Bennett School

Located at 61 Randolph Street, in Bennett, North Carolina, Bennett School is a close-knit elementary campus that caters to 187 students (grades pre-K through 8), overseen by Chatham County Schools. By comparison, North Carolina's public schools average about 467 students each, so Bennett School sits 60% smaller than that benchmark.

Chatham County Schools runs 21 schools in total, collectively educating 8,987 students. Bennett School is one of those campuses.

Looking at the student body, Bennett School logs that 86% of students identify as White, making the school strongly White-majority. Beyond that, the school shows 11% Hispanic, 3% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 71% White, putting the school's mix considerably more White than the area baseline.

On the resource side, Bennett School records 16 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 11.5:1. The state averages around 14.9:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Around 98% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. By comparison, Chatham County runs at roughly 74%, so the school's eligibility rate is meaningfully above the surrounding baseline.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Bennett School ranks in the top 10% of North Carolina public schools. The BeatsExpectations model, a per-state regression of composite proficiency on FRL share, predicts schools with this student profile to land around 48.8%; Bennett School posts 73.3%, +24.5 points above that line.

Zooming out to the county, community-level numbers for Chatham County indicate the typical household earns roughly $94,317 per year, about 49% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and the poverty rate sits near 10%. Bennett School is one of 25 public schools in Chatham County (combined enrollment of about 10,374 students).

The closest other public school is Highfalls Elementary, roughly 5.4 miles away. Within ten miles, there are 8 other public schools, a sparser pattern than typical urban areas. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Bennett School at 1st of 9; the average score across the group is 52.3%.

The campus sits in a small-town setting.

Over the past 7-year window. Bennett School's enrollment has decreased 10% since 2018, when it stood at 207 (now 187). The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 12.6:1 in 2018 to 11.5:1 today.

On this page, members of the Bennett School community share and discuss fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.