Pine Lake Preparatory

I have read the previous reviews and share the same concerns. My children attend Pine Lake currently. The lack of amenities that one would take for granted in other schools is marked. But the biggest problem is the inexperience and attitudes of the teachers. We were willing to deal with the terrible traffic situation (half hour commute to the school followed by at least twenty minutes in the parking lot to drop off students) as long as we felt our children were benefitting, but they are not. My children are straight A students at Pine Lake who scored poorly on the SAT's and ACT's because they said none of the things on the tests were anything they had been exposed to in school. Though I instilled an attitude geared toward achievement in my children, tt saddens me to see them so overworked. Our lives revolve around the requirements of the school and the staggering workload, to the exclusion of all other activities. As the school year ended, I spoke to my children about changing schools. They looked at me as if they had been freed and are now excited about the prospect of a new school. There are many great schools in the area, but this is not one of them. .
—Submitted by a parent

Poor teacher quality, arbitrary rules and useless staff members have contributed to the downfall of this institution. Simply put, students are not provided with the necessary skills to attend college. The extensive homework requirements are acceptable only if the students benefit, which they do not. As another parent stated, I too have been extremely disappointed in the SAT scores which are directly attributable to the poor teaching quality at the school. The administration either does not know or does not care that there is such a large amount of dissatisfaction among the families of students attending Pine Lake. The strong mentality among the administration and staff is that perhaps if you can't achieve here, you should leave. They attempt to set the school up as a school of distinction, which it is not. You are chosen to attend simply through a lottery. My child will not be attending the distinguished university at which I teach simply because of our family's choice to send her to Pine Lake. I urge other parents to take a close look at alternatives as this school was a very bad choice for us. Such a simple decision changed my daughter's life in a very negative way.
—Submitted by a parent

My child has been at Pine Lake for 6 years. Every year she has had new teachers who have just graduated from college. Sadly I have to rate the teacher and Principal leadership with at least one star; it should be a negative one!! Pine Lake seems to treat teaching as an experiment, where they just try out a different group of teachers every year and see how it goes. Clearly a bad idea! Likewise, they come out with rules for unknown reasons. Uniforms? Whip out your Visa and prepare to spend big bucks or risk having your child required to pick up trash outside of the school like a prison work crew, I kid you not. Service learning hours? Just wait for the daily email from the school telling you what work your child can do for the school to obtain these hours. The teaching is absolutely terrible and teachers must think they are judged on the amount of homework they assign. This school is more like a priso than a school. A parent should not have to send their child to Sylvan so they learn the basics. We are sending our daughter to a private school hoping that it is not too late to undo the damage done by Pine Lake. We too are running away and happy to be doing so!
—Submitted by a parent

It is clear that one of the parents who posted is part of the small group who are favored by the administration. To say that the Head of School is open to feedback is ridiculous and patently untrue. There is not a small group of negative parents at this school. There is a large majority of high school parents who are leaving in droves because their children are not receiving the education they need or deserve. Parents are not at all vocal because they are so scared of the impact their comments may have on their children, as has happened in the past. The SAT scores are so low that the school refuses to post them. The very worst decision our family made was to enroll our children at Pine Lake Prep. The teachers are so inexperienced that they are an embarrassment to this educational institution, if I can call it that. Their lack of attention to detail means a parent has to constantly monitor edline to assure their child gets credit for their work. It is a full time job. We too are running away from Pine Lake and will not miss the constant battles, useless rules and regulations, and the insanity that is rampant at this institution. Believe me, your children deserve better!!
—Submitted by a parent

I just finished eighth grade at Pine Lake and I absolutely love it. The teachers actually put in effort to help us and are very supportive. The sports teams this year made it to 8 championships out of the 10 sports we offer and we will only get better once the gum is built. There is also a great sense of school pride here. I also agree that just because there are a few people who disagree with me doesn't mean that it is an awful school at all. Just because the work load is more than other schools also doesn't mean that it is a bad school it just means that they are trying to challenge us. I have talked to many graduates that said that they felt very prepared for college unlike people who went to other school in the area. The purpose of the Pride project is to have us with at least a guide line of what we want to do once we graduate and to prepare us for college. I intend on staying at Pine Lake until I graduate and cannot wait for high school.

