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What do you wish you knew before starting at Bethesda Elementary?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
442
Elementary
DISTRICT 450 · STATE 467
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·DURHAM PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 370126000528
Bethesda Elementary
2009 S Miami Boulevard, Durham, NC 27703 · (919) 560-3904 · Durham County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL442 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 20% of North Carolina public elementary schools
- C-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded North Carolina public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
13.9:1
32 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.4:1 · STATE 14.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
99%
439 students
DISTRICT 98% · STATE 82%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 15 | 3% |
| Kindergarten | 47 | 11% |
| Grade 1 | 50 | 11% |
| Grade 2 | 73 | 17% |
| Grade 3 | 85 | 19% |
| Grade 4 | 82 | 19% |
| Grade 5 | 90 | 20% |
This year's kindergarten class (47) is 48% smaller than its 5th grade class (90).
Student demographics
62%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 70% · STATE 71% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
NC EOG / EOC 2024-25 . % Grade Level Proficient (Level 3+)English Language Arts
40.9%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
47.2%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 41 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 47 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all North Carolina schools, those numbers are about 51 and 52.
Source: NC EOG / EOC. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
42.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.5%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-6.4pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 42% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 49% typical for North Carolina schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among North Carolina's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Bethesda Elementary
Bethesda Elementary's state test result (42.1% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bethesda Elementary this school | 442 | 99.3% | 42.1% |
| Eno Valley Elementary Durham | 440 | 99.3% | 40.1% |
| Smith Farm Elementary Winston-Salem | 440 | 99.3% | 49.9% |
| Petree Elementary Winston-Salem | 519 | 99.4% | 25.4% |
| Oak Grove Elementary Durham | 395 | 99.2% | 61.4% |
| Louisburg Elementary Louisburg | 387 | 99.2% | 41.4% |
Matched among North Carolina elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Bethesda Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Durham County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 42.1% | #1,044 of 1,297 | #22 of 32 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 47.2% | #977 of 1,296 | #21 of 32 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 40.9% | #917 of 1,300 | #17 of 32 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 442 | #775 of 1,485 | #20 of 41 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.9:1 | #434 of 1,377 | #23 of 41 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 61.8% | #635 of 1,379 | #23 of 41 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 99.3% | #372 of 1,414 | #17 of 39 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -31.8% | #70 of 937 | #6 of 32 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
442
-208 (-32%) vs 2020
-25% since 1990-91, when it was 591
Student : Teacher
13.9:1
was 14.1:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 442 | 31.9 | 13.9:1 | 99% (439) |
| 2023-24 | 577 | 44 | 13.1:1 | 99% (574) |
| 2022-23 | 617 | 45 | 13.7:1 | 100% (614) |
| 2020-21 | 650 | 46 | 14.1:1 | 100% (647) |
| 2017-18 | 648 | 46 | 14.1:1 | 100% (645) |
| 2015-16 | 655 | 47 | 13.9:1 | 100% (652) |
| 2010-11 | 721 | 44 | 16.4:1 | 83% (599) |
| 2000-01 | 731 | 46 | 15.9:1 | 71% (516) |
| 1990-91 | 591 | 40 | 14.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Bethesda Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 32% (648 to 442); teachers down 31% (46 to 31.9).
About Bethesda Elementary
Federal records list Bethesda Elementary as an elementary school in Durham, North Carolina. The school's enrollment of 442 students covers pre-K through 5.
Bethesda Elementary is part of a district of 55 schools: Durham Public Schools, with 31,797 students.
Federal enrollment data show Black students as the largest group at Bethesda Elementary, at 47%. Other groups make up 39% Hispanic, 7% White, and 6% multiracial. County-wide, 32% of Durham County residents are Black. Pick two students at random and there is a 62% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
Teacher staffing is 31.9 full-time equivalents, or about 13.9 students per teacher. On average, elementary schools in North Carolina have 14.9:1, compared with 13.9:1 here. About 99% of students, or 439, qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.
Measured against North Carolina public elementary schools, Bethesda Elementary receives a C-. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
Bethesda Elementary's actual average proficiency rate on state tests (42.1%) and its predicted rate (48.5%) put it outside the top and bottom 10% of North Carolina schools.
Across Durham County, the median household income is $82,316, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 55%, and about 8% of people live in poverty. In all, Durham County has 74 public schools and roughly 46,109 students.
The closest public school to Bethesda Elementary is Research Triangle Charter, about 0.8 miles away. Counting only straight-line distance, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. Among its closest neighbors with test data, Bethesda Elementary is 5th of 5 on proficiency.
On the NCES locale scale, the school is City: Large.
Bethesda Elementary's enrollment dropped from 650 in 2020-21 to 442 in 2024-25.
Questions about enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news can be posted here. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Durham County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
332,353
Census ACS
Median income
$82,316
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
55%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
74
46,109 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Durham Public Schools
- C E Jordan HighHigh · 2,189 students
- Riverside HighHigh · 1,900 students
- Durham School of the ArtsHigh · 1,764 students
- Hillside HighHigh · 1,433 students
- Southern School of Energy and SustainabiHigh · 1,384 students
- Northern HighHigh · 1,281 students
Other schools in Durham
- NC Virtual AcademyCombined · 3,482 students
- North Carolina Cyber AcademyCombined · 2,461 students
- C E Jordan HighHigh · 2,189 students
- Riverside HighHigh · 1,900 students
- Durham School of the ArtsHigh · 1,764 students
- Hillside HighHigh · 1,433 students
Other Bethesda Elementary schools
4 other US public schools in 5 states are named Bethesda Elementary. Bethesda Elementary is the 4th largest of the 5.
- Bethesda Elementary SchoolLawrenceville, GA · 1,083 students
- Bethesda ElementaryBethesda, MD · 645 students
- Bethesda ElementaryThompson Station, TN · 561 students
- Bethesda ElementaryWaukesha, WI · 401 students
Nearby schools
- Research Triangle Charter0.8 mi · 710
- Spring Valley Elementary1.7 mi · 543
- The Institute Development Young Leaders2.9 mi · 419
- Oak Grove Elementary2.9 mi · 395
- Brier Creek Elementary3.2 mi · 642
- R N Harris Elementary3.3 mi · 313
Frequently asked questions
About Bethesda ElementaryHow large is Bethesda Elementary?
Bethesda Elementary enrolls approximately 442 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Bethesda Elementary serve?
Bethesda Elementary serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Bethesda Elementary?
Approximately 13.9:1 students per teacher at Bethesda Elementary.
What is the student diversity at Bethesda Elementary?
Student demographics at Bethesda Elementary are roughly 7% White, 39% Hispanic, 47% Black, 1% Asian, 6% Two or more.
Is Bethesda Elementary public or private?
Bethesda Elementary is a public K-12 school, overseen by Durham Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.