The new year-round elementary school on Green Level Church Road in Cary opened its doors to 450 students for the first day of class.

"I'm most excited about no one knowing anyone," said fourth-grader Bianca Candelaria, whose family recently moved to Cary from Corvallis, Ore.

Bianca smiled knowing that she's not the only kid in her position.

The Wake County Public School System is scheduled to open three more schools this year. Two are in western Wake.

In addition to Alston Ridge, Holly Grove Middle in Holly Springs welcomed 975 students to class on Friday.

Mills Park Middle in Cary will begin serving more than 1,000 starting Aug. 25.

For those in Apex, Cary and Holly Springs, new schools are the latest indicator of growth in this region.

Eleven of the 26 schools opened in the county since 2006 are in western Wake towns.

Six have been in Cary.

Three have been in Holly Springs.

One was in Apex and another was in Fuquay-Varina.

The population in a one-mile radius of Alston Ridge, which is near the intersection of Kit Creek Road and N.C. 55, is expected to increase 90 percent by 2014, according to census estimates by Demographics Now.

Principal Fran Venezia says she expects more than 200 additional students will become Alston Ridge Elementary Alligators next year.

Venezia says her staff is preparing to live up to high expectations by focusing on maintaining a tight community and following their three R's: relationships, a rigorous curriculum and teaching relevant skills.

"We're concentrating on building relationships between teachers and parents, teachers and kids and even kids and their parents," she said.

Venezia said many of her students are coming from overcrowded schools such as Carpenter Elementary, Cedar Fork Elementary and Green Hope Elementary.

The new school stands to save Ashley Clodfelter's family time and money.

The first-grader's father, Jeff Clodfelter, says he's glad he doesn't have drive Ashley to Green Hope Elementary anymore.

"We're going to cut maybe ten minutes off our trip," he said.

Clodfelter estimated he'll save $50 a week by using the Wake County School System's before- and after-school programs at Alston Ridge instead of the YMCA after-school program used by Green Hope Elementary.

"We're very happy about neighborhood schools," he said.

As for Bianca Candelaria, Friday was her first time ever in a public school.

She attended a private school in Oregon from kindergarten to third grade.

Bianca's dad, Carlos Candelaria, said he was swayed to enroll Bianca at Alston Ridge because of the county schools' good reputation.

"We heard really good things about the school system here," he said.

"We thought we'd give it a try."