Highland Elementary

1915 Buffalo Lake Road

School District

Harnett County
Grade

K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:14
Type

public

School Map for Harnett 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 other on February 09, 2024

My granddaughter is in the fourth grade and attend this school. I have been informed that she is eleven projects behind. My question is, why weren’t her parents informed before she got that far behind? There seems to be a lack of communication between teacher and parent. It’s about three to four months left in the school year. This child is only 9 years old and is stressing out over this. And to hear at this day and time children are being taught to be more responsible, it saddens me. I need answers from both sides parents/ teacher. Thank you in advance
Submitted by parent on December 12, 2021

With the new principle, this school has gone down hill. My first grader didnt even have a teacher for half of 2021. It was subs or TAs until they found a teacher. It seemed they were more worried about themed school days and fun vs actual education. Poor management im general. Next year we are going with another school.
Submitted by parent on September 27, 2018

I have been disappointed in this school for a while. I was hoping it was just an adjustment phase for the school, but unfortunately, there hasn't been any improvement. I wish we were in a position to move again. The principals never seem to last at this school either. I have had 3 kids at this school. One is currently in middle school now, but the other two are still there. I am now seriously considering home schooling my kids.
Submitted by parent on January 24, 2018

The nurse or nurse assistant needs improvement in how to communicate more professional with parents .
Submitted by other on October 18, 2016

The current administration is phenomenal. They are trying their best to ensure a positive learning environment for teachers and students, both personally and statistically, through their academics. They also offer different level materials, daily, to meet the needs of all students. In addition, they are very open to any questions or concerns that parents or students have, and address them immediately. This school is trying their best to be the best,, and I think they will succeed.....
Submitted by other on July 09, 2016

This is an Awesome school. Just make sure your children are car riders. My oldest was bullied on the bus. But, the assistant principal fixed the problem and suspended the student. She also road on the bus for a few days. Other parents still complained. The teachers are wonderful and the school spirit is felt when you walk through the Halls. As long as, you comply with the rules. They're nice staff. Takes respect to get respect.
Submitted by parent on August 18, 2015

I love Highland! We had an amazing year with Miss Wilson and my daughter is thriving here!
Submitted by parent on January 28, 2015

We were hesitant to place our daughter in this school because of the ratings. It is our neighborhood school for the Carolina lakes subdivision. Our daughter was placed in a classroom with a teacher who is certified in gifted education. The advanced children were placed in that class for what I was told. Our daughter loves going to school everyday. I had few concerns and the teacher replied promptly to my emails. I requested a seat change for my daughter because she was distracted by a no so well behaved child and she was moved immediately. My daughter has been encouraged by her teacher to study math daily and vocabulary, and my daughter wakes up everyday to practice vocabulary for the upcoming School Bee. She wants to excel because this teacher encourages her. So we are pleased that switching her from a private school to Highland has been a positive experience. I have met many others who love the teachers at Highland. If you are an involved parent in your child's education your child will do great at school. If you rely on the school to do all the work...well anywhere you go you will have the same negative outcome. Give Highland a try.
Submitted by parent on November 28, 2014

Overall this school could work on their communication skills. The staff members as well as the teachers, should stay connected and respectful with the parents. The teachers need to learn that with a kindergartner who is excited about school, does not always inform the parents about up an coming events; such as play's, holiday affairs. Safety and the well-begin is apart of being in the education field, if you are in-charge of children for 8 hours a day, teaching is not the only thing we as parents expect from the teachers and staff at Highland Elementary.
Submitted by parent on November 14, 2014

My daughter started at Highland about 3/4 of the way through her Kindergarten year. When we met with her teacher on her first day, she was very good about listening to our concerns and where she stood in Reading and Math. Our daughter continued to excel and loved her class. Forward to 1st grade, and she's lucky enough to have Mrs. Dobeck as her teacher. She tailors her interactions with the children based on each child's capabilities. My daughter is reading at a much higher level than most of the other kids, so she's let me know that she'd like to send her to a 2nd grade class occasionally to see how she does with their reading and/or vocab. She's encouraged my daughter to continue reading about things that interest her--instead of just what she's instructed to read. As for the school overall, it seems to function well. Lots of activities for the kids to involve themselves with. My only complaint, and this is probably nationwide, is the number of fundraisers that my daughter comes home with. Give it a rest!
Submitted by parent on March 01, 2014

