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If you had an hour of school board time for Polenta Elementary, what would you bring up?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,010
Elementary
DISTRICT 690 · STATE 467
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·JOHNSTON COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 370237002588
Polenta Elementary
105 Josephine Road, Garner, NC 27529 · (919) 989-6039 · Johnston County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL1,010 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
16.0:1
63 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.5:1 · STATE 14.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
98%
990 students
DISTRICT 99% · STATE 82%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 28 | 3% |
| Kindergarten | 148 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 146 | 14% |
| Grade 2 | 165 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 167 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 176 | 17% |
| Grade 5 | 180 | 18% |
This year's kindergarten class (148) is 18% smaller than its 5th grade class (180).
Student demographics
66%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 68% · STATE 71% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
NC EOG / EOC 2024-25 . % Grade Level Proficient (Level 3+)English Language Arts
59.2%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
61.9%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 59 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 62 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all North Carolina schools, those numbers are about 51 and 52.
Source: NC EOG / EOC. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
60.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.9%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+11.1pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 60% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 49% typical for North Carolina schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among North Carolina's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Polenta Elementary
Polenta Elementary's state test result (60.0% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polenta Elementary this school | 1,010 | 98.0% | 60.0% |
| Four Oaks Elementary Four Oaks | 1,051 | 99.7% | 58.2% |
| McGee's Crossroads Elem Angier | 950 | 99.7% | 60.7% |
| Thanksgiving Elementary Selma | 870 | 99.5% | 68.8% |
| River Dell Elementary Clayton | 981 | 99.7% | 68.9% |
| Cleveland Elementary Clayton | 851 | 98.6% | 76.6% |
Matched among North Carolina elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Polenta Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Johnston County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 60.0% | #497 of 1,297 | #13 of 24 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 61.9% | #564 of 1,296 | #13 of 24 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 59.2% | #344 of 1,300 | #10 of 24 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,010 | #14 of 1,485 | #2 of 25 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.0:1 | #1,007 of 1,377 | #13 of 25 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 66.0% | #419 of 1,379 | #10 of 25 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 98.0% | #901 of 1,414 | #23 of 25 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -6.4% | #737 of 937 | #10 of 14 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
1,010
-26 (-3%) vs 2020
-3% since 2010-11, when it was 1,042
Student : Teacher
16.0:1
was 14.4:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 1,010 | 63.2 | 16.0:1 | 98% (990) |
| 2023-24 | 993 | 66.6 | 14.9:1 | 100% (990) |
| 2022-23 | 1,014 | 69 | 14.7:1 | 45% (461) |
| 2020-21 | 1,036 | 72 | 14.4:1 | 29% (297) |
| 2017-18 | 1,079 | 70.5 | 15.3:1 | 34% (371) |
| 2015-16 | 1,028 | 66 | 15.6:1 | 40% (408) |
| 2010-11 | 1,042 | 64 | 16.3:1 | 35% (364) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Polenta Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 6% (1,079 to 1,010); teachers down 10% (70.5 to 63.2).
About Polenta Elementary
Polenta Elementary is a large elementary school located in Garner, North Carolina. Enrollment stands at 1,010 students, covering pre-K through 5. It has 116% more students than the average for elementary schools in North Carolina (about 467).
A total of 48 schools make up Johnston County Public Schools, with 37,320 students enrolled.
Of every 100 students at Polenta Elementary, about 48 are White, the largest group. Smaller groups are 28% Hispanic, 18% Black, and 6% multiracial. For comparison, the population of Johnston County is roughly 64% White. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 66%.
Polenta Elementary has 63.2 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of about 16.0:1. Elementary schools in North Carolina average 14.9:1, 1.1 fewer students per teacher than here. A common income measure, free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, is 98% at Polenta Elementary. The average for public schools in Johnston County is similar, at 95%.
BeatsExpectations compares each school's average proficiency rate across its state test results with a prediction based on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility. For Polenta Elementary, the prediction is 48.9% and the result is 60.0%.
The county, Johnston County, is where the school is located. Median household income comes to about $83,384, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 29% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 8%. The county's public schools total 52, with about 41,004 students.
The closest school to Polenta Elementary is Cleveland High, located about 1.2 miles away. There are 6 more public schools inside five miles. Polenta Elementary's average proficiency of 60.0% compares with 60.3% for its nearest scored neighbors.
Polenta Elementary has an NCES locale of Suburb: Large.
From 1,036 students in 2020-21, enrollment fell to 1,010 by 2024-25. Students per teacher increased from 14.4 in 2020-21 to 16.0 in 2024-25.
Anyone can start a thread about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies at Polenta Elementary. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
Johnston County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
234,263
Census ACS
Median income
$83,384
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
29%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
52
41,004 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Johnston County Public Schools
- Corinth Holders HighHigh · 2,187 students
- Clayton HighHigh · 1,929 students
- Cleveland HighHigh · 1,889 students
- West Johnston HighHigh · 1,563 students
- Smithfield-Selma HighHigh · 1,548 students
- South Johnston HighHigh · 1,355 students
Other schools in Garner
- South Garner HighHigh · 1,835 students
- Garner HighHigh · 1,670 students
- East Garner MiddleMiddle · 1,109 students
- West View ElementaryElementary · 969 students
- Cleveland MiddleMiddle · 936 students
- North Garner MiddleMiddle · 831 students
Nearby schools
- Cleveland High1.2 mi · 1,889
- Cleveland Elementary1.8 mi · 851
- Cleveland Middle2.1 mi · 936
- Swift Creek Middle2.2 mi · 691
- West Johnston High3.4 mi · 1,563
- West View Elementary3.5 mi · 969
Frequently asked questions
About Polenta ElementaryHow many students attend Polenta Elementary?
Polenta Elementary enrolls approximately 1,010 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does Polenta Elementary serve?
Polenta Elementary serves grades PK-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Polenta Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Polenta Elementary is approximately 16.0:1 (63 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Polenta Elementary?
Polenta Elementary reports a student body of 48% White, 28% Hispanic, 18% Black, 0% Asian, 6% Two or more.
What district is Polenta Elementary in?
Polenta Elementary is part of Johnston County Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.