Southern Pines Elementary

As a medium-sized elementary campus in Southern Pines, North Carolina, Southern Pines Elementary instructs 600 students from grades pre-K through 5, one of the schools within Moore County Schools. By comparison, North Carolina's public schools average about 467 students each, so Southern Pines Elementary sits 28% bigger than that benchmark.

Moore County Schools runs 23 schools in total, collectively educating 13,085 students. Southern Pines Elementary is one of those campuses.

Looking at the student body, Southern Pines Elementary records that the largest single group is White at 39%, but no single group is in the majority; the rest is composed of 35% Black, 13% Hispanic, 11% multiracial. By comparison, Moore County as a whole is about 77% White, so the school skews visibly less White than its surroundings.

Looking at school resources, On paper, Southern Pines Elementary has 37 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 16.1:1. The state averages around 14.9:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. An estimated 99% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. That share is higher than Moore County's rate of about 64%.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Southern Pines Elementary sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 48.5%; this one delivers 59.0%.

Across the wider county, the surrounding county (Moore County) records that median household income runs about $86,080, about 41% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and roughly 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Moore County's 27 public schools (combined enrollment of about 14,708 students), Southern Pines Elementary is one campus in the mix.

Pinecrest High is the nearest neighboring public school, about 1.1 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 6 other public schools cluster around Southern Pines Elementary. Among the 6 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Southern Pines Elementary ranks 3rd on composite proficiency, behind the local average of 65.2%.

Geographically, the school is in an urban area.

Over the past 7-year window. Southern Pines Elementary's enrollment has expanded 81% since 2018, when it stood at 332 (now 600). The Black share of enrollment declined from 45% to 35% over that span. Class-load math has grew: from 15.0:1 in 2018 to 16.1:1 in 2025.

On the community side, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.