Enrollment
261
Elementary
DISTRICT 437 · STATE 467
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·ORANGE COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370348001443
Central Elementary
154 Hayes St, Hillsborough, NC 27278 · (919) 732-3622 · Orange County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY31-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL261 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 37% of North Carolina public elementary schools
- CTest 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
11.2:1
23 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.4:1 · STATE 14.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
99%
258 students
DISTRICT 62% · STATE 82%
Community
0
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 44 | 17% |
| Grade 1 | 37 | 14% |
| Grade 2 | 40 | 15% |
| Grade 3 | 47 | 18% |
| Grade 4 | 42 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 51 | 20% |
This year's kindergarten class (44) is 14% smaller than its 5th grade class (51).
Student demographics
70%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 67% · 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
41.2%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
54.7%
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 55 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
48.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.7%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-0.1pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 49% 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 Central Elementary
Central Elementary's state test result (48.6% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Elementary this school | 261 | 98.9% | 48.6% |
| Monticello-Brown Summit Elem Browns Summit | 291 | 99.0% | 55.3% |
| Laurel Mill Elementary Louisburg | 281 | 98.9% | 58.7% |
| Valmead Elementary Lenoir | 305 | 97.4% | 39.5% |
| Raleigh Road Elementary Linden | 208 | 97.6% | N/A |
| Little River Elementary Durham | 326 | 99.1% | 56.7% |
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 Central Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Orange County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 48.6% | #852 of 1,297 | #18 of 18 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 54.7% | #768 of 1,296 | #18 of 18 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 41.2% | #906 of 1,300 | #18 of 18 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 261 | #1,271 of 1,485 | #19 of 19 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 11.2:1 | #40 of 1,377 | #2 of 19 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 69.9% | #202 of 1,379 | #6 of 19 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 98.9% | #724 of 1,414 | #3 of 18 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -5.4% | #772 of 937 | #14 of 15 |
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
261
-36 (-12%) vs 2020
-30% since 1990-91, when it was 371
Student : Teacher
11.2:1
was 11.9:1
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 | 261 | 23.3 | 11.2:1 | 99% (258) |
| 2023-24 | 287 | 25.5 | 11.3:1 | 72% (206) |
| 2022-23 | 296 | 26.2 | 11.3:1 | 75% (222) |
| 2020-21 | 297 | 25 | 11.9:1 | 57% (170) |
| 2017-18 | 276 | 24.5 | 11.3:1 | 65% (179) |
| 2015-16 | 338 | 32 | 10.6:1 | 69% (232) |
| 2010-11 | 256 | 28 | 9.1:1 | 69% (177) |
| 2000-01 | 427 | 34 | 12.6:1 | 52% (220) |
| 1990-91 | 371 | 26 | 14.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Central Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 5% (276 to 261); teachers down 5% (24.5 to 23.3).
About Central Elementary
Central Elementary is a low-enrollment elementary school serving families in Hillsborough, North Carolina. The school serves 261 students in pre-K through 5 in 2024-25. The average among elementary schools in North Carolina is roughly 467 students; this school is 44% smaller than that.
Central Elementary reports to Orange County Schools, which has 13 schools and 6,982 students.
No single group makes up more than half of enrollment at Central Elementary. The largest is White students, at 40%. The next largest groups are 28% Black, 24% Hispanic, and 7% multiracial. In Orange County overall, about 69% of residents are White. The school's diversity index is 70%, meaning two students picked at random have a 70% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
A ratio of 11.2:1 comes from the school's 23.3 full-time-equivalent teachers. The school has fewer students per teacher than the 14.9:1 average for elementary schools in North Carolina. The lunch program counts 99% of students at Central Elementary as eligible for free or reduced-price meals. The average for public schools in Orange County is 40%.
Central Elementary is graded C+ by allk12, scoring above 37% of North Carolina public elementary schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
Given its share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, Central Elementary would be expected to post about 48.7%. Its actual average proficiency rate on state tests is 48.6%.
Census Bureau estimates for Orange County show that the median household income is $90,089, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 62% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 5%. There are 38 public schools in Orange County, enrolling about 19,582 students in all.
Hillsborough Elementary is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.2 miles away. Within five miles of Central Elementary, there are at least 8 other public schools. On proficiency, Central Elementary is behind the 60.3% nearby average, ranking 6th of 7.
Its NCES locale code is Town: Fringe: the school is in a town close to an urbanized area.
Enrollment declined 12% from its 2020-21 level of 297.
Topics for discussion here include school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Orange County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
149,678
Census ACS
Median income
$90,089
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
62%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
38
19,582 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Orange County Schools
- Orange HighHigh · 1,161 students
- Cedar Ridge HighHigh · 1,148 students
- A L Stanback MiddleMiddle · 648 students
- Efland Cheeks ElementaryElementary · 532 students
- New Hope ElementaryElementary · 528 students
- River Park ElementaryElementary · 523 students
Other schools in Hillsborough
- Orange HighHigh · 1,161 students
- Cedar Ridge HighHigh · 1,148 students
- Eno River AcademyCombined · 828 students
- A L Stanback MiddleMiddle · 648 students
- River Park ElementaryElementary · 523 students
- Orange MiddleMiddle · 514 students
Other Central Elementary schools
151 other US public schools in 35 states are named Central Elementary. Central Elementary is the 126th largest of the 152.
- Central ElementaryAlbemarle, NC · 525 students
- Central ElementaryEden, NC · 521 students
- Central ElementaryElizabeth City, NC · 484 students
- Central ElementaryStatesville, NC · 331 students
- Central ElementaryJackson, NC · 283 students
Nearby schools
- Hillsborough Elementary0.2 mi · 435
- The Expedition School0.8 mi · 380
- River Park Elementary1.2 mi · 523
- Orange Middle1.3 mi · 514
- Orange High1.4 mi · 1,161
- Eno River Academy1.9 mi · 828
Frequently asked questions
About Central ElementaryHow many students attend Central Elementary?
Central Elementary enrolls approximately 261 students in grades PK-05.
Is Central Elementary an elementary, middle, or high school?
Central Elementary is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
How many teachers does Central Elementary have?
Central Elementary employs 23 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 11.2:1.
What is the student diversity at Central Elementary?
Student demographics at Central Elementary are roughly 40% White, 24% Hispanic, 28% Black, 2% Asian, 7% Two or more.
What district is Central Elementary in?
Central Elementary is part of Orange County Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.