Lakeforest Elementary School

3300 Briarcliff Drive

School District

Pitt County
Grade

PK, K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:11
Type

public

School Map for Pitt County 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 November 29, 2023

As a parent, I feel that all parents should know exactly what's going on with their child when it comes down to learning/their education. If a child has a weakness on certain subjects that it should be pinpointed. Ways to strengthen that child's weakness should be approached and worked on. Instead, there is miscommunication. Not all kids learn at the same paste, you have kids that may need a little more help and guidance than others. Instead of children getting provided with this extra help it gets overlooked and the child is pretty much left to struggle. No child should be overlooked, no child should be left behind. But this is the case on so many levels.
Submitted by parent on April 27, 2018

Overall, terrible. No one is there to guide my child through academics and maturing. He struggles with ADHD and it’s not addressed properly. Instead of helping him, they discipline. Don’t send your child to this school. It’s not worth the weekly aggravation.
Submitted by parent on June 08, 2017

This school is terrible. The children run wild and treat the teachers extremely disrespectfully and continue to get away with it. My child has come home almost every day since starting school there complaining and some days in tears. We discussed our concerns about bullying with the principal and nothing changed. She did go to my child's classroom and let all the students know that my child complained and let them all know she was disappointed in them. No follow ups to check on my child after that. Of course it continued and never got better. Expectations for academics in this county are VERY low as well. If you don't have to live in Pitt County, don't, not if you want your children to have a good educational experience. We will be going elsewhere. It would be helpful if more people left honest reviews about schools.
Submitted by parent on March 09, 2017

The Principal is just a "figurehead" who is only there for photo ops and news interviews. She terrorizes her staff and that contributes to the high turnover rate.
Submitted by other on February 26, 2017

DON'T let the 5 star ratings fool you.Ask the doctors in and out of the town. Ask other parents. Ask previous teachers. They will shed more light on the REAL issues and not the fake great reviews on here.This school is in the bottom 1250/1300 rating out of 1400+ schools with very little progress since it has been open.High teacher turnover rate.High substitute rate of teachers vs real teachers. Teachers leaving mid year without notice. New inexperienced teachers come in, get their 1-2 years and leave for better. Problems overlooked, academic failure across the entire school, kids learning the wrong things and major issues being ignored by the administration. Principal is a paper pusher is hardly ever available to parents or students to address the more important issues other then getting her picture taken for Facebook. All about the show. It is a predominantly poor school and I think because of this, the staff just doesn't try as hard. If they did, a lot of the problems, the academic failures, the student safety, the student behaviors would change. So I chuck it up as Principal F. lacks initiative to provide these students with a chance to be better than what they are. There are some good teachers here. Mostly in the PK-3 levels. The higher up you go, the less learning you get. But you don't bite the hand that feeds you which is why they either leave or they stay with their head in the sand. Which of course doing that is giving the children less of a chance at learning the right things. If I knew how bad it was before enrolling them here, I never would have. Not even my dog. This school needs a serious staff make over. Starting with Administration. But don't take my word for it. Ask around the town. This school and its Principal has a reputation and it is not a good one.
Submitted by parent on October 15, 2014

I had to give my two cents. We've moved from another county this summer and there's just a wonderful difference between my son's old school which may have had higher test scores but just didn't have Lakeforest elm's nurturing enviornment. I am so happy with with this school. Just the school's atmosphere in general is welcoming and respectful towards the parents as well as uplifting for the children. The principal has obvious drive and pride in her students (check their facebook page), one of the assistant principal's just won the best of Pitt county award I met the second one and she was very nice, the kids walk through the halls in a way that leaves zero room for bullying, all meals are now free for all students this year, the teachers are using an app that allows the parents to see how the kids are doing throughout the day as well as communicate w/ each other and his teachers both general ed and special education have been great. And the building is beautiful inside and out. My son loves it and I have no complaints this far.
Submitted by teacher on October 10, 2014

Say what you want about LFE. You can ever write a bad review of our school. However, I would like to let you know, OUR Assistant Principal received a HUGE acknowledgement last night. He has been chose to be Pitt County Schools Assistant Principal of the Year! We are doing our best at LFE!!! GO FROGS!!!!
Submitted by parent on October 09, 2014

