Crest Middle

Crest Middle is one of the medium-sized intermediate schools in Shelby, North Carolina, overseen by Cleveland County Schools, with 810 students on its rolls from grades 6 through 8. By comparison, North Carolina's public schools average about 605 students each, so Crest Middle sits 34% larger than that benchmark.

Cleveland County Schools runs 28 schools in total, collectively educating 14,504 students. Crest Middle is one of those campuses.

In terms of who attends, Crest Middle records that 60% of the student body identifies as White. The remainder breaks down as 25% Black, 9% Hispanic, 6% multiracial. By comparison, Cleveland County as a whole is about 72% White, so the school skews visibly less White than its surroundings.

On the resource side, The school employs 50 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 16.3:1. The state averages about 15.9:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. About 99% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Crest Middle tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 48.6% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 57.2%.

Across the wider county, census data for Cleveland County shows median household earnings sit near $58,534, roughly 22% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 12% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Cleveland County's 29 public schools (combined enrollment of about 15,682 students), Crest Middle is one campus in the mix.

Crest High is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.6 miles from this campus. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Among the 6 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Crest Middle ranks 3rd on composite proficiency, above the local average of 56.1%.

Geographically, the school is in an outlying area.

Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count ticked down 8%: 877 students in 2018 compared to 810 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio rose from 15.1:1 in 2018 to 16.3:1 today.

On the community side, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.