About Us

Heidi Balter

Heidi Balter Principal hbalter@hcpss.org
It is with great pleasure that we welcome you to Ducketts Lane Elementary School. A world of excitement, adventures and learning experiences are awaiting you and your child. We believe that a child's first experiences in a public school setting are extremely important in establishing good work habits, routines and positive attitudes, which will influence a child's future in school and society. Our goal is to help all our students become life-long learners. An integrated curriculum presents an educational program that unifies all content areas: language arts, math, science, social studies, health and safety, music, art, physical education and technology. The program is designed to strengthen physical, emotional, social and intellectual skills and encourage creativity, critical thinking and problem solving. Should you have any questions about any of our programs, your child's teacher and I will be happy to talk with you. We highly value strong home-school connections. We hope that you will become active in our school programs, such as volunteering in your child's classroom and supporting the PTA. You are your child's first and most important teacher. Families can do many school-related activities at home to help their children succeed in school. If you have not already done so, sign up for HCPSS News. This is an excellent way to stay informed about school programs, construction updates and transition activities. To sign up, please go to www.hcpssnews.com and follow the directions to create or update your subscription. We are looking forward to an exciting new school year in our beautiful new school!

Courtney Madden

Courtney Madden Assistant Principal Courtney_Madden@hcpss.org
Courtney Madden was the Fourth Grade Instructional Team Leader at Ducketts Lane Elementary School since opening in 2013. Prior to Ducketts Lane, Mrs. Madden was a 4th and 1st grade teacher at Atholton Elementary School. She received her undergraduate degree and her master's degree from from the University of Loyola. Mrs. Madden and her husband, Ed, have been married since 2013. In her free time, Mrs. Madden enjoys spending time with her family and traveling. She is looking forward to another great school year at DLES!

School Overview

DLES profile with data on school

Where our strengths shine! Our students say: 95% of us, have a best friend at school, 92% of us, have an adult who cares about us, 89% of us, feel safe at school. Our strengths are: achieving, caring, competing, confidence, dependability, discoverer, future thinker, organizer, presence, and relating.

front facade of the DLES building

Front facade of the DLES building

View school floor maps.

Extracurricular Activities

Ducketts Lane students have the opportunity to participate in extracuricular activities such as those listed below. For more information, contact the program's event coordinator.
 

WATCH D.O.G.S. (Dads Of Great Students) is an innovative father involvement, educational initiative of the National Center For Fathering. There are two primary goals of the WATCH D.O.G.S. program.

  • To provide positive male role models for the students, demonstrating by their presence that education is important.
  • To provide extra sets of eyes and ears throughout the school building during the student day.
  • You can learn more about WATCH D.O.G.S. at https://dadsofgreatstudents.com/index.php/default/

HowardCounty Recreation and Parks Before and After Care - (410) 313 - 7275

LEED Certification

Logo: 2015 LEED Gold Certification

Ducketts Lane Elementary School was given a LEED certified Gold Status in 2015.

LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council. Ducketts Lane Elementary School is among a small percentage of Howard County and Maryland schools to have earned LEED certification, which recognizes a commitment to environmental sustainability.

School Profile: Ducketts Lane Elementary School
Fast facts about Ducketts Lane ES listing special programs, total enrollment, accomplishments and more.

MSDE School Report Card
The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) School Report Card reflects overall school performance using a combination of academic and school quality indicators.

Community Superintendent

With a focus on instruction as a birth-through-graduation continuum, Community Superintendents better position the school system to support students throughout their entire journey with HCPSS. View community superintendents by regional area.

Community Superintendent Area 2: Theo Cramer

Board of Education Representative

Howard County public schools are divided into school clusters, which are assigned to individual Board members to facilitate school visitations, attend special events, and provide a point of contact for each school community. View all BOE school cluster assignments.

DLES BOE Representative: Sabina Taj