Pleasant Ridge Elementary

Pleasant Ridge Elementary, a high-enrollment elementary-level community in Gastonia, North Carolina, part of Gaston County Schools, teaches 887 students, covering grades pre-K through 5. That puts it 90% above the typical public school in North Carolina, which averages around 467 students.

Pleasant Ridge Elementary is one of 56 schools operated by Gaston County Schools, a district that caters to 30,995 students overall.

In terms of who attends, Pleasant Ridge Elementary shows that the most-represented group is Black (44%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups. The remainder is composed of 32% Hispanic, 17% White, 7% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 18% Black, putting the school's mix meaningfully more Black than the area baseline.

Looking at the economic backdrop, The school lists 56 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 16.0:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 14.9:1, putting Pleasant Ridge Elementary higher than the state norm the norm. An estimated 100% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. Set against Gaston County (around 85%), the school's rate is north of typical.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Pleasant Ridge Elementary tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 48.4% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 43.9%.

Across the wider county, the surrounding county (Gaston County) shows that median household earnings sit near $67,478, about 27% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 10%. Pleasant Ridge Elementary is one of 61 public schools in Gaston County (combined enrollment of about 35,898 students).

Nearest neighbor: Hunter Huss High, around 0.7 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Pleasant Ridge Elementary. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Pleasant Ridge Elementary at 1st of 6; the average score across the group is 29.8%.

The school occupies a downtown site.

Five-year trend. Pleasant Ridge Elementary's enrollment has ticked up 5% since 2018, when it stood at 841 (now 887). Over the same period, the White share fell from 29% to 17%. Class-load math has narrowed: from 17.2:1 in 2018 to 16.0:1 in 2025.

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