My three children are thriving at PIne Lake Prep and they love it. They are able to be themselves and are embraced for who they are. The teachers really seem to want to be there and they know my children well. Parents are very involved in creating a safe, dynamic environment. When there have been issues, the administration has been open to talking about it and coming up with a solution that is best for the students and the school. When my children have had discipline problems, I have seen collaboration and a deep desire to help them improve. I have not seen this kind of concern for my students at other area schools. I believe my children are appropriately challenged academically in most areas. When there is a concern, the Head of School has been open to feedback. I have noticed that there is a small group of parents that are very negative and vocal, but based on their behavior, I am assuming this is more about who they are than where they are. My hope is that they take their negativity with them to another school, it is not needed here. We will be staying and feel lucky to be here.
—Submitted by a parent

We also are RUNNING not walking. Awful leadership, inconsistent policies, and poor teaching is sending us packing. It's unfortunate as it's not at all what we were expecting, but makes no sense to drive by other great schools to attend this one. Hopefully, administration will start to listen to families and teachers, and make some changes before the school goes downhill any further.
—Submitted by a parent

Run, don't walk, from Pine Lake Prep. We were excited when our child was chosen in the lottery to attend this school, even though it meant our children would be attending different schools. How wrong we were! The teachers are not certified and change every year. Progress reports are available on edline but the teachers are unavailable to discuss the student's progress and ignore inquiries from parents. For most of the teachers this is their first teaching job and they seem overwhelmed and unprepared. The senior project requires a substantial time investment for both juniors and seniors but its purpose is unclear even to the teachers. The service learning hours are a tool of the administration who continually solicit student assistance with tasks at the school and then tout these activities as service learning opportunities. Life at PLP revolves around the construction of the new buildings which require many fundraisers and solicitation of parents for money. Parents are scared to express dissatisfaction as in the past students have been penalized for this. My child has been miserable at PLP and is excited to be transferring to Lake Norman High School next year.
—Submitted by a parent

My children attend Pine Lake and I am very disappointed with the leadership and quality of education of the High School. My children will be moving to another school with a significant disadvantage due to the weak curriculum at the high school and the inexperienced staff. While there are some very strong teachers at the school they make up a small percentage of the overall staff. Concerns when raised are not addressed and brushed off as not important. The children must teach themselves key concepts and it is not a supportive environment that prepares them for college and beyond. It is sad to see such a great concept ruined by lack of leadership, vision and operational experience. I would not recommend this high school to any prospective family. Much restructuring and change has to happen for this to truly be a college prep school.
—Submitted by a parent

My children attended PLP and I was thoroughly disappointed with the quality of the education. Students are expected to teach themselves. Five hours of homework is normal. The teacher turnover is tremendous; few last more than a year. The senior pride project is required for graduation and adds an obscene amount of additional work to students with no time for anything other than studying. The 40 volunteer hours each year are required and the school uses the children as free labor by offering them "volunteer hours". I was also frightened by some of the things being taught. My child mentioned that his teacher had said he had used LSD in college and had found it enlightening. The teachers double as guidance counselors and told my junior with a 3.5 GPA that they really had no hope of attending a good college and should concentrate on a community college. Raising money is the main focus of everyone at this school and most time is geared to fundraising. The uniforms are expensive ($250 each student minimum) and are required. Dress code is strictly enforced and children are made to pick up trash if they fail to comply. There are so many good schools in our area; skip this one!
—Submitted by a parent

