Pinecrest High

Pinecrest High, a large high school in Southern Pines, North Carolina, overseen by Moore County Schools, educates 2,290 students, covering grades 9 through 13. That puts it 201% larger than the typical public school in North Carolina, which averages around 761 students.

Within Moore County Schools, which oversees 23 schools and 13,085 students, Pinecrest High is one campus in the system.

In terms of who attends, Pinecrest High records that White students make up the majority at 60%. Other groups include 17% Black, 14% Hispanic, 7% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 77% White, putting the school's mix noticeably less White than the area baseline.

Looking at school resources, On paper, Pinecrest High has 83 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 27.6:1. The state averages around 19.6:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. An estimated 35% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. That share is below Moore County's rate of about 64%.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Pinecrest High sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 68.2%; this one delivers 58.9%.

Zooming out to the county, community-level numbers for Moore County indicate median household earnings sit near $86,080, about 41% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and roughly 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Moore County's 27 public schools (combined enrollment of about 14,708 students), Pinecrest High is one campus in the mix.

Southern Pines Elementary is the nearest neighboring public school, about 1.1 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 6 other public schools cluster around Pinecrest High. On composite proficiency, Pinecrest High comes 6th of 8 in the immediate cluster, behind the nearby-schools average of 67.4%.

Geographically, the school is in a high-density area.

Five-year trend. Pinecrest High's enrollment has ticked up 8% since 2018, when it stood at 2,119 (now 2,290). Over the same period, the Hispanic share ticked up from 10% to 14%. Class-load math has loosened: from 19.4:1 in 2018 to 27.6:1 in 2025.

In the discussion threads here, members of the Pinecrest High community share and discuss enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. Members of the school community can share what they know.