Ballantyne Elementary

15425 Scholastic Drive

School District

Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Grade

K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:15
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 October 09, 2023

We like this school , this school is safe for children and the teachers teach very good
Submitted by parent on September 23, 2023

My child's experience at this school was terrible. I also was not pleased with the school overall. There are too many students per teacher, and the teachers I was involved with seem indifferent with one exception. Perhaps that was due to the sheer number of students per class. There also seemed to be little discipline for unruly and aggressive children as my child informed me of several incidents she witnessed of children intentionally hurting (verbally and physically) other children while teachers and staff did nothing. Academically, I can't say that my child gained any real knowledge of the fundamentals in math, history, grammar, etc. They had to bring in headphones and were often put in front of a computer screen for 'lessons'. I also never got to actually see much of the completed and graded schoolwork, and one particular teacher seemed annoyed that I even asked. Also, there is nothing in the way of an actual playground for the students to enjoy at recess. There is one small play area that the children can use on a rotation basis. The others waiting for their day/turn are often left with the pavement/parking lot. What sort of elementary school is not equipped with play area large enough for all the children to actually play in for the brief amount of time they are allowed outdoors?It seems that this school is contending with the consequences of the ridiculous amount of new residential developments the city continues to allow and the resulting influx of thousands additional students without the increased resources to provide a quality education for them. Schools should be stimulating and teachers should be able to make learning fun for young children since that is what they are supposed to be trained and educated for. Unfortunately, like this school, they have become 'institutions' where children are processed. For all of the above reasons, I ended up pulling my child out of BES.
Submitted by parent on September 15, 2022

good school i love how they teach
Submitted by parent on May 02, 2021

Great leadership! School is adopting Leader In Me to prepare students to be more effective, more goal oriented, and more successful in today’s world.
Submitted by parent on February 26, 2021

My son loves BES and we are very happy to be part of this community, teachers are great and principal’s leadership is amazing, they really care and take care of the kids
Submitted by parent on October 10, 2019

As a parent I’m very happy with the school & teachers. One of the best schools. Now my son is a middle schooler & Ballantyne elementary has given him the best foundation.
Submitted by parent on September 29, 2019

We are impressed with Principal Rogers. She leads this school with confidence and works hard. She believes in building good character and leadership with in our children. Our daughter loves her school.
Submitted by parent on September 19, 2019

We came to BES from private school and have been very impressed. We have had several great teachers and we especially love Ms. Moore. The art teachers are also wonderful and my children have come home with some very impressive clay pieces. Overall, I have found the BES teachers to be very thoughtful and caring. There is a lot of good energy and enthusiasm for learning at the school.
Submitted by parent on March 23, 2017

Good news for Ballantyne Elementary - Principal Dr. Dougherty is retiring. Hopefully, a new principal will create a more nurturing environment. Right now, it is not a school but a correction institution.She has established a compete authoritarianism. Parents are not welcomed at school at any time. Some teachers, feeling Principal's support, exercise the same approach - complete dictatorship. Students are afraid to breathe and blink.
Submitted by parent on September 06, 2016

Since my son started Kindergarten at this school and now a couple years later I can officially say that the problem starts with the leader. The principle is cold and has the personality of a rock. The front office staff has about 3/4 of rude, ignorant and miserable old ladies that are bullies to parents and children alike. I guess there are some decent people that work at this school but they are short and far between. I do not recommend this school at all.P.S. Parents are not wanted at this school at any time of day. (Unless you have a checkbook handy)
Submitted by other on February 01, 2016

Kindergarten team is great! Carpool is dysfunctional. Is there anyone at this school that can step up and resolve the carpool issue?!
Submitted by parent on October 13, 2015

This year show more tools and forms for home work in house, internet, website school, wikis.
Submitted by parent on June 26, 2015

The principal is so rigid that no one can stand her..including the staff. We had some wonderful teachers however.
Submitted by parent on May 13, 2015

I am writing to inform other parents before they sign their kids up for 4 years of boot camp at Ballantyne. I moved my daughter deom this shool after the Christmas break and she has been attending Beverly Woods Elementary and has made such great progress. With all the individual attention and the awesome teachers and how they instruct the kids her reading level has improved 5 points!!!! She was terrified of the EOgs this year but now she is ready confident and can't wait to take them. BES even asked us to fill out a form and letters to give to the kids on the day they take their end of year tests. They also ask for input as to what kind of teacher and where your kids should be placed next year. I love how they want input from the parents and kids that attend their school!!! Two thumbs up for BES and two thumbs down for Ballantyne!!!
Submitted by parent on April 08, 2015

Horrible school!! No real play ground, loud cafeteria that many children and parents have complained about, children complaining about being bullied and the principal is more interested in high test scores and the business part of her job than the children. Definately the worst experience I have ever had with an elementary school. My children will not be attending next year.
Submitted by parent on November 23, 2014

This is my first year at BES. I have been very pleased with the attention and concern the principal of this school has shown! I feel Dr. Mazurek goes above and beyond to enure parents feel a very open-door policy with her. I had some concerns with my son and some challenges he's been dealing with and in addition to his teacher, she has been wonderful. I feel she sincerely cares about her school, parents, teachers and the well-being of her students. If I've ever had to email or call her, she's alwaays replied or returned a call in a very timely manner. I look forward to a couple more years here until my son goes to middle school.
Submitted by parent on October 20, 2014

I am pleased with personalized attention my children receive from their teachers. As a result, they are performing way above average.
Submitted by parent on August 26, 2014

Very diverse and very progressive with technology. Wish the building was large enough to accommodate all students however. Most of the staff has been great.
Submitted by parent on August 16, 2014

We moved to the Ballantyne area 5yrs ago specifically to attend BES based on early test score research and tried to ignore the negative reviews we heard thinking its all in the individual experience-but unfortunately they are all true. And now you can see it in the declining test scores too. The main problem seems to be the Principal and her leadership. More than 1/2 of the staff is not happy and does not feel supported therefore turn over is higher than avg at this school and ultimately the kids suffer. If you are looking for a rich warm caring environment--look further b/c unfortunately BES is not at all the school we envisioned for our kids-we are exploring options for private school if this yr is another disappointment. To the admin at BES listen to your parents,staff and most importantly kids after all it should be a community not a dictatorship.
Submitted by parent on July 31, 2014

lunch is only 18 minutes as supposed to 30 minutes. My kids complain about their stomachs hurting and admins all they can say is " it's the teacher's fault". They don't do anything to correct the problem. In the meantime, students are suffering because they don't have time to eat properly.