Lowell Elementary

Located at 1500 Power Drive, in Lowell, North Carolina, Lowell Elementary is a low-enrollment elementary campus that hosts 367 students (grades pre-K through 5), operated by Gaston County Schools. Enrollment runs roughly 21% below the state mean of about 467.

Gaston County Schools runs 56 schools in total, collectively educating 30,995 students. Lowell Elementary is one of those campuses.

In terms of who attends, Lowell Elementary shows that the largest single group is White at 48%, but no single group is in the majority. Other groups include 20% Hispanic, 20% Black, 6% multiracial, 5% Asian. By comparison, Gaston County as a whole is about 68% White, so the school skews considerably less White than its surroundings.

On the income-and-resources front, On paper, Lowell Elementary has 28 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 13.0:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 14.9:1 average. Around 99% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. That share is noticeably above Gaston County's rate of about 85%.

With demographic context factored in, Lowell Elementary tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 48.5% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 58.1%.

Around the school, census data for Gaston County shows median household earnings sit near $67,478, about 27% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and the poverty rate sits near 10%. Across Gaston County's 61 public schools (combined enrollment of about 35,898 students), Lowell Elementary is one campus in the mix.

Holbrook Middle is the nearest neighboring public school, about 1.2 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Lowell Elementary at 3rd of 8; the average score across the group is 51.1%.

The school occupies a countryside site.

Trend over the last 7 years. Lowell Elementary's enrollment has fell 33% since 2018, when it stood at 548 (now 367). White enrollment moved from 67% to 48% across the same window. Class-load math has pulled in: from 16.0:1 in 2018 to 13.0:1 in 2025.

On the community side, members of the Lowell Elementary community share and discuss open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.