Briarcliff Elementary

Briarcliff Elementary, a reasonably sized elementary campus in Cary, North Carolina, run under Wake County Schools, serves 486 students, covering grades pre-K through 5.

Across the 198 schools in Wake County Schools (163,176 students total), Briarcliff Elementary accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

On demographics, Briarcliff Elementary shows that 57% of the student body identifies as White. Other groups include 24% Hispanic, 8% Asian, 8% Black, 3% multiracial. That mix tracks the wider county fairly closely.

In terms of school funding signals, On paper, Briarcliff Elementary has 32 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 15.0:1. The state averages about 14.9:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. About 43% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.

After controlling for student poverty, Briarcliff Elementary sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 65.7%; this one delivers 58.1%.

Zooming out to the county, Wake County reports that median household income runs about $105,768, roughly 57% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 5%. Across Wake County's 237 public schools (combined enrollment of about 184,790 students), Briarcliff Elementary is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: Cary Elementary, around 0.9 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Briarcliff Elementary. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Briarcliff Elementary at 7th of 9; the average score across the group is 66.7%.

The campus sits in a downtown setting.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count declined 11%: 544 students in 2018 compared to 486 in 2025. Over the same period, the Black share shrank from 15% to 8%.

On allk12, recent activity here tends to focus on school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. Members of the school community can share what they know.