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If you could change one rule at Salem Elementary, what would it be?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
476
Elementary
DISTRICT 384 · STATE 467
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BURKE COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370048000191
Salem Elementary
1329 Salem Road, Morganton, NC 28655 · (828) 437-5901 · Burke County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY22-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL476 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
17.0:1
28 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.2:1 · STATE 14.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
99%
470 students
DISTRICT 98% · 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 | 36 | 8% |
| Kindergarten | 74 | 16% |
| Grade 1 | 64 | 13% |
| Grade 2 | 75 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 98 | 21% |
| Grade 4 | 63 | 13% |
| Grade 5 | 66 | 14% |
Student demographics
35%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 56% · 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
53.7%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
73.6%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 54 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 74 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
65.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.7%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+17.1pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 66% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 49% 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 17 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 →
Where Salem Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Burke County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 65.8% | #321 of 1,297 | #2 of 14 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 73.6% | #252 of 1,296 | #1 of 14 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 53.7% | #493 of 1,300 | #3 of 14 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 476 | #680 of 1,485 | #5 of 15 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.0:1 | #1,219 of 1,377 | #13 of 15 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 35.2% | #1,230 of 1,379 | #13 of 15 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -3.1% | #843 of 937 | #9 of 10 |
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.
7-year change
SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
476
-15 (-3%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
17.0:1
was 16.8:1
% White
79%
was 82%
% Hispanic
14%
was 7%
% Black
1%
was 1%
% Asian
2%
was 4%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free or reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 476 | 28 | 17.0:1 | 99% (470) |
| 2023-24 | 436 | 28.6 | 15.3:1 | 99% (433) |
| 2022-23 | 401 | 26.5 | 15.1:1 | 70% (280) |
| 2017-18 | 491 | 29.2 | 16.8:1 | 53% (261) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Salem Elementary.
About Salem Elementary
Salem Elementary is a public mid-sized elementary school in Morganton, North Carolina. It offers pre-K through 5 and has 476 students enrolled.
Salem Elementary is one school in Burke County Schools, a system of 26 schools with 11,667 students.
More than half of enrollment at Salem Elementary is White: 79%. Enrollment also includes 14% Hispanic and 5% multiracial. In Burke County overall, the White share is about 81%. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 35%.
There are 28 full-time-equivalent teachers at the school, a ratio of 17.0:1. The average for elementary schools in North Carolina, 14.9:1, is lower. Of all students at Salem Elementary, 99% are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.
Salem Elementary is 17.1 points above expectations on state tests, given its student poverty level, placing it in the top 10% in North Carolina.
For Burke County, Census Bureau data show median household income comes to about $58,592, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 21%, and roughly 12% of residents are in poverty. The county has 30 public schools and about 12,360 students.
The closest school to Salem Elementary is Patton High School, located about 1.8 miles away. In all, at least 8 other public schools sit within five miles of Salem Elementary. Its average proficiency rate of 65.8% is above the 55.5% average for nearby schools.
Locale: Suburb: Mid-size. In NCES terms, the school is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
Over 7 years, enrollment fell by 15 students, from 491 to 476. The student mix also changed: the Hispanic share grew from 7% to 14%.
You can use this page to share news and ask questions about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies. You can also rate the school on this page.
Burke County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
87,795
Census ACS
Median income
$58,592
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
21%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
12%
Below federal line
Schools in county
30
12,360 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Burke County Schools
- Freedom HighHigh · 1,299 students
- East Burke HighHigh · 874 students
- Mountain View ElementaryElementary · 762 students
- Patton High SchoolHigh · 756 students
- Draughn High SchoolHigh · 661 students
- East Burke MiddleMiddle · 630 students
Other schools in Morganton
- Freedom HighHigh · 1,299 students
- Mountain View ElementaryElementary · 762 students
- Patton High SchoolHigh · 756 students
- New DimensionsElementary · 569 students
- Drexel ElementaryElementary · 477 students
- Liberty MiddleMiddle · 453 students
Nearby schools
- Patton High School1.8 mi · 756
- Liberty Middle1.9 mi · 453
- North Liberty2.0 mi · 72
- Burke Middle College2.1 mi · 130
- Mull Elementary2.4 mi · 291
- NC School for the Deaf2.5 mi · 60
Frequently asked questions
About Salem ElementaryHow large is Salem Elementary?
Salem Elementary enrolls approximately 476 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Salem Elementary serve?
Salem Elementary serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Salem Elementary?
Approximately 17.0:1 students per teacher at Salem Elementary.
What is the student diversity at Salem Elementary?
Student demographics at Salem Elementary are roughly 79% White, 14% Hispanic, 1% Black, 2% Asian, 5% Two or more.
Who oversees Salem Elementary?
Salem Elementary is overseen by Burke County Schools in Burke County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.