1
What advice would you give to incoming students at Sterling Elementary?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
786
Elementary
DISTRICT 596 · STATE 467
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CHARLOTTE-MECKLENBURG SCHOOLS·NCES 370297001279
Sterling Elementary
9601 China Grove Church Rd, Pineville, NC 28134 · (980) 343-3636 · Mecklenburg County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL786 STUDENTS
D
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 6% of North Carolina public elementary schools
- DTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- DBeats 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
17.8:1
44 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.4:1 · STATE 14.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
100%
783 students
DISTRICT 73% · 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 | 84 | 11% |
| Kindergarten | 109 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 117 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 121 | 15% |
| Grade 3 | 121 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 115 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 119 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (109) is 8% smaller than its 5th grade class (119).
Student demographics
42%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 72% · 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
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Based on published attendance-zone data from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. Zones change; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
NC EOG / EOC 2024-25 . % Grade Level Proficient (Level 3+)English Language Arts
22.5%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
40.6%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 23 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 41 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
33.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.4%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-14.9pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 34% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 48% 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 Sterling Elementary
Sterling Elementary's state test result (33.6% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sterling Elementary this school | 786 | 99.6% | 33.6% |
| Huntingtowne Farms Elementary Charlotte | 776 | 99.6% | 38.3% |
| Nations Ford Elementary Charlotte | 610 | 99.5% | 25.6% |
| Merry Oaks International Academy Charlotte | 601 | 99.5% | 32.3% |
| Maureen Joy Charter School Durham | 631 | 99.2% | N/A |
| Siler City Elementary Siler City | 591 | 99.5% | 46.3% |
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 Sterling Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Mecklenburg County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 33.6% | #1,211 of 1,297 | #103 of 115 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 40.6% | #1,128 of 1,296 | #98 of 115 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 22.5% | #1,267 of 1,300 | #107 of 116 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 786 | #90 of 1,485 | #21 of 136 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.8:1 | #1,291 of 1,377 | #119 of 133 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 41.7% | #1,149 of 1,379 | #119 of 133 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 99.6% | #31 of 1,414 | #8 of 130 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +24.6% | #78 of 369 | #6 of 41 |
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
786
+42 (+6%) vs 2020
+15% since 1990-91, when it was 683
Student : Teacher
17.8:1
was 14.9:1
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 | 786 | 44.1 | 17.8:1 | 100% (783) |
| 2023-24 | 711 | 39.9 | 17.8:1 | 100% (708) |
| 2022-23 | 695 | 46.3 | 15.0:1 | 100% (692) |
| 2020-21 | 744 | 50 | 14.9:1 | 100% (741) |
| 2017-18 | 631 | 41.4 | 15.2:1 | 99% (627) |
| 2015-16 | 639 | 42 | 15.2:1 | 99% (631) |
| 2010-11 | 508 | 35 | 14.5:1 | 93% (471) |
| 2000-01 | 466 | 32 | 14.6:1 | 79% (368) |
| 1990-91 | 683 | 35 | 19.5:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Sterling Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students up 25% (631 to 786); teachers up 6% (41.4 to 44.1).
About Sterling Elementary
Sterling Elementary is a large elementary school found in Pineville, North Carolina. Enrollment totals 786 students across pre-K through 5. The school is 68% bigger than the average for elementary schools in North Carolina.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is the district for Sterling Elementary. It has 186 schools and 145,014 students.
At Sterling Elementary, 73% of students are Hispanic. It is also 20% Black, 4% White, and 2% multiracial. For comparison, the population of Mecklenburg County is roughly 16% Hispanic. The diversity index for Sterling Elementary is 42%. For US public schools as a whole it is 70%.
There are 44.1 full-time-equivalent teachers at Sterling Elementary, giving a ratio of 17.8:1. Elementary schools in North Carolina average 14.9:1, 3.0 fewer students per teacher than here. A total of 783 students, or 100%, are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. For comparison, public schools in Mecklenburg County average 71%.
Sterling Elementary earns a D on the allk12 Grade, which blends test scores, results against poverty-based expectations, and the three-year trend. It scored higher than 6% of North Carolina public elementary schools.
Compared with North Carolina schools that have similar shares of low-income students, Sterling Elementary's results are 14.9 points below predicted: 33.6% against 48.4%.
In Mecklenburg County, home to about 1,154,681 people, the median household earns about $87,005 a year, roughly 49% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 7%. Sterling Elementary shares Mecklenburg County with 225 other public schools.
South Mecklenburg High School is about 1.5 miles from Sterling Elementary, the shortest distance to any other public school. A five-mile radius around the school includes at least 8 other public schools. On state test proficiency, Sterling Elementary ranks 7th in a group of 8 nearby schools.
NCES lists the school's locale as City: Large. That means it sits inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more.
Enrollment rose 6% over 4 years, reaching 786 in 2024-25. The ratio of students to teachers went from 14.9:1 to 17.8:1 over the same years.
This community page is for conversations about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
Mecklenburg County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
1,154,681
Census ACS
Median income
$87,005
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
49%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
226
170,407 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
- Myers Park High SchoolHigh · 3,225 students
- Ardrey Kell High SchoolHigh · 3,036 students
- South Mecklenburg High SchoolHigh · 2,534 students
- William Amos Hough HighHigh · 2,518 students
- East Mecklenburg High SchoolHigh · 2,422 students
- Palisades High SchoolHigh · 2,332 students
Other Sterling Elementary schools
8 other US public schools in 9 states are named Sterling Elementary. Sterling Elementary is the largest of the 9.
- Sterling Elementary SchoolBrunswick, GA · 767 students
- Sterling ElementarySterling, VA · 430 students
- STERLING ELEM.WARRENSBURG, MO · 399 students
- Sterling Elementary SchoolSterling, OK · 213 students
- Sterling Elementary SchoolSTERLING, MI · 168 students
Nearby schools
- South Mecklenburg High School1.5 mi · 2,534
- Harper Middle College High1.7 mi · 125
- Pineville Elementary1.7 mi · 742
- Quail Hollow Middle1.8 mi · 1,090
- Smithfield Elementary1.9 mi · 672
- Huntingtowne Farms Elementary2.3 mi · 776
Frequently asked questions
About Sterling ElementaryWhat is the total enrollment at Sterling Elementary?
Sterling Elementary enrolls approximately 786 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does Sterling Elementary serve?
Sterling Elementary serves grades PK-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Sterling Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Sterling Elementary is approximately 17.8:1 (44 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Sterling Elementary?
Student demographics at Sterling Elementary are roughly 4% White, 73% Hispanic, 20% Black, 0% Asian, 2% Two or more.
What district is Sterling Elementary in?
Sterling Elementary is part of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.