My daughter is currently in the 5th grade at LNC. We are in the Cabarrus County School district, but Lake Norman Charter has by far exceeded our previous public school experience. Our family has found LNC to be exceptional! We moved from upstate NY and this school is on par with the school system in NY without us paying the insane school taxes. The teachers and administrators are very invested in the students and push excellence in both academics and leadership. The curriculum is not easy and there is a lot of homework, but that is part of what makes the graduates so well-prepared. It is not insane though. My daughter absolutely loves the school and while she never complained about her previous school in Cabarrus County, almost daily she says how happy she is attending LNC.
The former principal of LNC middle moved on to become the principal of the new LNC Elementary School opening this Fall, and I heard she was great and at the school for over 10 yrs. I can tell you from first hand experience, the new principal, Dr. Graham is fantastic. I like the way the teachers, staff and administrators treat the parents as peers and not as children. Things are very organized at this school and if your child is accepted, you really do feel as though you have won the lottery. Due to the number of applicants, it is somewhat difficult to be chosen (you can find previous year lottery statistics on the Lake Norman Charter website), but the lottery is random, so your child may get picked. Our child was accepted the first time we applied, so it can happen. I have another daughter and she was not accepted to LNC last year, but they give preference to siblings of current students before selecting new students from the lottery. She was selected this past week. Another great thing is LNC High School has a high graduation rate, 100% graduation rate last June.
The students are very well-behaved from what I have experienced while volunteering at lunch. Also, since parents have to drop their kids off, pick them up, and commit to volunteering, it seems to draw parents who are invested in their child's education and educational achievements. This eliminates much of the discipline problems that can occur in schools. My daughter did not know anyone when she first started last Fall and quickly made friends with a wonderful group of kids.
LNC has great ideas such as e-learning half days on selected dates. Kids have their attendance taken via their iPads (provided at beginning of school year) and attend school from home for half the day on these specific dates. Parents are required to serve 10 volunteer hours per year and it encourages a wonderful atmosphere with parent involvement. School pictures are taken outside and ordered online. LNC does not serve lunch, so students need to bring lunch from home, or purchase lunches in advance. The school has lunch delivered by certain vendors on different days for students who order lunch. These currently include Mama's Pizza, Arby's, Panda Express, Chick-Fil-A, and PDQ. My daughter loves this! There are a ton of great things and it is like being in a private school without the cost. It is a really positive atmosphere in my opinion, but what works well for one student, may not always work well for another, but we are so grateful for this opportunity. By the way, I hope you heard good news this week in regards to the lottery drawing. Please let me know if you have any more questions, I am happy to help.
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