10454 Alexander Martin Ave
Charlotte, NC 28277

It's been only 3 months and i feel like this is the best school I've ever gone to. The teachers are super friendly and the staff are there to help you whenever you are feeling bad. The students are very nice and supportive of one another. I would recommend this school for anyone.

My child is a senior and has loved being part of such a diverse community. The curriculum and standards for learning are exceptional and prepare students perfectly for their next chapter (whether that is college or otherwise). For a school of this size, it has always felt like a family to my family. You can be involved a lot and there will be a place for you as a parent… but you will be treated the same whether you have the ability to volunteer or not. Somehow, Mrs. brooks seems to know all 3400 students’ names and recognizes the families out and about in the community. People seem to push back on admin if they see her as developing strict rules or guidelines for how the school is run….. however, two thoughts I often wonder: #1 If a man said the same thing she says, why would a man not be questioned or called demeaning names. This is not a “liberal agenda” this is the truth. I think Mrs. Brooks handles the amount of pushback and unwarranted anger with grace and understanding in the best way she knows how. And #2 Do people have no idea what it is like to staff and lead a school in 2024? Teachers are leaving the state in droves and enrollments in teacher training programs are drastically dwindling. Empathy goes a long way rather than ranting when something silly happens (“my child could not get door dash delivered!” Is something I heard a parent ranting about at Target for the 15 mins we were in line).

First, I want to say that I do know people that have had a good experience at Polo Ridge. Unfortunately, my son's kindergarten experience was horrible. There were multiple issues in my son's class including the teacher being verbally abusive (pertaining to my son), what would be considered physical abuse by some (with another child in the class), an assembly where his teacher brought each child to their spot on the ground, pointed and said "sit, sit, sit..." in an unkind voice, and some downright odd statements like "I love my own children more than I love my students." Why it would ever be necessary to say something like that to kindergarteners that is beyond me. While our attempts to manage our issue with my son's teacher resulted in a positive outcome, I was much less impressed with the principle. The principle clearly was more interested in protecting her teachers than addressing our issues and putting the children first. Another issue I had was that the feedback from his teacher on how my son was doing academically was minimal if at all. In defense of my son's teacher, it is crazy to have 22 kindergarten kids in a classroom without a full-time assistant teacher. I worked in a kindergarten class at a private school and found that two teachers with 16 kids was ideal, and 20 was doable. It is not fair to the teacher or students to have 23 kindergarten kids with 1 teacher most of the day. If you have a child that has any kind of learning issues or disabilities, I do not recommend this school. If your child is high functioning, then it might be a great school for them to attend. Finally, I would not recommend having your child ride the bus. Our experience was that the kids do not behave well and there is no one there to ensure they behave better like a bus patrol.