I am so grateful for this school, the Harnett County School District and the state of North Carolina. I've had two children go through Highland. We moved here when my daughter was in second grade. We came from WA where a student had to be at least two years behind to receive any assistance and she had 28 other students in her class. Within her first week at Highland her teacher recognized she was struggling and let us know she was only at a Kindergarten reading level. She was immediately placed in Title 1 and received free after school tutoring. With great tools and a lot of practical homework I am very proud to say my daughter jumped up two full grades in reading and is currently excelling in third grade at Highland. Her teacher is amazing and she only has 15 classmates this year. She still receives Title 1 assistance and is getting ready to start another round of free after school tutoring. I love this school and I know it has changed my daughter's life forever! Her future is bright and it's all thanks to the amazing programs the state offers it's schools.
Submitted by parent on February 17, 2014

I'll agree that I think it's a real mixed bag over there. My son (8yo) and daughter (5yo) moved in the middle of the year from WA state. My daughter's kindergarten teacher was amazing! Everyone else in the class could read when she got there and she didn't even know all her letter sounds; by the end of the year she was 1st grade ready! My son's teacher was out for almost HALF of his time there. When we called to ask if we could talk to his sub (since in 6 weeks we hadn't received ANY graded work) we were told by the office lady "I'm sure he's learning everything he should be". After more pushing, I got her to give my name and number to the "second grade representitive" who called and said she couldn't comment because she wasn't his teacher. We talked to the principle before buying our house since the school had a rating of 3 last year. She was upfront about the schools situation and the rating has increased to a 6, so I think they are on the right track, especially given the roll out of the new standard. The front office staff, however, is almost always rude and unhelpful. After school care is great; she's a no nonsense type, but extracurricular activities are lacking.
Submitted by parent on November 02, 2013

Our son goes to highland and loves it. He is working hard and having fun at the same time. This school is under rated by greatschools.org. The area and school is amazing.
Submitted by parent on August 08, 2013

Highland had a great summer reading program this year. They had a different act or specials each week and let kids check out books from the library. I even took my 2 and 4 year old along and they got to check out books too ! Had a great time and the younger kids are now familiar with parts of the school.
Submitted by parent on August 02, 2013

Not happy with this school. Front Desk Ladies are at times rude. Teachers are hard to work with. Principal is focused to hard on keeping a FRONT of a happy and perfect school instead of passing the State Standard. Will not ever recommend this school to anyone I know.
Submitted by parent on May 08, 2013

My oldest son has been at Highland for 4 years and my middle child just one year. We have had a wonderful experience with Highland. I've heard some of the negative things that people have said but I can only speak from personal experience and the truth is that we have never had any issues. My kids love their teachers. The principal is a little strict but that is not a bad thing considering that the principal before her was a little too relaxed. My oldest son has thrived academically there while my younger child has had a little harder time. We will be moving away this year and I'm very sad to leave.
Submitted by parent on March 20, 2013

My children have been at this school for the past three years and I am sorry that we will be moving away this year. After reading a number of the reviews posted here, many of which shocked me, I realized they are all over a year old. Yes, the school has some issues, what school doesn't. There are good teachers and bad teachers. Just like good students and bad students and good parents, bad parents. Highland has a healthy mix of all those and everything in between. Between my three kids, over the course of three years (3rd-5th, 1st-3rd and a current kindergartener) we've had 9 teachers at this school. I have enjoyed all of them, as have my kids. The school has been transitioning to the common core curriculum the past year, which I think they've struggled with, but it's a big change. We also got a new principal last year (2011-2012), Mrs. Miller runs a tight ship. All in all, I like Highland. My kids like Highland. It doesn't offer a lot of other extracurricular activities, but what it does have is done well. I would recommend this school to anyone!
Submitted by parent on December 12, 2012

This is my childrens second year at this school. Last year my child had a nightmare of a teacher who. psychologically damaged the kids, when brought to the attention of the principle she would not move my child to a different teacher so I pulled my child out with only a few weeks left of school. They made them REPEAT THE ENTIRE GRADE even though his scores were exemplary. AND they fired the teacher that they had the previous year. How does this make sense. When I brought it up to their principle, she implied it was because I didn't write a formal complaint. I have also witnessed bullying from the teachers to the students. There is no need to scold a child 2 inches from heir face. We are moving to another school district just to get to a neighborhood where our children will not be attending this school. I have never felt more ignored as a parent with concerns in my life. I will make sure to inform any new military families to he area to avoid this school like the plague.