Olive Chapel Elementary

Olive Chapel Elementary is a roomy elementary-level community in Apex, North Carolina, overseen by Wake County Schools. The school works with 1,066 students in grades pre-K through 5. Enrollment runs roughly 128% larger than the state mean of about 467.

Within Wake County Schools, which oversees 198 schools and 163,176 students, Olive Chapel Elementary is one campus in the system.

Looking at the student body, Olive Chapel Elementary records that the most-represented group is White (52%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups. Beyond that, the school reports 30% Asian, 9% Hispanic, 6% Black, 2% multiracial.

In terms of school funding signals, On paper, Olive Chapel Elementary has 72 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 14.8:1. That tracks the state average closely. Around 12% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. Set against Wake County (around 42%), the school's rate is somewhat below typical.

After controlling for student poverty, Olive Chapel Elementary tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 75.3% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 86.2%.

Zooming out to the county, census data for Wake County shows the typical household earns roughly $105,768 per year, roughly 57% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 5%. Olive Chapel Elementary is one of 237 public schools in Wake County (combined enrollment of about 184,790 students).

The closest other public school is Scotts Ridge Elementary, roughly 1.1 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Olive Chapel Elementary. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Olive Chapel Elementary at 2nd of 8; the average score across the group is 79.0%.

Geographically, the school is in a suburban area.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count grew 7%: 996 students in 2018 compared to 1,066 in 2025. The White share of enrollment decreased from 72% to 52% over that span. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 16.5:1 in 2018 to 14.8:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, recent activity here tends to focus on science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.