Ardrey Kell High

10220 Ardrey Kell Road

School District

Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Grade

9-12
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:21
Type

public

School Map for Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District

GreatSchools Rating

The school rating calculation is based on four ratings: the Student Progress Rating or Academic Progress Rating, College Readiness Rating, Equity Rating, and Test Score Rating each designed to show different facets of school success. Learn more about GreatSchools Ratings

Reviews

Submitted by parent on January 26, 2024

My child is a senior and has loved being part of such a diverse community. The curriculum and standards for learning are exceptional and prepare students perfectly for their next chapter (whether that is college or otherwise). For a school of this size, it has always felt like a family to my family. You can be involved a lot and there will be a place for you as a parent… but you will be treated the same whether you have the ability to volunteer or not. Somehow, Mrs. brooks seems to know all 3400 students’ names and recognizes the families out and about in the community. People seem to push back on admin if they see her as developing strict rules or guidelines for how the school is run….. however, two thoughts I often wonder: #1 If a man said the same thing she says, why would a man not be questioned or called demeaning names. This is not a “liberal agenda” this is the truth. I think Mrs. Brooks handles the amount of pushback and unwarranted anger with grace and understanding in the best way she knows how. And #2 Do people have no idea what it is like to staff and lead a school in 2024? Teachers are leaving the state in droves and enrollments in teacher training programs are drastically dwindling. Empathy goes a long way rather than ranting when something silly happens (“my child could not get door dash delivered!” Is something I heard a parent ranting about at Target for the 15 mins we were in line).
Submitted by parent on August 03, 2023

This school is run like a factory with an administration that is all talk and little to no action. There is a serious shortage of qualified teachers and not to mention a morale issue. If you have a student in the exceptional child program, it’s a disaster - severely understaffed and teachers are not educated on various common learning disabilities. Lack of counseling and poor to no family engagement. High stress environment with core focus on standardized test scores rather than producing a well rounded individual. Major disappointment.
Submitted by other on August 29, 2022

Over 4 years at this high school, 2 different principals, a pandemic, and seeing how things are run. -Admin punishing teacher if they don’t do exactly as they say, even then it’s a constant fight to figure out what they want-Teachers are leaving in mass, those that stay don’t have a lot of better options-Students are pushed academically to do great, it’s hard to stand out or be seen in that field. However I’ve seen the mental well being deteriorate because of the stress that comes with the reputation (including teachers!). If you have less than about 8 AP’s it’s unusual, but I’ve gotten more scholarships by taking the AP’s I’m interested in and areas I want to major in. It’s not the way to go to take as many as you can, take honors, but lots of AP will quickly stress you out along with the expectation of making an A-High stress, no time to explore interests before college-Councilors, there’s a lot of kids for each and get limited time for them to know your kid. I had 3 meeting in total and had my councilor changed in Junior year.-Personally, my councilor was extremely unhelpful and would have hurt my chances. She had told me I didn’t need a math Senior year (had all my math credits)and should do early release. When I visit schools that summer I was told that would probably be a deal breaker. Struggled to get my councilor to respond and change my schedule. By the time I had a senior appointment in October I had all my applications in because of rolling admissions but my councilors suggestion was to START working on apps. If I had I wouldn’t be getting the accepts that I did. December comes and asks me basically to give my research on colleges to another student looking to study the same major. While I probably shouldn’t have agreed, I said send me an email and I’ll help some. Never saw her as I walked by student services every day nor ever got the email.-drugs are a decent issue, vaping is rampant -art departments aren’t as funded, but throws money at football. -favoritism sport students-attempts at helping a broader discrimination was crushed over the black vs white when there’s a LOT more inequalities going on than that.-lgbtq+ club struggled to become approved and after teacher quits made it difficult to continue with many teachers that stayed not supporting. Eventually had to have a temporary teacher for the remainder of the year who already had a club. ICC continued to not support clubs.Overall: Decent Academic image, but at what cost?
Submitted by student on December 16, 2021

