Enrollment
351
Elementary
DISTRICT 365 · STATE 467
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CALDWELL COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370058000238
Sawmills Elementary
4436 Sawmills School Road, Granite Falls, NC 28630 · (828) 396-2610 · Caldwell County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY22-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL351 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 39% of North Carolina public elementary schools
- C+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B-Beats 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
17.2:1
20 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.1:1 · STATE 14.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
99%
348 students
DISTRICT 91% · STATE 82%
Community
0
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 | 31 | 9% |
| Kindergarten | 64 | 18% |
| Grade 1 | 60 | 17% |
| Grade 2 | 53 | 15% |
| Grade 3 | 52 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 42 | 12% |
| Grade 5 | 49 | 14% |
This year's kindergarten class (64) is 31% larger than its 5th grade class (49).
Student demographics
38%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 45% · 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
44.2%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
51.0%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 44 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 51 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
49.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.6%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+1.1pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 50% 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 Sawmills Elementary
Sawmills Elementary's state test result (49.7% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sawmills Elementary this school | 351 | 99.1% | 49.7% |
| Nebo Elementary School Nebo | 354 | 99.2% | 55.1% |
| Iron Station Elementary Iron Station | 367 | 98.6% | 70.8% |
| Weaverville Elementary Weaverville | 342 | 97.4% | 71.1% |
| Black Mountain Primary Black Mountain | 351 | 96.9% | 50.0% |
| Andrews Elementary Andrews | 330 | 99.1% | 40.1% |
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 Sawmills Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Caldwell County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 49.7% | #824 of 1,297 | #8 of 13 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 51.0% | #876 of 1,296 | #8 of 13 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 44.2% | #809 of 1,300 | #10 of 13 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 351 | #1,048 of 1,485 | #8 of 15 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.2:1 | #1,237 of 1,377 | #7 of 13 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 37.8% | #1,204 of 1,379 | #7 of 13 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 99.1% | #554 of 1,414 | #7 of 13 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +5.4% | #262 of 369 | N/A |
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
351
+51 (+17%) vs 2020
+6% since 1990-91, when it was 330
Student : Teacher
17.2:1
was 11.5:1
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 | 351 | 20.4 | 17.2:1 | 99% (348) |
| 2023-24 | 336 | 23.5 | 14.3:1 | 99% (333) |
| 2022-23 | 331 | 24.7 | 13.4:1 | 74% (245) |
| 2020-21 | 300 | 26 | 11.5:1 | 58% (174) |
| 2017-18 | 333 | 24.4 | 13.7:1 | 65% (217) |
| 2015-16 | 363 | 24 | 15.1:1 | 59% (214) |
| 2010-11 | 356 | 22 | 16.2:1 | 54% (192) |
| 2000-01 | 411 | 29 | 14.2:1 | 54% (223) |
| 1990-91 | 330 | 23 | 14.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Sawmills Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students up 5% (333 to 351); teachers down 17% (24.4 to 20.4).
About Sawmills Elementary
Sawmills Elementary, a low-enrollment elementary school, is located in Granite Falls, North Carolina. It reports enrollment of 351 students in pre-K through 5. That puts enrollment 25% below the 467-student average for elementary schools in North Carolina.
The district, Caldwell County Schools, has 10,667 students enrolled across 25 schools.
More than half of the students at Sawmills Elementary are White (77%). The rest of enrollment is 13% Hispanic and 6% multiracial. Census estimates put the White share of Caldwell County's population at about 86%. On the diversity index, which measures the chance that two random students are from different groups, Sawmills Elementary scores 38%.
The school has 20.4 full-time-equivalent teachers and a ratio of 17.2 students per teacher. Elementary schools in North Carolina average 14.9:1, 2.4 fewer students per teacher than here. Of all students at Sawmills Elementary, 99% are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.
Among North Carolina public elementary schools, Sawmills Elementary outscored 39%, which works out to a C+ on the allk12 Grade.
Sawmills Elementary's average proficiency rate across its state test results of 49.7% is 1.1 points above the 48.6% the model predicts from its lunch-eligibility share.
Census data for Caldwell County show median household income comes to about $56,425, about 19% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 11% of residents are in poverty. There are 26 public schools in the county, enrolling about 10,920, Sawmills Elementary among them.
Measured in a straight line, South Caldwell High is about 1.6 miles from Sawmills Elementary. Around the school, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. In a group of 9 nearby schools with scores, Sawmills Elementary ranks 8th on average proficiency.
The federal government classifies Sawmills Elementary's location as Suburb: Mid-size.
The school's enrollment increased 17% from 2020-21 to 2024-25. Over the same period, the student-to-teacher ratio increased to 17.2:1, from 11.5:1.
People can post here about special education services, counseling, and support programs and other school topics. Members of the school community can share what they know.
Caldwell County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
80,536
Census ACS
Median income
$56,425
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
19%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
26
10,920 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Caldwell County Schools
- South Caldwell HighHigh · 1,272 students
- Hibriten HighHigh · 818 students
- Hudson ElementaryElementary · 665 students
- Granite Falls ElementaryElementary · 647 students
- West Caldwell HighHigh · 634 students
- Hudson MiddleMiddle · 551 students
Other schools in Granite Falls
- Granite Falls ElementaryElementary · 647 students
- Granite Falls MiddleMiddle · 518 students
- Dudley Shoals ElementaryElementary · 433 students
- Baton ElementaryElementary · 357 students
- Gateway SchoolHigh · 53 students
Nearby schools
- South Caldwell High1.6 mi · 1,272
- Hudson Middle2.1 mi · 551
- Hudson Elementary2.1 mi · 665
- Caldwell Applied Sciences Academy2.6 mi · 218
- Granite Falls Elementary2.6 mi · 647
- Granite Falls Middle2.6 mi · 518
Frequently asked questions
About Sawmills ElementaryHow many students attend Sawmills Elementary?
Sawmills Elementary enrolls approximately 351 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Sawmills Elementary serve?
Sawmills Elementary serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Sawmills Elementary?
Approximately 17.2:1 students per teacher at Sawmills Elementary.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Sawmills Elementary?
At Sawmills Elementary, the student body is approximately 77% White, 13% Hispanic, 2% Black, 1% Asian, 6% Two or more.
What district is Sawmills Elementary in?
Sawmills Elementary is part of Caldwell County Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.