Hillcrest Elementary

Hillcrest Elementary operates as an intimate elementary campus in Morganton, North Carolina, part of Burke County Schools. Current enrollment sits at 254 students spanning grades pre-K through 5. Compared to the state average of about 467 students per school, that is 46% smaller than typical.

Across the 26 schools in Burke County Schools (11,667 students total), Hillcrest Elementary accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

Looking at the student body, Hillcrest Elementary shows that the largest single group is Hispanic, at 72% of enrollment. Other groups include 15% White, 7% Black, 7% multiracial. That is considerably more Hispanic than the county at large, where the share is closer to 9%.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Hillcrest Elementary shows 18 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 14.0:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 14.9:1, putting Hillcrest Elementary tighter than the state norm the norm. Roughly 98% of students at Hillcrest Elementary qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Hillcrest Elementary performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 49.0%, the actual is 44.2%, a residual of -4.8 points.

Around the school, the surrounding county (Burke County) records that median household earnings sit near $58,592, roughly 21% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 12% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Burke County's 30 public schools (combined enrollment of about 12,360 students), Hillcrest Elementary is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: New Dimensions, around 1.5 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Hillcrest Elementary. Among the 5 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Hillcrest Elementary ranks 2nd on composite proficiency, higher than the local average of 42.3%.

The campus sits in a city-core setting.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count ticked down 54%: 551 students in 2018 compared to 254 in 2025. The Hispanic share of enrollment increased from 66% to 72% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio pulled in from 16.3:1 in 2018 to 14.0:1 today.

Inside the community feed, members of the Hillcrest Elementary community share and discuss open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.