Ardrey Kell High School opened in 2006 in the heart of theAdd a caption
Ballantyne/Blakeney area of South Charlotte. The school is located at 10220 Ardrey Kell Road.
Ardrey Kell High School
The current principal is David Switzer. The school has over 2,500 students as of 2016, and is growing bigger every year. In the 2014-2015 school year, the school added outdoor trailer classrooms to accommodate the exponential growth of the student population. The growth continues as new neighborhoods and apartment complexes are built and more families move into the area.
Ardrey Kell is known for its high-achieving students and excellent academics. In 2016, the school ranked #17 in North Carolina and #521 in the nation based on state-required test scores and college preparedness. Each year, 60 percent of students on average take Advanced Placement courses. The student-teacher ratio was 20:1 in 2016.
The school's athletic teams tend to fluctuate in success each year according to the students that graduate, but many teams have had some major victories. Men's basketball has historically been more successful than football at Ardrey Kell. In 2015, the men's basketball team made it to the state championship game. Women's golf has won multiple state and national championships, as have the men's cross country and track teams.
Ardrey Kell has more recently become known for their thriving fine arts department, especially theatre. In the 2014-2015 school year, the theatre department at Ardrey Kell won Distinguished Play at the North Carolina Theatre Conference for an original play written by one of the school's theatre teachers. The cast traveled to the Southeastern Theatre Conference where the show won Best New Play. The same year, Ardrey Kell's spring musical won Best Musical at the annual Blumey Awards hosted by the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center. Ardrey Kell also won awards for Best Student Orchestra, Best Ensemble, Best Overall Direction, and Best Set Construction that year. In the 2015-2016 school year, the musical was nominated for the Best Musical award once again, and ended up taking home the Blumeys for Best Ensemble and Best Student Orchestra. In 2014, 2015, and 2016, Ardrey Kell also had a student nominated each year for the Best Actress award at the Blumeys.
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/north-carolina/districts/charlotte-mecklenburg-schools/ardrey-kell-high-14592
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/entertainment/arts-culture/article79231637.html
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/entertainment/article21261279.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ardrey_Kell_High_School
