Aquadale Elementary

Aquadale Elementary, a tight-knit K-5 school in Norwood, North Carolina, one of the schools within Stanly County Schools, hosts 379 students, covering grades pre-K through 5.

Stanly County Schools runs 23 schools in total, collectively educating 8,743 students. Aquadale Elementary is one of those campuses.

On demographics, Aquadale Elementary records that 64% of the student body identifies as White; the rest looks like 13% Black, 9% multiracial, 9% Hispanic, 4% Asian. The wider county runs roughly 79% White, putting the school's mix considerably less White than the area baseline.

In terms of school funding signals, Staff filings list 29 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 13.0:1 students per teacher. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 14.9:1, putting Aquadale Elementary tighter than the state norm the norm. About 99% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.

With demographic context factored in, Aquadale Elementary sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 48.5%; this one delivers 56.8%.

Zooming out to the county, ACS estimates for Stanly County put median household income runs about $60,704, roughly 20% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 11% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Stanly County runs 24 public schools (combined enrollment of about 9,471 students), of which Aquadale Elementary is one.

The closest other public school is South Stanly High, roughly 3.4 miles away. Within five miles, there are 2 other public schools. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Aquadale Elementary ranks 5th on composite proficiency, beneath the local average of 58.5%.

Geographically, the school is in a low-density area.

Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count expanded 22%: 311 students in 2018 compared to 379 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share ticked down from 82% to 64%.

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