Highfalls Elementary

Located at 1220 NC Hwy 22, in Bennett, North Carolina, Highfalls Elementary is a modestly sized K-5 school that instructs 293 students (grades K through 8), overseen by Moore County Schools. That puts it 37% below the typical public school in North Carolina, which averages around 467 students.

Moore County Schools runs 23 schools in total, collectively educating 13,085 students. Highfalls Elementary is one of those campuses.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Highfalls Elementary lists that 87% of students identify as White, making the school strongly White-majority. Beyond that, the school records 9% Hispanic, 3% multiracial. By comparison, Moore County as a whole is about 77% White, so the school skews meaningfully more White than its surroundings.

On the resource side, Highfalls Elementary lists 21 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 14.1:1. The state averages around 14.9:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. About 99% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. Set against Moore County (around 64%), the school's rate is noticeably above typical.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Highfalls Elementary sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 48.6%; this one delivers 65.5%.

Zooming out to the county, ACS estimates for Moore County put the typical household earns roughly $86,080 per year, about 41% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and the poverty rate sits near 6%. In all, Moore County runs 27 public schools (combined enrollment of about 14,708 students), of which Highfalls Elementary is one.

The closest other public school is North Moore High, roughly 2.2 miles away. 5 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a ten-mile radius, suggesting a relatively low-density school footprint. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Highfalls Elementary at 2nd of 8; the average score across the group is 56.1%.

Highfalls Elementary operates from an outlying location.

Five-year trend. Highfalls Elementary's enrollment has climbed 9% since 2018, when it stood at 269 (now 293). Over the same period, the White share shrank from 91% to 87%. The student-to-teacher ratio grew from 12.2:1 in 2018 to 14.1:1 today.

Inside the community feed, members of the Highfalls Elementary community share and discuss fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.