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What tradition at River Dell Elementary should never be changed?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
981
Elementary
DISTRICT 690 · STATE 467
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·JOHNSTON COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 370237002672
River Dell Elementary
12100 Buffalo Road, Clayton, NC 27527 · (919) 553-1977 · Johnston County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY23-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL981 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 89% of North Carolina public elementary schools
- A-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- ABeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded North Carolina public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
17.6:1
56 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.5:1 · STATE 14.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
100%
978 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 | 50 | 5% |
| Kindergarten | 130 | 13% |
| Grade 1 | 148 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 138 | 14% |
| Grade 3 | 175 | 18% |
| Grade 4 | 166 | 17% |
| Grade 5 | 174 | 18% |
This year's kindergarten class (130) is 25% smaller than its 5th grade class (174).
Student demographics
67%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
61.7%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
70.1%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 62 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 70 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
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of NC schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
68.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.4%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+20.5pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 69% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 48% typical for North Carolina schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 20 points, placing it in North Carolina's top 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 River Dell Elementary
River Dell Elementary's state test result (68.9% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| River Dell Elementary this school | 981 | 99.7% | 68.9% |
| Troutman Elementary Troutman | 902 | 99.7% | 59.7% |
| Cleveland Elementary Clayton | 851 | 98.6% | 76.6% |
| Thanksgiving Elementary Selma | 870 | 99.5% | 68.8% |
| Gallberry Farm Elementary Hope Mills | 883 | 99.7% | 60.6% |
| Belville Elementary Leland | 812 | 99.6% | 62.1% |
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 River Dell Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Johnston County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 68.9% | #258 of 1,297 | #5 of 24 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 70.1% | #330 of 1,296 | #7 of 24 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 61.7% | #286 of 1,300 | #7 of 24 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 981 | #16 of 1,485 | #3 of 25 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.6:1 | #1,265 of 1,377 | #23 of 25 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 66.9% | #374 of 1,379 | #8 of 25 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 99.7% | #4 of 1,414 | #2 of 25 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -7.5% | #687 of 937 | #8 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
981
-131 (-12%) vs 2020
+24% since 2010-11, when it was 793
Student : Teacher
17.6:1
was 15.7:1
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 | 981 | 55.9 | 17.6:1 | 100% (978) |
| 2023-24 | 942 | 63.3 | 14.9:1 | 100% (939) |
| 2022-23 | 922 | 61.5 | 15.0:1 | 35% (321) |
| 2020-21 | 1,112 | 71 | 15.7:1 | 21% (232) |
| 2017-18 | 1,061 | 65.5 | 16.2:1 | 20% (211) |
| 2015-16 | 921 | 55 | 16.8:1 | 21% (195) |
| 2010-11 | 793 | 46 | 17.2:1 | 26% (204) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for River Dell Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 8% (1,061 to 981); teachers down 15% (65.5 to 55.9).
About River Dell Elementary
River Dell Elementary is a large elementary school with an address in Clayton, North Carolina. It covers pre-K through 5, with a total enrollment of 981 students. Enrollment is 110% higher than the average for elementary schools in North Carolina, which is about 467.
Johnston County Public Schools operates 48 schools. Combined enrollment is 37,320 students.
Federal enrollment data show White students as the largest group at River Dell Elementary, at 49%. Other reported shares: 22% Black, 20% Hispanic, 7% multiracial, and 2% Asian. Johnston County's residents are about 64% White, 15 points above the school's share. The school's diversity index is 67%, meaning two students picked at random have a 67% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
River Dell Elementary's 55.9 full-time-equivalent teachers put its ratio at 17.6:1. On average, elementary schools in North Carolina have 14.9:1, compared with 17.6:1 here. The school's rate of free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is 100%.
Measured against North Carolina public elementary schools, River Dell Elementary receives an A. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
The BeatsExpectations model predicts 48.4% for River Dell Elementary, given its share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. The actual figure is 68.9%. The 20.5-point gap ranks in the top 10% of North Carolina schools.
River Dell Elementary is located in Johnston County, where the median household income is $83,384, about 29% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 8%. Besides River Dell Elementary, Johnston County has 51 other public schools.
Thanksgiving Elementary is the public school closest to River Dell Elementary, about 1.6 miles away. The count of other public schools within five miles is 7. Ranked by average proficiency, River Dell Elementary places 3rd out of 9 schools in its immediate area.
For locale, NCES codes River Dell Elementary as Suburb: Small.
The school enrolled 981 students in 2024-25, 131 fewer than the 1,112 it had in 2020-21. In 2020-21, the student-to-teacher ratio was 15.7:1; by 2024-25 it was 17.6:1.
Discussions about River Dell Elementary may include science fairs, picture day, and bus routes. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
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 Clayton
- American Leadership Academy - JohnstonCombined · 2,082 students
- Clayton HighHigh · 1,929 students
- Cleveland HighHigh · 1,889 students
- Riverwood MiddleMiddle · 902 students
- Cleveland ElementaryElementary · 851 students
- West Clayton ElementaryElementary · 742 students
Nearby schools
- Thanksgiving Elementary1.6 mi · 870
- Archer Lodge Middle2.6 mi · 1,204
- East Clayton Elementary3.1 mi · 524
- Powhatan Elementary3.6 mi · 656
- Corinth Holders High4.1 mi · 2,187
- Riverwood Elementary4.3 mi · 728
Frequently asked questions
About River Dell ElementaryHow many students attend River Dell Elementary?
River Dell Elementary enrolls approximately 981 students in grades PK-05.
Is River Dell Elementary an elementary, middle, or high school?
River Dell Elementary is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
How many teachers does River Dell Elementary have?
River Dell Elementary employs 56 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 17.6:1.
How diverse is River Dell Elementary?
River Dell Elementary reports a student body of 49% White, 20% Hispanic, 22% Black, 2% Asian, 7% Two or more.
Is River Dell Elementary public or private?
River Dell Elementary is a public K-12 school, overseen by Johnston County Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.