Elizabeth Lane Elementary School

My family moved within Charlotte so my kids could attend ELE. We have had incredible teachers and great support from the staff. My kids are getting structure and space to be themselves.
—Submitted by a parent

The problem with CMS in general is its "culture". Teachers and adimistrators don't care about the kids. They only care about statistics and rankings because that is how they get their money from the government. They could care less about the kids emotional, social or learning needs. These kind of needs are "irrelevant" to CMS and it's what makes CMS a failure.
—Submitted by a parent

Elizabeth Lane is a wonderful school. The teachers, are very involved and care a great deal for the children and their success. Academic expectaions are very high; but, why shouldn't they be? Teaching children to work hard and expect hard work is okay.
—Submitted by a parent

My experience: School states that my child has a learning disability or rather insinuates. Now, 2 years later and a nightmare of an experience for our child in the kindergarten and 1st grade years, something that we as a family can never retrieve. Resolution: Come to find out after an expensive documented evaluation with a private therapist, our child was CLEARED of any type of learning disability. We home school our child and use alternative online education to exceed what our child would have acquired at ELE. The mastery level is overrated and antiquated for gifted children. The program is unappealing if you want to have your child explore their challenges. So again, sadly, there is no "hoorah" moment for this school.
—Submitted by a parent

Elizabeth Lane is wonderful school that strives to educate their children. The staff teaches children independent work and study skills needed for middle school. The focus in this school is on the children and what will be best to meet the needs of their education. High volunteer involvement is key to their success giving teachers more time to focus on their teaching goals. The school is filled with children of all backgrounds as is the community. Supporting the school is a high priority as we all depend on ELE to help with our children's education.
—Submitted by a parent

ELE is an amazing school. Yes, the teachers do expect hard work. The new principal is wonderful and the staff is very accommodating. There is absolutely zero tolerance for bullying- including racial bullying.
—Submitted by a parent

This is a GREAT school. The teachers and staff are very involved and nice. It does have a high expectations for its students but it is all for the good of the kids.
—Submitted by a parent

I don't know where race issues came into this school. I went there two years ago for three years, that's not very long ago either, and it was the best elementary school I attended. Parents were very involved, and I feel like all of the teachers (most of the teachers) were very sweet and caring to all students. No student was effected because they had "the wrong skin color". Yes, I've heard the school has gone down because of the principal changes lately, the old principal when I went there was amazing. I've heard from parents of kids who still attend that many teachers have had trouble adjusting to these changes, give it time. When they have a stable principal it will get better again. I always learned things in this school, and it helped me prepare for middle school. Overall I had great teachers and the students weren't so bad. I had a few bullying problems though, but it was mostly just the girls. You have to expect in this generation some of the kids are going to be mean to others. Remember not every teacher you have is going to be amazing, and as you get older things get tougher and you can't just quit when people are mean and things get hard. You never learn that way.

I have had three children attend this school and have been very happy. Each of my children were very different and I have found they were very well prepared for South Charlotte MS. LIke all schools, some teachers are better than others but found overall that the staff was great! We are not a white family and have not found that prejudice is an issue. It is an AFFLUENT school and that has it's pros and cons.
—Submitted by a parent

Finally, a parent that has been railroaded by this school. I have said as a parent over and over that there is a massive issue going on at Elizabeth Lane Elementary and it starts with the Head Staff. I have dealt with the Mecklenburg School System as an Employee and a Parent. "ELE" is one of the worst experiences I have ever had as a parent and professional. Parents consistently complain about race issues and inequality at this school. Very sad situation.
—Submitted by a parent

Everyone is entitled to their opinion here, and I will have to agree with the other parents who feel the staff at ELE is difficult to resolve issues with, my child is not new, and the constant change in principal, teachers, etc has really changed the reputation of this school. I can't proudly say that it is a top rated elementary school because it has went down hill since we initially enrolled our child, I wish our government would pay the great teachers, supporting staff and principals what they truly deserve so we can boost moral back into our schools.
—Submitted by a parent

If you don't invest money into the school, or have the right skin color this is not the place to send your child. The Staff is prejudice, they can't keep a principal, when was the last time this school received an excellance award?
—Submitted by a parent