just entered the school from a state, i’ve been doing choir for about 10 years and of course i applied to the choir program. i wasn’t informed of the different choirs available, even though i informed my councilor of my years in choir and such i was still put in the beginners choir( mainly freshman while i am a junior). i was also not informed of the schedule switching process, and was clueless on how to access my email. since it is the beginning of the semester i thought i would be able to change choirs after auditioning. however, the choir teacher, who at the beginning of the year said i was eligible for other higher choirs, said i did not have the etiquette to join other choirs even though another girl who just moved into the school was now in the higher choir. she was uncooperative, did not give me other options, and did not communicate. the councilors were also not good at communicating and gave me the same answer for every single question that i asked. just 5 months into this school and i hate it, it is an unwelcoming and uncomfortable atmosphere for me.
Submitted by parent on January 31, 2021

We are glad to have 5 of our kids graduate from AK to great universities in the Carolinas, they were well prepared for high achievements. They were issues here and there and the school helped us deal with these issues the best we possible. Thank you AK staff for your efforts.
Submitted by parent on February 26, 2020

with my oldest not that great. He struggled in school and is definitely not that ready for college. I know school is what you make of it but no motivation to excell was given during the 4 years . if you are not well liked or in a click you generally just exist at this school
Submitted by student on March 28, 2018

This school is a mixed bag. You can either experience an incredible or devastating experience at Ardrey Kell depending on the courses you take, teachers you have, and effort you put into your high school experience (both academically and extra-curricular). The rumors are true- AK is a highly competitive school. The academic success of most students is unreal, the musical and artistic groups consistently win highest levels of praise, and the athletic teams are some of the best in the state. This is both a good and bad thing; if you aren't already very talented at an extra-curricular, don't expect to find yourself representing Ardrey Kell in that field. Academically, AK has some very gifted students who will succeed regardless of the competence of their teachers, but for those students who require excellence in teaching will struggle. There are some incredible teachers at Ardrey Kell who really do care about the success of their students and who will do anything to help them succeed. There are also some adults who work at AK under the role of "teacher" but that is where their teaching credibility ends. They are unprofessional, not understanding, and overall bad at what they do. Due to the strict environment of this school, creativity is squashed in the classroom. Active and excited personalities are demanded to sit and wait for instruction. The only creative outlet you will find at this school is in the underfunded arts hall. Depending on how you interpret the competitive nature of this school and what you are willing to sacrifice as a high school student, you will either love or despise Ardrey Kell-- there is no in between.
Submitted by parent on January 25, 2018

We chose this neighborhood because of the ratings for Ardrey Kell, and we have never been disappointed. Our boys have done well, have been well-prepared for college, and have had excellent high school experiences.
Submitted by parent on September 23, 2017

Very good. I've had a few issues with teachers but overall my kids are academically benefiting from this school everything else I can guide them myself!
Submitted by parent on September 19, 2017

Overall, the school is safe and the facilities are great. Teachers are mostly fine, several have been fantastic, but not all activities are given equal treatment. Orchestra is not given as much support as band for example. Again, problem with admin.
Submitted by parent on April 26, 2017

Horrible. My son went through a lot of torture. I have never seen a school that has been so careless and disrespectful. My son works hard, and does his best to get good grades, but it is so difficult since the teachers don't do their job right. His GPA has dropped by coming here. Do not send your child to this school, if you are planning to. It is one of the worst decisions I have ever made.
Submitted by parent on January 25, 2017

Some really good teachers and some really bad teachers. The Principal can be a bully and rants and raves at assemblies. He punishes the whole student body for the actions of a few. He needs to stop talking about his nephew at UNC. No one cares.
Submitted by parent on May 26, 2016

Principal David Switzer is a misogynist. He thinks that he can bully and intimidate parents like he does with the students at AK. If you question his school policies, i.e. no outside food and allowing AK staff to search your child's lunch for fast food content, he becomes belligerent and unhinged. Clearly, he has some psychological issues or perhaps years of steroid use is taking effect. Now, I understand why most of the students at AK dislike him and why there is such a high turnover of teachers at AK--- some only lasting for one semester.
Submitted by parent on November 18, 2015

