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How has Helena Elementary changed in the last five years, for better or worse?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
512
Elementary
DISTRICT 319 · STATE 467
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PERSON COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370363001479
Helena Elementary
355 Helena Moriah Rd, Timberlake, NC 27583 · (336) 364-7715 · Person County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL512 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 83% 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.
- 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
20.8:1
25 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.4:1 · STATE 14.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
99%
506 students
DISTRICT 94% · STATE 82%
Community
1
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 | 74 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 91 | 18% |
| Grade 2 | 77 | 15% |
| Grade 3 | 84 | 16% |
| Grade 4 | 94 | 18% |
| Grade 5 | 92 | 18% |
This year's kindergarten class (74) is 20% smaller than its 5th grade class (92).
Student demographics
52%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 66% · 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
55.9%
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 56 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
65.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.7%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+16.9pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 66% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 49% 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 Helena Elementary
Helena Elementary's state test result (65.6% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Helena Elementary this school | 512 | 98.8% | 65.6% |
| Chinquapin Elementary Chinquapin | 537 | 99.4% | 51.6% |
| Pine Valley Elementary Wilmington | 465 | 99.4% | 64.1% |
| Pleasant Garden Elementary Pleasant Garden | 453 | 99.3% | 68.7% |
| Alamance Elementary Greensboro | 499 | 99.4% | 70.0% |
| Bethware Elementary Kings Mountain | 548 | 99.5% | 69.5% |
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 Helena Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Person County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 65.6% | #327 of 1,297 | #1 of 6 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 70.5% | #319 of 1,296 | #1 of 6 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 55.9% | #436 of 1,300 | #3 of 6 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 512 | #578 of 1,485 | #1 of 9 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 20.8:1 | #1,356 of 1,377 | #7 of 7 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 52.0% | #948 of 1,379 | #6 of 7 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 98.8% | #730 of 1,414 | #4 of 8 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -12.2% | #505 of 937 | 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
512
+11 (+2%) vs 2020
-10% since 1990-91, when it was 570
Student : Teacher
20.8:1
was 15.2:1
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 | 512 | 24.6 | 20.8:1 | 99% (506) |
| 2023-24 | 522 | 34.6 | 15.1:1 | 99% (519) |
| 2022-23 | 523 | 33.8 | 15.5:1 | 99% (520) |
| 2020-21 | 501 | 33 | 15.2:1 | 99% (497) |
| 2017-18 | 583 | 34.5 | 16.9:1 | 98% (574) |
| 2015-16 | 619 | 34 | 18.2:1 | 100% (616) |
| 2010-11 | 689 | 39 | 17.7:1 | 40% (276) |
| 2000-01 | 684 | 45 | 15.2:1 | 27% (188) |
| 1990-91 | 570 | 35 | 16.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Helena Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 12% (583 to 512); teachers down 29% (34.5 to 24.6).
About Helena Elementary
Helena Elementary, a medium-sized elementary school, is located in Timberlake, North Carolina. The school's 512 students are in kindergarten through 5.
Helena Elementary is among 12 schools run by Person County Schools, which serves 4,497 students.
At Helena Elementary, White students make up 66% of the student body. The school is also 14% Black, 13% Hispanic, and 6% multiracial. For comparison, Person County is about 65% White. The school's diversity index is 52%, meaning two students picked at random have a 52% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
Its 24.6 full-time-equivalent teachers give the school a ratio of 20.8:1. This ratio sits 6.0 above the 14.9:1 average for elementary schools in North Carolina. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is 99%. That tracks the 99% average for public schools in Person County.
allk12 grades Helena Elementary an A-. The grade compares the school only with North Carolina public elementary schools, because each state gives its own test.
The model predicts 48.7% for a school in North Carolina with Helena Elementary's free or reduced-price lunch share. Helena Elementary posts 65.6%.
In the county around the school, Person County, the median household income is $63,300, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 19% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 12%. Person County is home to 15 public schools and about 5,659 public school students.
Nearby, South Elementary is about 6.4 miles away. Within ten miles of Helena Elementary, there are at least 8 other public schools. Compared with its nearest neighbors, Helena Elementary ranks 1st of 5 on average proficiency.
The school's setting, by NCES definition, is Rural: Distant: in rural territory some distance from an urban area.
In 2020-21, Helena Elementary enrolled 501; in 2024-25, 512. The school's ratio rose from 15.2:1 to 20.8:1 between 2020-21 and 2024-25.
Questions about enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news can be posted here. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Person County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
39,542
Census ACS
Median income
$63,300
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
19%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
12%
Below federal line
Schools in county
15
5,659 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Person County Schools
- Person HighHigh · 1,165 students
- South ElementaryElementary · 463 students
- Southern MiddleMiddle · 456 students
- Northern MiddleMiddle · 454 students
- Stories Creek ElementaryElementary · 397 students
- North End ElementaryElementary · 283 students
Other Helena Elementary schools
2 other US public schools in 3 states are named Helena Elementary. Helena Elementary is the 2nd largest of the 3.
- Helena Elementary SchoolHelena, AL · 778 students
- HELENA ELEM.HELENA, MO · 99 students
Nearby schools
- South Elementary6.4 mi · 463
- Southern Middle6.6 mi · 456
- Roxboro Community School7.4 mi · 727
- Oak Lane Elementary8.0 mi · 224
- Carolina Community Academy8.3 mi · 91
- North Elementary8.3 mi · 136
Frequently asked questions
About Helena ElementaryHow large is Helena Elementary?
Helena Elementary enrolls approximately 512 students in grades KG-05.
Is Helena Elementary an elementary, middle, or high school?
Helena Elementary is an elementary school covering grades KG-05.
How many students per teacher at Helena Elementary?
Approximately 20.8:1 students per teacher at Helena Elementary.
How diverse is Helena Elementary?
Helena Elementary reports a student body of 66% White, 13% Hispanic, 14% Black, 6% Two or more.
Who oversees Helena Elementary?
Helena Elementary is overseen by Person County Schools in Person County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.