Spring Valley Elementary

Spring Valley Elementary, a reasonably sized K-5 school in Durham, North Carolina, run under Durham Public Schools, caters to 543 students, covering grades pre-K through 5.

Durham Public Schools runs 55 schools in total, collectively educating 31,797 students. Spring Valley Elementary is one of those campuses.

In terms of who attends, Spring Valley Elementary lists that the most-represented group is Black (50%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups; the rest consists of 25% Hispanic, 15% White, 7% multiracial, 3% Asian. The wider county runs roughly 32% Black, putting the school's mix noticeably more Black than the area baseline.

On the resource side, Staff filings list 33 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 16.5:1 students per teacher. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 14.9:1, putting Spring Valley Elementary higher than the state norm the norm. An estimated 99% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Spring Valley 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 53.5%.

Around the school, community-level numbers for Durham County indicate the typical household earns roughly $82,316 per year, roughly 55% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 8%. Spring Valley Elementary is one of 74 public schools in Durham County (combined enrollment of about 46,109 students).

Oak Grove Elementary is the nearest neighboring public school, about 1.7 miles from this campus. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Spring Valley Elementary at 2nd of 7; the average score across the group is 38.4%.

The campus sits in a downtown setting.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count shrank 9%: 600 students in 2018 compared to 543 in 2025. Over the same period, the Black share shrank from 55% to 50%. The student-to-teacher ratio grew from 14.5:1 in 2018 to 16.5:1 today.

On this page, recent activity here tends to focus on open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.