Peterson Elementary

As a medium-sized elementary campus in Red Springs, North Carolina, Peterson Elementary instructs 539 students from grades pre-K through 4, one of the schools within Public Schools of Robeson County.

Public Schools of Robeson County runs 36 schools in total, collectively educating 20,856 students. Peterson Elementary is one of those campuses.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Peterson Elementary records that the largest single group is Hispanic at 35%, but no single group is in the majority; the rest is composed of 31% Native American, 23% Black, 9% multiracial, 3% White. That is noticeably more Hispanic than the county at large, where the share is closer to 11%.

On the income-and-resources front, On paper, Peterson Elementary has 36 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 15.0:1. That tracks the state average closely. Roughly 99% of students at Peterson Elementary qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Peterson Elementary sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 48.5%; this one delivers 36.8%.

Across the wider county, census data for Robeson County shows median household income runs about $41,978, 15% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and roughly 21% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Robeson County runs 40 public schools (combined enrollment of about 21,625 students), of which Peterson Elementary is one.

Nearest neighbor: Red Springs Middle, around 0.6 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 3 other public schools cluster around Peterson Elementary. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Peterson Elementary at 4th of 9; the average score across the group is 36.5%.

Geographically, the school is in an outlying area.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Peterson Elementary has contracted 6%, going from 576 students in 2018 to 539 in 2025. The Black share of enrollment shrank from 30% to 23% over that span.

Within the allk12 community for this school, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.