1
Alumni: what's one memory from Junaluska Elementary that still sticks with you?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
428
Elementary
DISTRICT 381 · STATE 467
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·HAYWOOD COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370204000903
Junaluska Elementary
2238 Asheville Road, Waynesville, NC 28786 · (828) 456-2407 · Haywood County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL428 STUDENTS
A+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 95% of North Carolina public elementary schools
- ATest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A+Beats 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
15.6:1
27 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.9:1 · STATE 14.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
99%
425 students
DISTRICT 98% · 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 | 64 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 63 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 84 | 20% |
| Grade 3 | 89 | 21% |
| Grade 4 | 68 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 60 | 14% |
This year's kindergarten class (64) is 7% larger than its 5th grade class (60).
Student demographics
30%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 28% · 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
69.3%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
77.7%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 69 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 78 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
73.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.5%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+25.1pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 74% 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 25 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 Junaluska Elementary
Junaluska Elementary's state test result (73.6% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Junaluska Elementary this school | 428 | 99.3% | 73.6% |
| Glenwood Elementary School Marion | 435 | 99.3% | 46.9% |
| Bethany Elementary Reidsville | 459 | 99.3% | 63.7% |
| Dudley Shoals Elementary Granite Falls | 433 | 99.3% | 55.7% |
| Grays Chapel Elementary School Franklinville | 446 | 99.3% | 57.0% |
| Harris Elementary School Forest City | 434 | 95.9% | 70.0% |
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 Junaluska Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Haywood County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 73.6% | #155 of 1,297 | #2 of 8 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 77.7% | #154 of 1,296 | #2 of 8 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 69.3% | #145 of 1,300 | #2 of 8 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 428 | #817 of 1,485 | #4 of 8 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.6:1 | #920 of 1,377 | #4 of 7 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 30.3% | #1,282 of 1,379 | #2 of 7 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 99.3% | #402 of 1,414 | #2 of 8 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -2.7% | #860 of 937 | #6 of 6 |
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
428
+8 (+2%) vs 2020
-5% since 1990-91, when it was 452
Student : Teacher
15.6:1
was 13.6:1
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 | 428 | 27.4 | 15.6:1 | 99% (425) |
| 2023-24 | 421 | 27 | 15.6:1 | 99% (418) |
| 2022-23 | 447 | 30.9 | 14.5:1 | 52% (234) |
| 2020-21 | 420 | 31 | 13.6:1 | 36% (152) |
| 2017-18 | 440 | 29 | 15.2:1 | 52% (230) |
| 2015-16 | 335 | 24 | 14.0:1 | 53% (177) |
| 2010-11 | 369 | 27 | 13.7:1 | 40% (147) |
| 2000-01 | 431 | 33 | 13.1:1 | 29% (126) |
| 1990-91 | 452 | 31 | 14.6:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Junaluska Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 3% (440 to 428); teachers down 5% (29 to 27.4).
About Junaluska Elementary
The public elementary school Junaluska Elementary is located in Waynesville, North Carolina. The student body numbers 428 students, from kindergarten through 5.
Haywood County Schools includes 15 schools. Together they enroll 6,476 students.
Junaluska Elementary enrolls a student body that is 83% White. After that, the student body is 9% Hispanic and 6% multiracial. Census figures show Haywood County is about 91% White. Junaluska Elementary has a diversity index of 30%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
Its teaching staff equals 27.4 full-time positions, a ratio of 15.6:1. That ratio is over the 14.9:1 average for elementary schools in North Carolina. Around 99% of the school's students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. Across public schools in Haywood County, the average is about the same, 99%.
Measured against North Carolina public elementary schools, Junaluska Elementary receives an A+. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
The BeatsExpectations model predicts 48.5% for Junaluska Elementary, given its share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. The actual figure is 73.6%. The 25.1-point gap ranks in the top 10% of North Carolina schools.
Census Bureau estimates for Haywood County show that median household income is about $61,912, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 30% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 9%. Junaluska Elementary is one of 16 public schools in Haywood County, which together enroll about 7,092 students.
The next-closest public school is Tuscola High, about 1.2 miles away. There are at least 8 more public schools inside five miles. Nearby schools average 57.2% on proficiency, and Junaluska Elementary is above that at 73.6%.
On the NCES locale scale, the school is Rural: Fringe.
Over 4 years, enrollment stayed close to where it was, going from 420 to 428. The ratio was 13.6:1 in 2020-21 and 15.6:1 in 2024-25.
Discussions about Junaluska Elementary may include school safety, transportation, and start times. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Haywood County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
62,662
Census ACS
Median income
$61,912
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
30%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
16
7,092 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Haywood County Schools
- Tuscola HighHigh · 873 students
- Pisgah HighHigh · 859 students
- Waynesville MiddleMiddle · 727 students
- Bethel ElementaryElementary · 537 students
- Clyde ElementaryElementary · 523 students
- Hazelwood ElementaryElementary · 490 students
Other schools in Waynesville
- Tuscola HighHigh · 873 students
- Waynesville MiddleMiddle · 727 students
- Shining Rock Classical AcademyCombined · 616 students
- Hazelwood ElementaryElementary · 490 students
- Jonathan Valley ElementaryElementary · 336 students
- Bethel MiddleMiddle · 254 students
Nearby schools
- Tuscola High1.2 mi · 873
- Shining Rock Classical Academy1.6 mi · 616
- Central Haywood High2.3 mi · 63
- Haywood Early College2.3 mi · 177
- Waynesville Middle2.5 mi · 727
- Hazelwood Elementary3.6 mi · 490
Frequently asked questions
About Junaluska ElementaryHow large is Junaluska Elementary?
Junaluska Elementary enrolls approximately 428 students in grades KG-05.
Is Junaluska Elementary an elementary, middle, or high school?
Junaluska Elementary is an elementary school covering grades KG-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Junaluska Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Junaluska Elementary is approximately 15.6:1 (27 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Junaluska Elementary?
Junaluska Elementary reports a student body of 83% White, 9% Hispanic, 1% Asian, 6% Two or more.
Who oversees Junaluska Elementary?
Junaluska Elementary is overseen by Haywood County Schools in Haywood County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.