Pleasant Gardens Elementary School

Pleasant Gardens Elementary School is one of the compact elementary campuss in Marion, North Carolina, one of the schools within McDowell County Schools, with 289 students on its rolls from grades pre-K through 5. By comparison, North Carolina's public schools average about 467 students each, so Pleasant Gardens Elementary School sits 38% below that benchmark.

McDowell County Schools runs 16 schools in total, collectively educating 5,712 students. Pleasant Gardens Elementary School is one of those campuses.

On demographics, Pleasant Gardens Elementary School logs that White students make up the majority at 74%; the rest is composed of 17% Hispanic, 6% multiracial. By comparison, McDowell County as a whole is about 88% White, so the school skews visibly less White than its surroundings.

Looking at the economic backdrop, On paper, Pleasant Gardens Elementary School has 21 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 13.5:1. The state averages around 14.9:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. An estimated 99% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Pleasant Gardens Elementary School sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 48.6%; this one delivers 55.4%.

Across the wider county, community-level numbers for McDowell County indicate median household income runs about $57,168, about 18% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and roughly 10% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Pleasant Gardens Elementary School is one of 16 public schools in McDowell County (combined enrollment of about 5,712 students).

The closest other public school is West McDowell Middle School, roughly 1.8 miles away. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. On composite proficiency, Pleasant Gardens Elementary School comes 4th of 7 in the immediate cluster, above the nearby-schools average of 53.3%.

Geographically, the school is in a small-town area.

Over the past 7-year window. Pleasant Gardens Elementary School's enrollment has decreased 12% since 2018, when it stood at 329 (now 289). The White share of enrollment edged down from 83% to 74% over that span. Class-load math has loosened: from 12.0:1 in 2018 to 13.5:1 in 2025.

On the community side, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.