At first I thought this school was a good school but the higher the grades my kids got to the worser it is getting. To start out with the problem of no school books and then the teachers, they aren't teaching kids like the used to,they show the kids one or two examples and then they send the work home for the parents to teach the kids. Another issue is the fact that most of the time there are substitutes in the classroom more than the actual teacher so that's another reason I feel our kids aren't being taught as accurately as they should be.
Submitted by teacher on October 08, 2014

As a new staff member at Lakeforest Elementary this year, I am truly impressed with how much our teachers and administration care about our students' academic and personal success. The new standards and high stakes testing are issues that our state and country are experiencing as a whole, and I believe we try our best to support our students and families when it comes to personalizing education and preparing students for future educational experiences.
Submitted by teacher on October 08, 2014

I chose to come to Lakeforest and teach. I love what I do. There are days it is a challenge but I know we are doing what is best for children. I find that if I have a concern and have a possible solution I am always listened to and changes are made when possible. It is not always easy to know the why but if you cannot voice your concerns in a civil manner and offer some suggestions then really you are just complaining. I work long hours to give the students what they need and have had very good parent support. I am extremely involved in all activities and try to look out for all students and not just my class or myself. I am sad that people think we are a bad school. We have great staff, students and administration who are doing what is best for students. We need to hold everyone to high expectations including the community. Oh we're proud to be the frogs!!!!
Submitted by teacher on October 08, 2014

Great place to work. The environment is conducive for learning. The staff and students are one big family.
Submitted by other on October 08, 2014

This school has issues. It doesn't seem like there is any consistent vision from the administration.
Submitted by teacher on October 08, 2014

Lakeforest is a great school that's stacked with an amazing staff. Proud to call this place my home!
Submitted by teacher on October 08, 2014

This is an excellent school with wonderful students, parents, and faculty/staff. Our mission is for every student to be successful. We believe that in partnership with home and community that each child will be prepared to meet the high expectations of an ever changing global society.
Submitted by teacher on October 08, 2014

Great school with great students, parents, and staff/faculty. It is our mission to ensure through partnership with home and community, to prepare ALL students to meet the high expectations of an ever changing global society.
Submitted by teacher on October 08, 2014

Lakeforest Elementary not only has a beautiful and well-maintained campus but this school employs some of the most caring and hard-working teachers, administrators and staff I have ever had the pleasure of working with. Their dedication is only surpassed by their desire for all students to be successful. Having been around a while in education, I can honestly say that this school is a top jewel in the crown of education, not just in Pitt County, but in North Carolina.
Submitted by parent on June 04, 2014

My child has been at LFE since it opened. Started out in 3rd grade and it was absolutely horrible. His 3rd grade teacher was terrible. Not only did I think she had some mental issues, she ended up going on medical leave in the middle of the year and their class had several different substitues the remainder of the year. It was a complete mess. There was no structure, no actual teaching, these subs were basically baby-sitting this class each day. Then they all struggled at the end of the year trying to complete their end of year testing since none of the material was ever covered by any of these subs. The prinicpal never once tried to get a teacher in the class to help them, nor would she take the time to listen & discuss my concerns. My child is now in 5th grade about to leave, and I could not be happier. Out of 3 teachers, only ONE was absolutely awesome, and that was Gina Beaman. This school also has the worst administration Ive ever had to deal with. They always try and push you off on someone else when you try to speak with them about your child. I would strongly recommend for any parent whose child is going to be going to this school to seriously consider other options.
Submitted by parent on April 15, 2014

Lakeforest has potential. I think the principal does try. However I absolutely hate my child's teacher. I really want to mention a name but I will just say that he is a male. He has the personality of a rock and is extremely sarcastic to the point where you don't even feel comfortable asking questions. I never have any idea what my child is working on or how to help him. I just wish that individuals who are burned out or unenthusiastic about teaching would just give it up.
Submitted by parent on October 16, 2013

My daughter goes to Lakeforest and I have to say that it has been an amazing experience. The staff is so nice (except for the red head man who helps the kids out of the cars in the morning. He's always looking annoyed and angry) Other than him, everyone is pleasant and polite. My childs academic progress is amazing for her age and the students are very nice with one another for the most part. I am enjoying her time at Lakeforest so far :)
Submitted by parent on August 13, 2013

I consider Lake Forest Elementary one of the top schools. My 7 year old has greatly improved academically as well as socially since coming to this school. The teachers are awesome and always keep me as a parent involved with all school functions in a timely manner. Goooooo Lake Forest Frogs...