St James Elementary

Located at 1774 St James Church Road, in Denver, North Carolina, St James Elementary is a moderately sized elementary campus that teaches 653 students (grades pre-K through 5), one of the schools within Lincoln County Schools. Enrollment runs roughly 40% above the state mean of about 467.

Across the 22 schools in Lincoln County Schools (11,710 students total), St James Elementary accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

For racial and ethnic makeup, St James Elementary lists that the largest single group is White, at 80% of enrollment. The remainder consists of 9% Hispanic, 6% multiracial, 4% Black. That mix tracks the wider county fairly closely.

Looking at school resources, Staff filings list 43 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 15.3:1 students per teacher. That tracks the state average closely. Roughly 27% of students at St James Elementary qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. That share is lower than Lincoln County's rate of about 66%.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), St James Elementary tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 70.6% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 71.0%.

Across the wider county, census data for Lincoln County shows median household earnings sit near $80,016, about 28% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 9%. St James Elementary is one of 25 public schools in Lincoln County (combined enrollment of about 14,428 students).

Nearest neighbor: West Lake Preparatory Academy, around 0.4 miles off. Within five miles, there are 6 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts St James Elementary at 3rd of 7; the average score across the group is 66.6%.

Geographically, the school is in an outlying area.

Looking at the recent track record. St James Elementary's enrollment has expanded 15% since 2018, when it stood at 570 (now 653). Over the same period, the White share contracted from 84% to 80%. The student-to-teacher ratio tightened from 17.8:1 in 2018 to 15.3:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, members of the St James Elementary community share and discuss enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.