Enrollment
217
Elementary
DISTRICT 354 · STATE 467
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·RUTHERFORD COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370408001654
Sunshine Elementary School
231 Toney Road, Bostic, NC 28018 · (828) 245-0658 · Rutherford County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL217 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
16.4:1
13 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 17.1:1 · STATE 14.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
99%
214 students
DISTRICT 97% · STATE 82%
Community
0
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 | 18 | 8% |
| Kindergarten | 41 | 19% |
| Grade 1 | 35 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 43 | 20% |
| Grade 3 | 28 | 13% |
| Grade 4 | 29 | 13% |
| Grade 5 | 23 | 11% |
Student demographics
17%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 50% · 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
57.5%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
68.8%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 58 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 69 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
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of NC schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
65.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.7%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+17.0pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 66% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 49% typical for North Carolina schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 17 points, placing it in North Carolina's top 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Where Sunshine Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Rutherford County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 65.8% | #322 of 1,297 | #6 of 10 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 68.8% | #370 of 1,296 | #7 of 10 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 57.5% | #394 of 1,300 | #6 of 10 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 217 | #1,352 of 1,485 | #9 of 10 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.4:1 | #1,105 of 1,377 | #3 of 9 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 17.2% | #1,365 of 1,379 | #9 of 9 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 98.6% | #806 of 1,414 | #2 of 10 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +0.9% | #354 of 369 | N/A |
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.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
217
+27 (+14%) vs 2020
-16% since 1990-91, when it was 257
Student : Teacher
16.4:1
was 12.7:1
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 | 217 | 13.2 | 16.4:1 | 99% (214) |
| 2023-24 | 197 | 12.5 | 15.8:1 | 98% (194) |
| 2022-23 | 190 | 16.9 | 11.3:1 | 98% (186) |
| 2020-21 | 190 | 15 | 12.7:1 | 98% (187) |
| 2017-18 | 215 | 12.3 | 17.4:1 | 96% (206) |
| 2015-16 | 212 | 15 | 14.1:1 | 99% (209) |
| 2010-11 | 272 | 16 | 17.0:1 | 70% (190) |
| 2000-01 | 307 | 20 | 15.3:1 | 40% (123) |
| 1990-91 | 257 | 18 | 14.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Sunshine Elementary School.
About Sunshine Elementary School
Sunshine Elementary School serves students in Bostic, North Carolina, as a small elementary school. Classes run from pre-K through 5, and the school has 217 students. The average for elementary schools in North Carolina is about 467 students, so this school is 54% smaller than average.
Rutherford County Schools is the local district for Sunshine Elementary School. It runs 18 schools with 7,394 students.
Sunshine Elementary School enrolls a student body that is 91% White. The school is also 5% Hispanic and 5% multiracial. That is higher than the 82% White share among all Rutherford County residents. By the diversity index, Sunshine Elementary School comes in at 17%.
Its 13.2 full-time-equivalent teachers give the school a ratio of 16.4:1. That ratio is over the 14.9:1 average for elementary schools in North Carolina. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is 99%. That is close to the 98% average for public schools in Rutherford County.
Sunshine Elementary School is in the top 10% of North Carolina schools on the allk12 BeatsExpectations measure. Based on its free or reduced-price lunch share, the model predicts an average proficiency rate on state tests of 48.7%. The school's actual rate is 65.8%, 17.0 points higher.
Rutherford County has these Census figures: median household income is about $51,410, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 22% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 13%. The public schools of Rutherford County number 20 and enroll about 9,205.
The shortest distance from Sunshine Elementary School to another public school is about 6.3 miles, to Mt. Vernon-Ruth Elementary School. The ten-mile area around Sunshine Elementary School holds at least 8 other public schools. Among 8 nearby schools that report test results, Sunshine Elementary School ranks 3rd on proficiency.
NCES describes the area around Sunshine Elementary School as Rural: Distant, meaning in rural territory some distance from an urban area.
A comparison of 2020-21 and 2024-25 shows enrollment up 14%, from 190 to 217. The school's ratio rose from 12.7:1 to 16.4:1 between 2020-21 and 2024-25.
Discussion on this page can cover sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Rutherford County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
64,930
Census ACS
Median income
$51,410
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
22%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
13%
Below federal line
Schools in county
20
9,205 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Rutherford County Schools
- R-S Central High SchoolHigh · 763 students
- East Rutherford High SchoolHigh · 623 students
- Chase High SchoolHigh · 596 students
- Ellenboro Elementary SchoolElementary · 567 students
- R-S Middle SchoolMiddle · 561 students
- East Rutherford Middle SchoolMiddle · 533 students
Other schools in Bostic
- East Rutherford High SchoolHigh · 623 students
- East Rutherford Middle SchoolMiddle · 533 students
Nearby schools
- Mt. Vernon-Ruth Elementary School6.3 mi · 231
- East Rutherford Middle School6.4 mi · 533
- Ellenboro Elementary School7.3 mi · 567
- East Rutherford High School7.7 mi · 623
- Forest City-Dunbar Elementary School8.0 mi · 459
- Rutherford Opportunity Center8.9 mi · 82
Frequently asked questions
About Sunshine Elementary SchoolHow many students attend Sunshine Elementary School?
Sunshine Elementary School enrolls approximately 217 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Sunshine Elementary School serve?
Sunshine Elementary School serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Sunshine Elementary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Sunshine Elementary School is approximately 16.4:1 (13 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Sunshine Elementary School?
At Sunshine Elementary School, the student body is approximately 91% White, 5% Hispanic, 5% Two or more.
What district is Sunshine Elementary School in?
Sunshine Elementary School is part of Rutherford County Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.