Enrollment
289
Elementary
DISTRICT 342 · STATE 467
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WATAUGA COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370483001936
Cove Creek Elementary
930 Vanderpool Rd, Vilas, NC 28692 · (828) 297-2781 · Watauga County
GRADES PK–08ELEMENTARY41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL289 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 53% of North Carolina public elementary schools
- B+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- CBeats 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
12.6:1
23 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 11.7:1 · STATE 14.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
41%
119 students
DISTRICT 45% · 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 15 | 5% |
| Kindergarten | 26 | 9% |
| Grade 1 | 32 | 11% |
| Grade 2 | 34 | 12% |
| Grade 3 | 25 | 9% |
| Grade 4 | 34 | 12% |
| Grade 5 | 25 | 9% |
| Grade 6 | 38 | 13% |
| Grade 7 | 27 | 9% |
| Grade 8 | 33 | 11% |
This year's kindergarten class (26) is 21% smaller than its 8th grade class (33).
Student demographics
23%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 32% · 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
58.0%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
70.5%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 58 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 71 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
63.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
66.3%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-2.5pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 64% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 66% 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 Cove Creek Elementary
Cove Creek Elementary's state test result (63.7% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cove Creek Elementary this school | 289 | 41.2% | 63.7% |
| Atkinson Elementary Hendersonville | 288 | 42.4% | 62.4% |
| Hendersonville Elementary Hendersonville | 323 | 38.7% | 78.8% |
| New Salem Elementary Marshville | 249 | 37.8% | 72.8% |
| Valle Crucis Elementary Boone | 345 | 40.3% | 67.2% |
| Forbush Elementary East Bend | 208 | 36.1% | 70.9% |
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 Cove Creek Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Watauga County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 63.7% | #397 of 1,297 | #5 of 8 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 70.5% | #321 of 1,296 | #2 of 8 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 58.0% | #380 of 1,300 | #6 of 8 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 289 | #1,207 of 1,485 | #6 of 9 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.6:1 | #167 of 1,377 | #4 of 6 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 23.3% | #1,341 of 1,379 | #5 of 6 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 41.2% | #1,216 of 1,414 | #5 of 8 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +2.1% | #326 of 369 | N/A |
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
289
+7 (+2%) vs 2020
-10% since 1990-91, when it was 320
Student : Teacher
12.6:1
was 10.4:1
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 | 289 | 22.9 | 12.6:1 | 41% (119) |
| 2023-24 | 297 | 28.4 | 10.4:1 | 43% (129) |
| 2022-23 | 294 | 29.5 | 10.0:1 | 47% (139) |
| 2020-21 | 282 | 27 | 10.4:1 | 29% (81) |
| 2017-18 | 283 | 26.7 | 10.6:1 | 46% (130) |
| 2015-16 | 297 | 25 | 11.9:1 | 51% (151) |
| 2010-11 | 306 | 28 | 10.9:1 | 51% (157) |
| 2000-01 | 304 | 22 | 13.8:1 | 38% (114) |
| 1990-91 | 320 | 19 | 16.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Cove Creek Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students up 2% (283 to 289); teachers down 14% (26.7 to 22.9).
About Cove Creek Elementary
Among the schools in Vilas, North Carolina, is Cove Creek Elementary, a small elementary school. It had 289 students in 2024-25, spanning pre-K through 8. That compares with an average of about 467 students for elementary schools in North Carolina.
Cove Creek Elementary is run by Watauga County Schools, whose 11 schools enroll 4,658 students.
By race and ethnicity, Cove Creek Elementary is 87% White. Other groups include 8% Hispanic and 3% Asian. In Watauga County overall, the White share is about 90%. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 23%.
On staff are 22.9 full-time-equivalent teachers; the student-to-teacher ratio is 12.6:1. Elementary schools in North Carolina average 14.9:1, 2.2 more students per teacher than here. Cove Creek Elementary has a free or reduced-price lunch rate of 41%. The average for public schools in Watauga County is similar, at 39%.
Cove Creek Elementary holds a B- allk12 Grade, placing it above 53% of North Carolina public elementary schools.
Cove Creek Elementary scores 63.7% on state tests, averaged across results. The predicted figure, based on its student poverty level, is 66.3%.
The county, Watauga County, is where the school is located. The median household earns about $51,693 a year, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 48% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 9%. The county has 12 public schools and about 4,821 students.
The closest school to Cove Creek Elementary is Valle Crucis Elementary, located about 3.8 miles away. The count of other public schools within five miles is 2. Among its closest neighbors with test data, Cove Creek Elementary is 3rd of 8 on proficiency.
NCES assigns Cove Creek Elementary the locale Rural: Fringe, meaning in rural territory close to an urban area.
In 2020-21, Cove Creek Elementary enrolled 282; in 2024-25, 289. There were more students per teacher in 2024-25 (12.6:1) than in 2020-21 (10.4:1).
The Cove Creek Elementary discussion page is a place for open houses, carpools, and field trips. You can also rate the school on this page.
Watauga County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
55,123
Census ACS
Median income
$51,693
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
48%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
12
4,821 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Watauga County Schools
- Watauga HighHigh · 1,289 students
- Hardin Park ElementaryElementary · 854 students
- Parkway ElementaryElementary · 610 students
- Blowing Rock ElementaryElementary · 409 students
- Valle Crucis ElementaryElementary · 345 students
- Green Valley ElementaryElementary · 292 students
Nearby schools
- Valle Crucis Elementary3.8 mi · 345
- Mabel Elementary4.4 mi · 140
- Watauga Virtual Academy5.3 mi · 10
- Hardin Park Elementary5.4 mi · 854
- Green Valley Elementary5.8 mi · 292
- Bethel Elementary6.1 mi · 128
Frequently asked questions
About Cove Creek ElementaryHow many students attend Cove Creek Elementary?
Cove Creek Elementary enrolls approximately 289 students in grades PK-08.
What age range does Cove Creek Elementary serve?
Cove Creek Elementary serves students from grade PK through grade 08.
How many students per teacher at Cove Creek Elementary?
Approximately 12.6:1 students per teacher at Cove Creek Elementary.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Cove Creek Elementary?
At Cove Creek Elementary, the student body is approximately 87% White, 8% Hispanic, 1% Black, 3% Asian, 1% Two or more.
Who oversees Cove Creek Elementary?
Cove Creek Elementary is overseen by Watauga County Schools in Watauga County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.