Shepherd Elementary

Shepherd Elementary is a sizable primary school in Mooresville, North Carolina, part of Iredell-Statesville Schools. The school enrolls 738 students in grades pre-K through 5. Compared to the state average of about 467 students per school, that is 58% above typical.

Iredell-Statesville Schools comprises 38 schools with combined enrollment of 21,017 students; Shepherd Elementary is among them.

In terms of who attends, Shepherd Elementary reports that the largest single group is White, at 64% of enrollment. Beyond that, the school lists 14% Hispanic, 9% multiracial, 9% Black, 3% Asian. By comparison, Iredell County as a whole is about 74% White, so the school skews noticeably less White than its surroundings.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Staff filings list 47 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 15.7:1 students per teacher. That figure is higher than the state norm's 14.9:1 average. About 100% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. Set against Iredell County (around 61%), the school's rate is meaningfully above typical.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Shepherd Elementary tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 48.4% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 56.9%.

In the area at large, census data for Iredell County shows median household earnings sit near $81,419, about 34% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 8%. In all, Iredell County runs 52 public schools (combined enrollment of about 31,906 students), of which Shepherd Elementary is one.

Selma Burke Middle is the nearest neighboring public school, about 2.0 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. On composite proficiency, Shepherd Elementary comes 5th of 7 in the immediate cluster, below the nearby-schools average of 62.7%.

Geographically, the school is in a small-town area.

Looking at the recent track record. Shepherd Elementary's enrollment has ticked up 56% since 2018, when it stood at 473 (now 738). White enrollment moved from 80% to 64% across the same window.

On this page, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.