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What do students at St James Elementary actually talk about outside of class?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
653
Elementary
DISTRICT 411 · STATE 467
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·LINCOLN COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370268002674
St James Elementary
1774 St James Church Road, Denver, NC 28037 · (704) 736-1958 · Lincoln County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY41-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL653 STUDENTS
B+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 67% of North Carolina public elementary schools
- A-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C+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
15.3:1
43 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.3:1 · STATE 14.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
27%
176 students
DISTRICT 76% · STATE 82%
Community
1
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 | 4 | 1% |
| Kindergarten | 85 | 13% |
| Grade 1 | 111 | 17% |
| Grade 2 | 103 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 112 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 120 | 18% |
| Grade 5 | 118 | 18% |
This year's kindergarten class (85) is 28% smaller than its 5th grade class (118).
Student demographics
35%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 46% · 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
60.4%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
75.8%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 60 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 76 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
71.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
70.6%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+0.4pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 71% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 71% 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 St James Elementary
St James Elementary's state test result (71.0% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| St James Elementary this school | 653 | 27.0% | 71.0% |
| Porters Neck Elementary Wilmington | 666 | 22.4% | 75.0% |
| Rock Springs Elementary Denver | 639 | 21.4% | 79.6% |
| Glenn C Marlow Elementary Mills River | 562 | 30.2% | 80.5% |
| McDeeds Creek Elementary Southern Pines | 707 | 21.1% | 81.1% |
| Moyock Elementary Moyock | 740 | 21.1% | 67.8% |
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 St James Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Lincoln County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 71.0% | #207 of 1,297 | #3 of 12 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 75.8% | #197 of 1,296 | #5 of 12 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 60.4% | #316 of 1,300 | #3 of 12 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 653 | #253 of 1,485 | #1 of 13 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.3:1 | #830 of 1,377 | #10 of 13 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 35.2% | #1,229 of 1,379 | #8 of 13 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 27.0% | #1,324 of 1,414 | #12 of 13 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +14.6% | #142 of 369 | #5 of 7 |
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
653
+86 (+15%) vs 2020
+16% since 2010-11, when it was 562
Student : Teacher
15.3:1
was 16.7:1
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 | 653 | 42.8 | 15.3:1 | 27% (176) |
| 2023-24 | 665 | 39.7 | 16.8:1 | 29% (190) |
| 2022-23 | 633 | 36.8 | 17.2:1 | 27% (169) |
| 2020-21 | 567 | 34 | 16.7:1 | 16% (88) |
| 2017-18 | 570 | 32 | 17.8:1 | 21% (117) |
| 2015-16 | 562 | 34 | 16.5:1 | 29% (162) |
| 2010-11 | 562 | 34 | 16.5:1 | 33% (186) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for St James Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students up 15% (570 to 653); teachers up 34% (32 to 42.8).
About St James Elementary
St James Elementary is a mid-sized elementary school in Denver, North Carolina, (ZIP code 28037). It reports enrollment of 653 students in pre-K through 5. On average, elementary schools in North Carolina enroll around 467, and this school is 40% above that mark.
Lincoln County Schools operates 22 schools. Combined enrollment is 11,710 students.
More than half of the students at St James Elementary are White (80%). Next come 9% Hispanic, 6% multiracial, and 4% Black. That is in line with Lincoln County, where about 83% of residents are White. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 35%.
St James Elementary reported 42.8 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25, a ratio of 15.3:1. The average ratio among elementary schools in North Carolina is similar, at 14.9:1. There are 176 students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, 27% of enrollment. Public schools in Lincoln County average 66%.
St James Elementary earns a B+ on the allk12 Grade, which blends test scores, results against poverty-based expectations, and the three-year trend. It scored higher than 67% of North Carolina public elementary schools.
The allk12 BeatsExpectations score for St James Elementary is +0.4 points: 71.0% actual, 70.6% predicted.
Five-year Census Bureau estimates for Lincoln County show that median household income comes to about $80,016, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 28% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 9%. Lincoln County counts 25 public schools with about 14,428 students.
West Lake Preparatory Academy is the nearest public school to St James Elementary, about 0.4 miles away. Within five miles of St James Elementary, there are 6 other public schools. In a group of 7 nearby schools with scores, St James Elementary ranks 3rd on average proficiency.
Federal data place St James Elementary in the Rural: Fringe locale, which means it is in rural territory close to an urban area.
Enrollment rose by 15% across 4 years, from 567 in 2020-21 to 653 in 2024-25. The student-to-teacher ratio went down from 16.7:1 to 15.3:1.
This community page is for conversations about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies. You can also rate the school on this page.
Lincoln County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
92,716
Census ACS
Median income
$80,016
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
28%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
25
14,428 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Lincoln County Schools
- North Lincoln HighHigh · 1,126 students
- East Lincoln HighHigh · 1,047 students
- Lincolnton HighHigh · 797 students
- North Lincoln MiddleMiddle · 774 students
- East Lincoln MiddleMiddle · 738 students
- West Lincoln HighHigh · 731 students
Other schools in Denver
- Lincoln Charter SchoolCombined · 2,316 students
- East Lincoln HighHigh · 1,047 students
- North Lincoln MiddleMiddle · 774 students
- Rock Springs ElementaryElementary · 639 students
- Catawba Springs ElementaryElementary · 543 students
- West Lake Preparatory AcademyCombined · 402 students
Nearby schools
- West Lake Preparatory Academy0.4 mi · 402
- Lincoln Charter School1.0 mi · 2,316
- Catawba Springs Elementary2.1 mi · 543
- East Lincoln High2.2 mi · 1,047
- Rock Springs Elementary3.1 mi · 639
- East Lincoln Middle4.4 mi · 738
Frequently asked questions
About St James ElementaryHow large is St James Elementary?
St James Elementary enrolls approximately 653 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does St James Elementary serve?
St James Elementary serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at St James Elementary?
Approximately 15.3:1 students per teacher at St James Elementary.
How diverse is St James Elementary?
St James Elementary reports a student body of 80% White, 9% Hispanic, 4% Black, 1% Asian, 6% Two or more.
What district is St James Elementary in?
St James Elementary is part of Lincoln County Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.