York Elementary School (YES) is a traditional calendar neighborhood school, part of the STEM Schools Collaborative Network, and a Model STEM School of Distinction.  The school is nestled in the beautiful wooded Brookhaven community (near Crabtree Valley Mall), adjacent to the Brookhaven Nature Park. York Elementary has an active and supportive PTA, dedicated teachers/staff, and engaged administration all focused on the health, well-being, and equal education for ALL students. York incorporates STEM daily into the classroom curriculum, in addition to providing dedicated time for students in the STEM lab. Come visit us and join the YES STEM/Bulldog family!  

December 2021| We moved into our brand-new completely renovated building at 5201 Brookhaven Drive.

The History of J.W. York Elementary

The school opened near Glenwood Avenue and Creedmoor Road in 1965, when Raleigh was seeing a wave of growth from families moving to the area to work at Research Triangle Park, especially IBM. New neighborhoods were creeping northward, away from downtown Raleigh to areas considered "suburbia". This was before Crabtree Valley Mall opened on Glenwood in 1972 and years before development and the Raleigh city limits pushed several miles north and west toward the Durham County line.

York Elementary is likely one of the oldest suburban schools in Raleigh, said Smedes York, who served as mayor from 1979 to 1983. The school is named for his father, James Wesley “Willie” York. The elder York served on the Raleigh school board when schools integrated in 1960, and local leaders named the school after him to honor the work he did, York said. The York family developed several neighborhoods near downtown, including the popular Cameron Village shopping center.

Read more at: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/education/article38824995.html#storylink=cpy