66 out of 10GreatSchools

Briarcliff Elementary

Cary, NC
  • Public
  • |
  • Grades PK-5
  • |
  • Enrollment: 544

Overview

Briarcliff Elementary
1220 Pond Street
Cary, NC 27511
(919) 460-3443
Briarcliff Elementary is located in Cary, NC and serves grades PK-5.It received a GreatSchool rating of 6 out of 10
This information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Student Diversity

Race

Percentage

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
0%
Native American
1%
Two or more races
4%
Asian
4%
Black
15%
Hispanic
24%
White
51%
Other
1%

Reviews11 Reviews

4.0
parent
We moved here 2 years ago, specifically targeting Briarcliff. After extensive research, I was very impressed by their ability to get kids from all racial and socioeconomic statuses to perform well. Not only was this important to me as the father of biracial children, having been a teacher myself for several years, I know that's a good sign of good teaching that is accessible and engaging. They didn't let us down. My oldest son had untreated ADHD throughout first grade and the teachers performed admirably and with great care and love for him. It was a tough move for him but this was definitely the right place. After only 2 years and finally getting treatment, he's performing a bit above grade level after being a year down last year. The events they have are great community builders. The teaching staff seems to have a very high ratio of great teachers.I was interviewed on a local news station recently about the school. Although it was edited down to one sentence that sounded disparaging of the school, that couldn't be farther from the truth. Briarcliff is great! From the gentleman that keeps it beautiful and clean to the bright faces in the office and cafeteria.
parent
Our son went to Briarcliff the year we moved to Cary because it is the school assigned to our address. We moved to a year round school the next year to spread vacation time out throughout the year and to be able to travel at off-peak times.That said we really liked Briarcliff for its great sense of community. There are frequent carnivals, movie nights, and fun events that are well attended. Our son liked showing us around his school and introducing us to his teachers and friends.His teacher was not a veteran, but ran a great class despite a couple of challenging students (I volunteered for an hour or so most weeks and so observed this firsthand). She will likely be a teacher of the year before long.I appreciated that both the principal and vice principal lead tours for new families in person and allow ample time for any and all questions. Our son didn't have any problems, but if he had, we would have felt comfortable approaching either one of them for help.The school is around 50 years old so some of the infrastructure looks a bit dated, but it's clean and it works. The campus consists of several buildings connected by courtyards and covered walkways, which gives it a nice, open, natural feel. Seeing as Briarcliff is decades older than many schools in Cary, there seem to be a greater proportion of veteran teachers here than elsewhere.The student population is diverse in terms of race, culture, and class, none of which were issues for anyone we knew there.If not for the attractiveness of a year round calendar (to our family, of course), we would still be smiling at Briarcliff.
parent
Well, I guess they didn't like my truthful review so they took it down. To sum it up: no communication from teacher to parents. No communication from principal to teacher. Highly disorganized. The worst is the school principal is not truthful. From the comment below, MANY issues at this school are swept under the rug.
parent
This school was (a few years ago) a dream come true. Then it turned into a nightmare. Teachers do not communicate, high turn over rate as well. I will agree with the post below in those regards. This school has an administration problem!! The principal and vice principal have NO idea how to handle special needs children! They are rude, dishonest and hypocrites. I've never seen anything like this in my life. I had other parents of special needs children contacting me in hopes of finding help for their student. As for being a blue ribbon school... HA .. It's easy to see there are many problems here. They just sweep the concerns under the rug. We were glad this year was over! And won't be returning
Showing 4 of 11 Reviews