About Us

  • opfront

    About Us:

    At Olde Providence Elementary School our motto is “hand in hand we build the future,” and that is exactly what we have been doing for the last 50 years. Olde Providence was established in 1968 and has served families in the South Charlotte area ever since. We strive to provide high quality education in a nurturing environment where our students, teachers and parents all feel supported and valued.

    What Makes “OP the Place to Be”?

    Our location: We are fortunate to be in the middle of the Olde Providence neighborhood so many of our students are able to walk and bike to school. We have 40 acres of outdoor space with fields for community sports programs, outdoor classroom and garden spaces, wooded walking trails, multiple playgrounds, a paved track and undeveloped areas for natural exploration. 

    Our teachers and staff: Our school has a low teacher turnover rate. Our teachers are fully certified; we have six that have received National Board Designation and nearly 50% have been teaching for ten or more years. We do everything we can to make our teachers and staff feel supported at Olde Providence. 

    Our families: We are extremely fortunate to have a large and active Parent Teacher Association (PTA) as well as a separate parent-led foundation called the OPES Foundation. Our parents do so much to support our teachers by organizing room parents, staff appreciation efforts, and raising funds that support teaching and learning at OP. They help make OP a fun place for families with multiple events throughout the year such as the Fall Festival, Daddy/Daughter dance, Donuts with Dads, and Muffins for Moms.

    Our students: OP students are high performers, consistently  https://ncreportcards.ondemand.sas.com/src/school?school=600491&year=2019&lang=english

    Our programs: Of course we know that education is so much more than grades and scores so we offer a wide array of programs before, during and after school to improve health and expand learning. 

    • Before/After School: Our students are able to join extracurricular activities which include Chess Club, Drama Club, Girls on the Run, Let Me Run, Science Olympiad, Odyssey of the Mind, Girls Scouts, Boy Scouts, Piano and Guitar Club, Lacrosse, Art, Lego, and Soccer Shots. We also offer the CMS Before and Afterschool Program which allows parents to drop off students as early as 6:50 a.m. and pick up as late as 6 p.m. 

    • During school our students rotate through five “specials” each week: Physical Education, Music, Art, Technology, and Media Center (library).  Our kindergarten through third graders also receive Character Education.  We have Paideia seminars, Arts in Schools assemblies, and field trips to places such as the Discovery Center, Children’s Theater, Mint Hill Historical Society, local farms, and more.

    Our partners: Olde Providence is fortunate to have many partners who contribute to our mission. In 2016 we worked with TreesCharlotte to plant 270 new trees on our property. Our church neighbors often let us use their spaces for parking and meetings. They also provide financial support, help with beautifying our property, and they provide tutors and mentors to support our students.  Some restaurants down the road at Colony Place allow us to have family nights out where they donate a portion of their proceeds back to our school, and we use the Harris Teeter grocery as a meeting spot for our Walk to School days. 

    Our beliefs:

    • All children can and want to learn.

    • All children learn in different ways, at different times, and through different experiences.

    • All children deserve a safe, nurturing environment where respect and compassion are shown to each child.

    • All children are unique, special and talented in their own way.

    • All children learn by example; we have opportunities to be positive role models who influence their development.

    • We believe character education teaches lifelong values.

    • Teachers, administrators, support staff, and parents are partners in education through open communication.