Hello and welcome to second grade! My name is Mrs. Derby, and I am excited to be your child’s 2nd grade teacher for the 2025-2026 school year. Thank you for entrusting your child to Ballentine and me during this important stage of their educational journey. My goal is to create a classroom community where all students feel welcome, safe, and excited for learning each day. In our nurturing, yet challenging environment, your child will have numerous opportunities to make choices and take risks, both academically and socially. By providing a caring, fun-filled setting, I hope to encourage each student to be the BESt version of themselves and become more confident and independent learners. I look forward to embarking on this wonderful journey together and hope that your child will come to learn and leave with a love for learning.

 A Bit About Me – I grew up in Western New York and have made North Carolina my home for more than 20 years. My husband and I have three children: our eldest daughter is starting college this fall at UNC Charlotte, our son is in high school, and our youngest daughter will begin middle school this fall. I spend my time away from school with my husband, our three children, and our two Standard Poodles. When I’m not at school, you’ll find me cheering on our kids as they play travel and school softball, baseball, football, and even occasionally recreation basketball, volleyball and swimming.