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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at Jefferson Elementary?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
439
Elementary
DISTRICT 425 · STATE 467
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CLEVELAND COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370090002713
Jefferson Elementary
1166 Wyke Road, Shelby, NC 28150 · (704) 476-8390 · Cleveland County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY32-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL439 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
14.7:1
30 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.2:1 · STATE 14.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
99%
436 students
DISTRICT 97% · 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 4 | 1% |
| Kindergarten | 74 | 17% |
| Grade 1 | 80 | 18% |
| Grade 2 | 84 | 19% |
| Grade 3 | 72 | 16% |
| Grade 4 | 61 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 64 | 15% |
Student demographics
64%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 61% · 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
54.9%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
72.2%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 55 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 72 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
64.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.5%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+16.3pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 65% 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 →
Where Jefferson Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Cleveland County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 64.8% | #354 of 1,297 | #7 of 15 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 72.2% | #278 of 1,296 | #6 of 15 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 54.9% | #458 of 1,300 | #7 of 15 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 439 | #786 of 1,485 | #7 of 15 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.7:1 | #651 of 1,377 | #9 of 14 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 64.3% | #510 of 1,379 | #3 of 14 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 99.3% | #382 of 1,414 | #7 of 15 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +14.3% | #144 of 369 | #3 of 7 |
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.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
439
+93 (+27%) vs 2020
+29% since 2010-11, when it was 340
Student : Teacher
14.7:1
was 15.0:1
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 | 439 | 30 | 14.7:1 | 99% (436) |
| 2023-24 | 425 | 27 | 15.7:1 | 99% (422) |
| 2022-23 | 429 | 30.7 | 14.0:1 | 98% (422) |
| 2020-21 | 346 | 23 | 15.0:1 | 99% (343) |
| 2017-18 | 384 | 27.9 | 13.8:1 | 99% (381) |
| 2015-16 | 382 | 27 | 14.2:1 | 65% (249) |
| 2010-11 | 340 | 24 | 14.2:1 | 41% (140) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Jefferson Elementary.
About Jefferson Elementary
Jefferson Elementary is a mid-sized elementary school that serves part of Shelby, North Carolina. In all, 439 students attend the school in pre-K through 5.
Jefferson Elementary reports to Cleveland County Schools, which has 28 schools and 14,504 students.
The largest racial or ethnic group at Jefferson Elementary is Black, with 45% of students. Other groups include 38% White, 10% multiracial, and 7% Hispanic. The county population is about 18% Black. The diversity index for Jefferson Elementary is 64%. For US public schools as a whole it is 70%.
The school had 30 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25. Its student-to-teacher ratio is 14.7:1. The ratio is within a point of the 14.9:1 average for elementary schools in North Carolina. The eligibility rate for free or reduced-price meals is 99%. That is in line with the 99% average for public schools in Cleveland County.
On a poverty-adjusted basis, Jefferson Elementary falls in the middle 80% of North Carolina schools: 64.8% actual against 48.5% predicted.
The school is in Cleveland County, where the median household earns about $58,534 a year, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 22% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 12%. Across Cleveland County, 29 public schools serve about 15,682 students.
Among nearby public schools, Elizabeth Elementary is closest at about 1.8 miles. Jefferson Elementary is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles. Nearby schools with test data average 50.1% proficiency; Jefferson Elementary posts 64.8%.
Its NCES locale code is Town: Distant: the school is in a town some distance from an urbanized area.
Federal enrollment counts rose from 346 (2020-21) to 439 (2024-25).
Use the discussion section to ask about homework, tutoring, and testing dates at Jefferson Elementary. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Cleveland County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
100,991
Census ACS
Median income
$58,534
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
22%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
12%
Below federal line
Schools in county
29
15,682 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Cleveland County Schools
- Kings Mountain HighHigh · 1,305 students
- Crest HighHigh · 1,098 students
- Burns HighHigh · 928 students
- Crest MiddleMiddle · 810 students
- Shelby HighHigh · 792 students
- Burns MiddleMiddle · 744 students
Other schools in Shelby
- Pinnacle Classical AcademyCombined · 1,178 students
- Crest HighHigh · 1,098 students
- Crest MiddleMiddle · 810 students
- Shelby HighHigh · 792 students
- Elizabeth ElementaryElementary · 649 students
- Springmore ElementaryElementary · 618 students
Nearby schools
- Elizabeth Elementary1.8 mi · 649
- Cleveland ECHS1.9 mi · 225
- Turning Point Academy2.0 mi · 142
- Cleveland Innovation2.0 mi · 187
- Shelby High2.4 mi · 792
- Shelby Middle3.4 mi · 588
Frequently asked questions
About Jefferson ElementaryHow large is Jefferson Elementary?
Jefferson Elementary enrolls approximately 439 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Jefferson Elementary serve?
Jefferson Elementary serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Jefferson Elementary?
Approximately 14.7:1 students per teacher at Jefferson Elementary.
What is the student diversity at Jefferson Elementary?
Student demographics at Jefferson Elementary are roughly 38% White, 7% Hispanic, 45% Black, 1% Asian, 10% Two or more.
Is Jefferson Elementary public or private?
Jefferson Elementary is a public K-12 school, overseen by Cleveland County Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.