Principal Switzer runs this large high school phenomenally! He is very transparent about what goes on and extremely accessible to parents and students. He hosts morning and evening parent meetings with him so that they fit in with most people's schedules. He is on top of any problem and works quickly towards a resolution. Our twins transitioned easily to high school and enjoy this school and what it offers.Kudos to Principal Switzer!
Submitted by parent on May 19, 2015

Both of my children graduated from AK ...although it has been a few years now, I just had to add my comments - especially after reading some of the negative reviews! My kids were in athletics and art - there are many opportunities to get involved. My son was not the "academic type" - with few AP courses, but when he went to college I remember him telling me how grateful he was to AK teachers, who "pushed" him....he realized how well prepared he was compared to other students from around the state! And he has successfully completed his Degree! My daughter, who had a lot of AP credits, hit the ground running and she will graduate from UNCW soon - she was just awarded an internship in NYC and I'm sure faced a lot of competition from highly acclaimed schools like NYU. My point is that AK provided my children with the foundation for success on the next step of their journey ....this is what I want in a high school! It's a challenging time for all students, socially and academically, but the staff and curriculum at AK helped my children compete at a high level and I am grateful that they received such a top notch education at Ardrey Kell HS!
Submitted by teacher on February 22, 2015

I came to this school because I had heard that it is a wonderful place to teach. What I have found is that it IS a wonderful place to teach IF you do exactly as the administration says and do not deviate from what the believe is 'effectiveness'. Mr. Switzer is a nice enough fellow, but there are those of us at the school that think the press clippings and accolades have gone to his head. He says he believes in his staff, but seems not to respect us enough as educators to give us a sense of autonomy in our classrooms. I don't feel trusted to deliver results. Instead, I am made to feel like I am not intelligent or experienced enough, to trust what works in my classroom. Doing things the 'AK WAY' here seems to mean doing things EXACTLY the way they want you to do them. On the plus side, this school has done a fantastic job with involving the community. You won't find many schools that have the wonderful relationship between the community and the administrators. This can be a GREAT SCHOOL, but the administration must start to trust and respect us as educators, even if it doesn't square with their views on what makes for effective instruction.
Submitted by parent on October 24, 2014

Audrey Kell is fine if your child is a high achiever or an athlete. If a student is average or below, its a constant struggle where no one cares or helps. The EC coordinator should have retired a long time ago, she is no advocate for the children. AK is more interested in their image than with the students. There were many bullying issues that were never addressed although they profess to be diligent. Much of the student body is pretentious and self centered. Thank goodness we left and found a smaller, loving HS environment.
Submitted by parent on July 28, 2014

We moved from NY to Charlotte last year and my daughter completed 10th grade @ Ardrey Kell. We are very impressed with this school. The academics are rigorous but my daughter was able to maintain excellent grades while working part time and staying active in athletics. I concur with other reviews that the principal, Mr. Switzer, is amazing and I hope he stays @ Ardrey Kell until my other children graduate. You won't find a better High school in the CMS system. PS....I do see why people call it a jail though. It could use some paint/landscaping/architectural enhancements??
Submitted by parent on June 21, 2014

I can't say enough good things about AKHS. We love, love, love this school. Mr. Switzer, the principal, is amazing. This school has something for everyone: academics, athletes, artists, musicians, etc. Your child will be so glad to be at this school! Even the kids here have a ton of school spirit. It's unlike anything I've ever seen!
Submitted by student on May 18, 2014

To some, this school appears to be great. It'd diverse and the teachers are young and great. However, the way this school is run makes the learning environment impossible to learn in. The administrators seem to care more about girls' yoga pants and butts than academics and student satisfaction. The drug and cheating problems at this school are unbelievable and the rules are ridiculous. If you care at all about your child's education, don't send them hear! This was my first year at AK and after my experience it is also my last. The learning environment and the ridiculous rules may work for some people whom I have met, but for most students I have talked to, this school is exactly what it looks like...a prison.