varsity football, golf, varsity lacrosse, junior varsity lacrosse, varsity soccer, junior varsity soccer, varsity tennis, and wrestling.

Clubs and organizations

Panther Creek has a marching band, a concert band, and two indoor ensembles. The school also has numerous choral groups, including a Chamber Choir, a Mixed Chorus, and a Treble Choir. Various organizations such as

National Honor Society The National Honor Society (NHS) is one of the oldest, largest, and most widely recognized cocurricular student organizations in American high schools, with 1.4 million members. The purpose of the NHS is to create enthusiasm for scholarship, to ...

Technology Student Association The Technology Student Association (TSA) is a national non-profit Career and technical student organization, career and technical student organization (CTSO) of over 300,000 middle and high school student members engaged in Science, technology, e ...

, FBLA, Science National Honor Society, DECA, and Key Club International have chapters at Panther Creek too.

Mascot and colors

The school's mascot is the Catamount. The school's colors are Columbia blue, black, and silver.

Publications

The student yearbook is ''The Prowler''.

Notable alumni

* Isaiah Johnson, former

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

defensive back * Gabe Latigue, professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player * Josh Maciejewski,

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

pitcher * Earnest Ross, professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player *

Ryan Spaulding Ryan Louis Spaulding (born September 10, 1998) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender for USL Championship club Sacramento Republic FC. Background Spaulding was born in Hartford, Connecticut. He attended Panther ...

, professional soccer player * Carson Vinson, NFL offensive tackleCarson Vinson - 2024 Football Roster
''Alabama A&M Athletics''. Retrieved April 28, 2025.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Panther Creek High School North Carolina Buildings and structures in Cary, North Carolina Public high schools in North Carolina Wake County Public School System High schools in Wake County, North Carolina 2006 establishments in North Carolina Educational institutions established in 2006