Enrollment
280
Elementary
DISTRICT 372 · STATE 467
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WILSON COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370502001999
Gardners Elementary
5404 NC 42 Hwy E, Elm City, NC 27822 · (252) 399-7920 · Wilson County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL280 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 91% of North Carolina public elementary schools
- A-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- ABeats 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
15.5:1
18 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.9:1 · STATE 14.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
98%
275 students
DISTRICT 92% · 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 | 51 | 18% |
| Grade 1 | 45 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 47 | 17% |
| Grade 3 | 50 | 18% |
| Grade 4 | 46 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 41 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (51) is 24% larger than its 5th grade class (41).
Student demographics
69%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 69% · 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
65.0%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
75.9%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 65 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 76 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
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of NC schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
71.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.9%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+22.1pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 71% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 49% typical for North Carolina schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 22 points, placing it in North Carolina's top 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 Gardners Elementary
Gardners Elementary's state test result (71.0% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gardners Elementary this school | 280 | 98.2% | 71.0% |
| Dublin Primary Dublin | 234 | 98.7% | 39.7% |
| Winter Park Model Elementary Wilmington | 311 | 99.0% | 58.2% |
| Shady Brook Elementary Kannapolis | 322 | 99.1% | 37.6% |
| Club Boulevard Elementary Durham | 364 | 99.2% | 56.9% |
| Johnston Elementary Asheville | 217 | 98.6% | 27.5% |
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 Gardners Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Wilson County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 71.0% | #208 of 1,297 | #4 of 13 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 75.9% | #194 of 1,296 | #4 of 13 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 65.0% | #224 of 1,300 | #4 of 13 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 280 | #1,229 of 1,485 | #10 of 13 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.5:1 | #901 of 1,377 | #4 of 11 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 69.0% | #260 of 1,379 | #3 of 11 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 98.2% | #881 of 1,414 | #11 of 13 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +10.2% | #187 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
280
+53 (+23%) vs 2020
-3% since 1990-91, when it was 290
Student : Teacher
15.5:1
was 16.2:1
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 | 280 | 18 | 15.5:1 | 98% (275) |
| 2023-24 | 242 | 15.8 | 15.3:1 | 99% (239) |
| 2022-23 | 219 | 16.1 | 13.6:1 | 99% (216) |
| 2020-21 | 227 | 14 | 16.2:1 | 99% (224) |
| 2017-18 | 254 | 16.2 | 15.7:1 | 99% (251) |
| 2015-16 | 282 | 17 | 16.6:1 | 96% (272) |
| 2010-11 | 309 | 18 | 17.2:1 | 74% (228) |
| 2000-01 | 325 | 20 | 16.3:1 | 58% (188) |
| 1990-91 | 290 | 20 | 14.5:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Gardners Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students up 10% (254 to 280); teachers up 11% (16.2 to 18).
About Gardners Elementary
In Elm City, North Carolina, Gardners Elementary is a low-enrollment elementary school. It enrolls 280 students in 2024-25. The grades offered are kindergarten through 5. By comparison, elementary schools in North Carolina enroll about 467 students on average.
In Wilson County Schools, 25 schools enroll a combined 10,451 students.
The largest racial or ethnic group at Gardners Elementary is Hispanic, with 36% of students. Other groups make up 35% White, 22% Black, and 6% multiracial. Wilson County as a whole is about 12% Hispanic, so the school's share is higher. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 69%.
The school's 18 full-time-equivalent teachers translate to a student-to-teacher ratio of 15.5:1. The 14.9:1 average for elementary schools in North Carolina is close to this figure. Income data for the school show 98% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. The average for public schools in Wilson County is similar, at 96%.
On the allk12 Grade, Gardners Elementary lands at A, ahead of 91% of North Carolina public elementary schools.
Gardners Elementary outperforms its prediction by 22.1 points. The model expects 48.9% for a school with its free or reduced-price lunch share in North Carolina; the school's rate is 71.0%.
Five-year Census Bureau estimates for Wilson County show that median household income comes to about $56,423, roughly 22% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 14% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Wilson County counts 29 public schools with about 12,482 students.
About 6.1 miles separate Gardners Elementary from the closest public school, Charles H Darden Middle. Other public schools within ten miles: at least 8. Gardners Elementary is 2nd of 5 nearby schools by average proficiency rate.
In the federal locale system, Gardners Elementary is coded Rural: Distant, for schools in rural territory some distance from an urban area.
Enrollment was 280 in 2024-25. In 2020-21, it was 227.
People can post here about homework, tutoring, and testing dates and other school topics. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
Wilson County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
79,290
Census ACS
Median income
$56,423
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
22%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
14%
Below federal line
Schools in county
29
12,482 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Wilson County Schools
- James Hunt HighHigh · 1,115 students
- Fike HighHigh · 1,028 students
- Forest Hills MiddleMiddle · 654 students
- Beddingfield HighHigh · 653 students
- John W Jones ElementaryElementary · 601 students
- Rock Ridge ElementaryElementary · 476 students
Other schools in Elm City
- Coopers ElementaryElementary · 591 students
- Elm City MiddleMiddle · 399 students
Nearby schools
- Charles H Darden Middle6.1 mi · 378
- Elm City Middle6.2 mi · 399
- Eastern NC School for the Deaf6.2 mi · 42
- Eastern NC School for the Deaf6.2 mi · 36
- B O Barnes Elementary6.2 mi · 274
- Sallie B Howard School6.3 mi · 1,228
Frequently asked questions
About Gardners ElementaryHow large is Gardners Elementary?
Gardners Elementary enrolls approximately 280 students in grades KG-05.
What grades does Gardners Elementary serve?
Gardners Elementary serves grades KG-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Gardners Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Gardners Elementary is approximately 15.5:1 (18 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Gardners Elementary?
Student demographics at Gardners Elementary are roughly 35% White, 36% Hispanic, 22% Black, 6% Two or more.
What district is Gardners Elementary in?
Gardners Elementary is part of Wilson County Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.