Old Fort Elementary School

Old Fort Elementary School operates as a cozy K-5 school in Old Fort, North Carolina, one of the schools within McDowell County Schools. Current enrollment sits at 360 students spanning grades pre-K through 5. By comparison, North Carolina's public schools average about 467 students each, so Old Fort Elementary School sits 23% below that benchmark.

Old Fort Elementary School is one of 16 schools operated by McDowell County Schools, a district that enrolls 5,712 students overall.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Old Fort Elementary School reports that the student body is overwhelmingly White (84%). Other groups include 7% multiracial, 6% Hispanic, 3% Black. Compared to McDowell County overall, the school's racial mix sits in roughly the same range.

On the resource side, The school currently runs with 24 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 15.3:1. The state averages about 14.9:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Roughly 95% of students at Old Fort Elementary School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Old Fort Elementary School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 49.8% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 64.1%.

Across the wider county, census data for McDowell County shows the typical household earns roughly $57,168 per year, roughly 18% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 10%. Across McDowell County's 16 public schools (combined enrollment of about 5,712 students), Old Fort Elementary School is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is West Marion Elementary School, roughly 6.6 miles away. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a ten-mile radius, suggesting a relatively low-density school footprint. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Old Fort Elementary School ranks 2nd on composite proficiency, higher than the local average of 53.2%.

The school occupies a rural site.

Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count increased 13%: 319 students in 2018 compared to 360 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio rose from 13.5:1 in 2018 to 15.3:1 today.

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