Ballantyne Elementary in Charlotte | Military Town Advisor

Category	Rating	Details
Test Scores	9/10	The Test Score Rating examines how students at this school performed on standardized tests compared with other schools in the state. The Test Rating was created using 2025 North Carolina End-of-Course Tests data from North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, and using 2025 North Carolina End-of-Grade Tests data from North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.
Student Growth	7/10	The Student Progress Rating measures whether students at this school are making academic progress over time based on student growth data provided by the Department of Education. Specifically, this rating looks at how much progress individual students have made on state assessments during the past year or more, how this performance aligns with expected progress based on a student growth model established by the state Department of Education, and how this school's growth data compares to other schools in the state. The Growth Rating was created using 2024 Student growth data from North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

Posted: March 27, 2025

Great community school with caring teachers and staff. Principal Patel is amazing- she is supportive of all students and ensures even neurodivergent students get the support they need. My son made huge improvements in his writing from being below average to average and above average in his recent assessment. I am very impressed with the support and compassion that students receive here.

Posted: October 9, 2023

We like this school , this school is safe for children and the teachers teach very good

Posted: 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.

Posted: September 15, 2022

good school i love how they teach

Posted: May 2, 2021

Great leadership! School is adopting Leader In Me to prepare students to be more effective, more goal oriented, and more successful in todays world.

Posted: May 2, 2021

Posted: February 26, 2021

My son loves BES and we are very happy to be part of this community, teachers are great and principals leadership is amazing, they really care and take care of the kids

Posted: February 26, 2021

Posted: October 10, 2019

Totally no bullying as far as I know

Posted: October 10, 2019

They support all the kids in best possible way

Posted: October 10, 2019

Good approach in giving kids the appropriate amount of homework

Posted: October 10, 2019

Best and dedicated set of teachers .

Posted: October 10, 2019

Great in moulding their character from a tender age

Posted: October 10, 2019

Great school in developing their leadership abilities

Posted: October 10, 2019

As a parent Im 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.

Posted: 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.

Posted: September 18, 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.

Posted: 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.

Posted: March 23, 2017

Math homework is a joke; not challenging enough for a student who knows more that he is required in a particular grade. If a child does his/her homework ahead of time because it is very easy, the teacher gives a warning to mark his/her behavior chart for not following directions. Ridiculous and frustrating!

Posted: March 23, 2017

Some teachers do work very hard to make students improve; also, they keep challenging those who are above the grade level. Some of them, however, do not bother giving more advanced students a more challenging work neither in class, nor as their homework. As a result, such students feel being pulled back, wasting their time. The TD program is very weak, if it exists at all.

Posted: March 23, 2017

Students are praised and awarded for being quiet, but not for being caring. Some teachers mark students' behavior charts for picking up an eraser from the floor and handing it to the student who dropped it by accident.

Posted: March 23, 2017

As I mentioned previously, it is a burden to have more advanced students for some teachers in their class.

Posted: March 23, 2017

Nobody pays attention to bullying at this school. Some teachers themselves bully students that are not their favorites. They embarrass and humiliate children in front of other students and teachers.

Posted: September 6, 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)

Posted: February 1, 2016

Teachers address concerns promptly; I've had good experience with kindergarten team. Teachers seem to work hard.

Posted: February 1, 2016

weekly math with 12 problems and read nightly. I would like to see more homework.

Posted: February 1, 2016

Honesty and integrity yes. can't really say one way or another regarding fairness; leaning towards agree

Posted: February 1, 2016

Kindergarten team is great! Carpool is dysfunctional. Is there anyone at this school that can step up and resolve the carpool issue?!

Posted: October 13, 2015

This year show more tools and forms for home work in house, internet, website school, wikis.

Posted: June 26, 2015

The principal is so rigid that no one can stand her..including the staff. We had some wonderful teachers however.

Posted: May 12, 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!!!

Posted: April 7, 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.

Posted: November 22, 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.

Posted: October 19, 2014

I am pleased with personalized attention my children receive from their teachers. As a result, they are performing way above average.

Posted: August 25, 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.

