Dudley Shoals Elementary

Dudley Shoals Elementary is one of the medium-sized K-5 schools in Granite Falls, North Carolina, overseen by Caldwell County Schools, with 433 students on its rolls from grades pre-K through 5.

Dudley Shoals Elementary is one of 25 schools operated by Caldwell County Schools, a district that enrolls 10,667 students overall.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Dudley Shoals Elementary shows that nearly all students (85%) are White. The remainder looks like 6% Hispanic, 6% multiracial. That mix tracks the wider county fairly closely.

On the income-and-resources front, Staff filings list 26 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 16.4:1 students per teacher. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 14.9:1, putting Dudley Shoals Elementary higher than the state norm the norm. Around 99% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Dudley Shoals Elementary sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 48.5%; this one delivers 55.7%.

In the surrounding community, the surrounding county (Caldwell County) reports that median household income runs about $56,425, about 19% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 11%. Across Caldwell County's 26 public schools (combined enrollment of about 10,920 students), Dudley Shoals Elementary is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Gateway School, roughly 1.5 miles away. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 7 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Dudley Shoals Elementary ranks 5th on composite proficiency, behind the local average of 60.2%.

Geographically, the school is in a rural area.

Over the past 7-year window. Dudley Shoals Elementary's enrollment has decreased 10% since 2018, when it stood at 481 (now 433). White enrollment moved from 92% to 85% across the same window.

In the discussion threads here, members of the Dudley Shoals Elementary community share and discuss science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.