Ellerbe Middle

Ellerbe Middle is a very small middle-grades school in Ellerbe, North Carolina, part of Richmond County Schools. The school caters to 182 students in grades 6 through 8. By comparison, North Carolina's public schools average about 605 students each, so Ellerbe Middle sits 70% below that benchmark.

Richmond County Schools runs 15 schools in total, collectively educating 6,504 students. Ellerbe Middle is one of those campuses.

In terms of who attends, Ellerbe Middle lists that the most-represented group is White (35%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups. Other groups include 29% Hispanic, 22% Black, 10% multiracial, 3% Native American. By comparison, Richmond County as a whole is about 56% White, so the school skews meaningfully less White than its surroundings.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Staff filings list 14 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 13.1:1 students per teacher. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 15.9:1 average. Roughly 98% of students at Ellerbe Middle qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.

With demographic context factored in, Ellerbe Middle tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 48.8% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 47.6%.

Around the school, Richmond County reports that median household earnings sit near $44,883, 16% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 20%. In all, Richmond County runs 15 public schools (combined enrollment of about 6,504 students), of which Ellerbe Middle is one.

The closest other public school is Mineral Springs Elementary, roughly 0.9 miles away. 6 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a ten-mile radius, suggesting a relatively low-density school footprint. On composite proficiency, Ellerbe Middle comes 4th of 8 in the immediate cluster, above the nearby-schools average of 41.2%.

Geographically, the school is in a low-density area.

Over the past 7-year window. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Ellerbe Middle has contracted 22%, going from 232 students in 2018 to 182 in 2025. Over the same period, the Hispanic share edged down from 34% to 29%.

Inside the community feed, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. The community welcomes input from current and former families.