Posted: August 15, 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.

Posted: July 30, 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.

Posted: June 8, 2014

I'm afraid the negative reviews are accurate. The school lacks a warm caring environment in which young children can thrive. In general, there is a lack of proper communication at all levels. From my experience, I found my child's teacher very uncommunicative. None of the progress report cards I received this year had a single word of teacher remark on it and I cannot understand how that can be. I can only attribute it to a lack of interest and indifference on tne part of the teacher. The children are not challenged enough. Discipline and good behavior are not enforced. I was terribly disappointed with my child's year at school and my impression was it was neither productive nor enjoyable for her.

Posted: May 31, 2014

A kindergarten teacher is supposed to be nurturing and help foster a life long love of learning. Not my daughters teacher . I moved her out of this school after the winter break. The admin and teacher were awful. Not caring at all.

Posted: March 23, 2014

I wish I had better reviews for this school. As a parent who was going to place their two children here, it stopped at the front office. Sadly, all of the negative reviews are very true here....the front office staff less is than welcoming, not helpful in the least, and rude, rude, rude, on both of my encounters with them! I really tried to make this school work, but I can't imagine being an actual parent there and having to speak with them about something important.....And, it seems as if it trickles down from the principle. I can't imagine sending my children here.....what an unfortunate circumstance.......and the test scores have plummeted over the last few years as well! Something is clearly wrong here...to those who have great experiences here I am thankful you do, but clearly, this school isn't for everyone.

Posted: February 9, 2014

Ballantyne Elementary is a PROFOUND DISAPPOINTMENT. We were a part of the school from its opening in 2008 until last year when we pulled our youngest out and sent her to private school. There is no mystery about what is wrong. The PRINCIPAL is the poorest excuse of a leader I have EVER seen. I'm a former teacher. Read all the reviews. The office staff IS abysmal. There is a problem with the overall poor quality of the teaching staff. I feel sorry for the two or three excellent teachers still there, however, the high number of INCOMPETENT staff is unacceptable. There is a serious MORAL PROBLEM and a higher than average employee TURNOVER RATE. Look for ratings and testing scores to continue to DECLINE until the PRINCIPAL is replaced. The right administrator could make a PROFOUND difference. This school is an embarrassment in a district with an EXCELLENT MIDDLE and HIGH school. The ineffactiveness in addressing bullying and other significant behavioral issues results in a school that isn't safe. The one star rating is for the few good teachers on staff. The rest of the school warrants a rating of zero stars. ALL CHILDREN DESERVE BETTER THAN THIS PRINCIPAL.

Posted: January 20, 2014

The teaching staff and administrative staff are abysmal. Pushing the common core standards and not really engaging with each child's learning styles. Every interaction I have had with a faculty member has been unpleasant as they are unhappy and it is reflecting on how they treat parents and students.

Posted: October 30, 2013

My son started attending BES this year and he is in Kindergarten. He is very, very unhappy. His teacher is not friendly, caring or supportive. She does not communicate with us effectively. We hope to switch classrooms. However, we have hear horror stories of parents trying to change teachers. We are very present in the school and have seen all of the staff act unpleasant and unhappy. It is very unfortunate as we feel kindergarten should be a fun learning environment for the kids. The administrative staff are rude and not helpful at all. We are currently looking for other schools to send our son to. What a shame.

Posted: April 26, 2013

Overall we have had a mixed experinece with this school. We recently moved to the area and started w/ a first grader and a 5th grader. Just like anything in life the teachers are a hit or miss. Our daughter loves her 5th grader teacher which we've noticed in the type of work given to the kids and w/ our interactions w/ her teachers. Unfortunately, we had to pull out 1st grader out of this school after 4 months and put him in private because his teacher was not that involved w/ her students. Tried to talk w/ the principle but you get a lot of burecrocy and red tape. The staff in the front office is abmisal and not very helpful as well. Overall a mixed experience but would have expected more given the property taxes we pay to support these schools.

Ballantyne Elementary

Charlotte, NC 28277

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Ballantyne Elementary

Charlotte, NC 28277

School Ratings

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