Looking forward to new Charter Schools opening in the Lake Norman area. Due to overcrowding at local public schools, the waitlist for the few area Charter's is long inc. Pine Lake. Pine Lake has made some strides in the right direction as in hiring a new Head of School. However, the poor leadership experienced over the last 5 years with respect to each school principal has remained the same. Halfway into the year, and we still have poor communication, teachers who are not qualified, refusal to listen to middle/high school parents concerns, and an inexperienced School Board who is reluctant to make necessary changes to improve. The new Head of School seems only to be concerned with not making waves with his staff. Most obvious is the K-5 elementary parents run this school. As a result, very little involvement from middle and high schools. High student turnover in 9-12 grades, after 6 yrs no one seems to care why, they just start calling the wait list to fill the vacant spots again and again. If you are entering as an employee to Pine Lake with children, you'll do fine. If you are entering with only K-5 children, you'll do fine. If you have a 6-12 grader, check your options.
—Submitted by a parent

Great for academics. Below average for sports. teachers are above average. My child is in the high school.
—Submitted by a parent

Pine Lake is ok, if you are looking for low crime and that is it. Most of the teachers are not certified, which is a huge problem. I do worry that my children are not getting the education they need to go forward. The heads of each school spend more time on pettiness of which parents they do not like for one reason or another. Any time someone voices a concern, parents and staff say "if you don't like it, leave!" Not very open to new ideas or ways to improve. There is a cult like mentality in the lower school. It is you are either in or out. There's a new head of school, so I am hopeful. However, if he believes what the three heads of school are feeding him, then he will just be more of the same. Hopefully, he will have a backbone and stand up to them. At this time, I do not have a better option. I put in for Community School of Davidson each year hoping to get in.
—Submitted by a parent

We have not been happy at Pine Lake Prep. We were very excited to join PLP after being on websites like this one and going in under the assumption this was a community where we would be welcomed. That is not the case. Kindergarden was great (though didn't prepare our child for anything they were going to go through for the next school year). Then we went into 1st grade where we started to get the feeling that if you are average or have concerns about something you are not wanted. The moto for this school should be "maybe this school isn't for you" which is chorused from everyone from the teachers to the parents. When you have a concern or problem it is not handled at all. An I'm posting it here and not anywhere my name or my child's name is because I fear the repercussions from the other parents and teachers. Which has happened on more than one occasion. We have not moved the child out due to we are still holding out hope of getting them into another charter for next year. Sorry but this school is not worth the hype.
—Submitted by a parent

I am a freshman at PLP and this is my second year. I love it here and my teachers are amazing! I'm so grateful that I got in. This school is amazing and the kids are respectful and everyone feels accepted. I have made the greatest friends here and I am looking forward to spending my high school years here. (:

I am a parent of a 7th grader at Pine Lake. This is my childs second year & it is wonderful! The teachers are fantastic. The school is clean, the kids are respectful. The courses are hard & my son has to work for his grades. There are no buses & the car line is very long (the first 2 weeks of school=30 mins. or more) but it gets better & is well worth it for the education that ny child is getting. I have never spoken to a parent at Pine Lake that is unhappy witht he school. We as so happy that we made the lottery.
—Submitted by a parent

This school is amazing! I love it so much, I have no problem telling my parents what I had learned that day! The teachers are so nice, and I made the best friends ever at this school. I love how involved everybody is, PLP is where I belong, I'll never leave!!!

Great combination of committed families, excellent teachers, strong academics, sense of community and new facilities. Our robotics team just came back from the World Championships and a new athletic center is already being planned. PLP is a wonderful academic community.
—Submitted by a parent

Pine Lake Prep is a wonderful school with excellent missions & family values.My son has met many wonderful friends & enjoys the nurturing & caring atmosphere.
—Submitted by a parent

I have 3 children at PLP in grades 2nd, 5th and 7th. This is our 2nd year and it has been a great experience. They provide a challenging curriculum and safe environment at the school. It is big enough but a small atmosphere which is just what I wanted for the kids. They have accomplished so much in a short amount of time and will only get better. I am so thankful to have my children at PLP!
—Submitted by a parent