My child did not and has not learned a single thing at this school. I have placed ratings on this site before stating facts about the mistreatment and ill-education received at this institution, to only have them removed, this goes against my 1st amendment right as a citizen speaking about a public institution. The staff was very unprofessional and inappropriate on several occasions, which ultimately involved me withdrawing my child and handling issues on different level all together. I have a 1st Amendment right and plan to voice my concerns thoroughly about the poor education tactics rendered at "ELE."
—Submitted by a parent

The person that said the school is difficult to deal with and parents are an inconvenience must be new to the school. ELE has always been an open door school and welcomes parent involvement to the fullest. We have a new principal and this is the 1st year that there have been some changes. We, as parents, who have been here, do notice the changes and are doing everything we can to get back to the "happy" ELE. Although change is good in some cases. You should never try to fix what isn't broke!
—Submitted by a parent

As stated in many of the previous ratings this is a challenging elementary school. Lets not forget that the parents who send their children to this school must reinforce the schools teachings for the school to be such a success academically . Kudos to the community for outstanding parent involvement in their children academics. The staff at this school is very difficult to deal with when you have questions or want to volunteer. Unfortunately, it is a struggle to get answers and parent s are an inconvenience to the office when questions are asked. The schools green efforts are so extreme that communication with parents is difficult because the school does not consider all involved. Not everyone can go green or green is not always feasible to get your message across and so their messages are lost in cyberspace. I see so many frustrated parents because of the lack of communication and skill that should come from the suppose to be trained staff at this school. Having high scores on grade level material is fabulous but we must also be teaching our children respect for the community and its members.
—Submitted by a parent

My mother, a veteran elementary educator of 25 years, said 'you can't beat a good public school'. Elizabeth Lane is this kind of school. The school works very hard to challenge every level of student; it just so happens that most of the school is performing at above grade level. This school has an amazing PTA that is very well run and is committed to supporting the school. I have had three children attend ELE (for that past 7 years) and I have not seen anything that I would say is a true 'discipline' issue. What I like most is that this school seems like a good 'moral' fit. There are well behaved and respectful students coming from good homes where the parents value education. You really can't ask for a better situation for your children. I would HIGHLY recommend E.L.E.!
—Submitted by a parent

I completely agree with the parent from December 2008. Although the teaching and test scores in this school is second to none, I believe that the average, healthy, silly, fun loving child is looked at as a school disadvantage if they don't consistently exceed expectations. Only meeting expectations is not acceptable at Elizabeth Lane, not even in Kindergarten, and they take themselves way too seriously. There is also a strong bias against working mothers if they cannot 150% participate in their childrens class rooms.
—Submitted by a parent

I've had 3 children in this school. My first 2 children were in all the Talent Development programs through 5th grade and had a wonderful experience. My last child did not test as a Talent Development child. He only did average. His teachers seemed to resent the fact that he was 'pulling down the average' in their class. My quiet, average son was worked harder and singled out in the class when he did not perform above grade level. He started hating the way his teachers made him feel so much that we had to pull him out of the school entirely. The school perceived that he was a problem if he didn't make their school a high scoring test school. If your child is above average and talented I highly recommend this school. If not, STEER CLEAR.
—Submitted by a parent

As a single Mom, I was very disappointed with the bias opinion from not only the teachers but the office staff as well.
—Submitted by a parent

When our family moved to Charlotte, we wanted to choose a community that was near the BEST Public Elementary School. After many interviews with Principals, Teachers and Parent Volunteers, my wife and I chose Elizabeth Lane (ELE). This was the BEST educational decision we have ever made for our children. Our Son Cameron s Kindergarten Teacher, Miss Lowry had the unique ability to 'personalize' her teaching approach, for each of her students. She recognized each student's unique strengths and needs. In First Grade, Ms. Anthony continued this same personalized approach. I am proud to say, Cameron received ALL '3's' on his 1st Grade report card for the entire year (except for one, '2' during the 1st semester ('behavior needs slight improvement). It did improve! Our 5 year old son is now enrolled in Kindergarten at ELE. ELE s Principal, Ms. Burnham, directs the BEST Elementary School Program in Charlotte.
—Submitted by Michael Halvey, a parent