Enrollment
338
Elementary
DISTRICT 371 · STATE 467
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SWAIN COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370444002315
Swain County East Elementary
4747 Ela Rd, Bryson City, NC 28713 · (828) 488-0939 · Swain County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL338 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 18% of North Carolina public elementary schools
- C-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
16.5:1
20 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.1:1 · STATE 14.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
99%
335 students
DISTRICT 80% · 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 58 | 17% |
| Grade 1 | 61 | 18% |
| Grade 2 | 59 | 17% |
| Grade 3 | 56 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 49 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 55 | 16% |
This year's kindergarten class (58) is 5% larger than its 5th grade class (55).
Student demographics
67%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 55% · 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
Swain County East Elementary→Swain County Middle School
Based on grade levels within Swain County Schools. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
QUIET COMMUNITY
Be the first to start a discussion at Swain County East Elementary.
START A DISCUSSIONTest scores
NC EOG / EOC 2024-25 . % Grade Level Proficient (Level 3+)English Language Arts
31.6%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
43.2%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 32 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 43 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
40.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.6%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-7.7pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 41% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 49% 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 Swain County East Elementary
Swain County East Elementary's state test result (40.9% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swain County East Elementary this school | 338 | 99.1% | 40.9% |
| Smokey Mountain Elementary Whittier | 340 | 96.2% | 34.5% |
| Carthage Elementary Carthage | 350 | 99.1% | 63.0% |
| Oak Hill Elementary Morganton | 310 | 99.0% | 46.1% |
| Stedman Elementary Stedman | 284 | 98.9% | 68.5% |
| Lincoln Elementary Ruffin | 303 | 94.4% | 65.2% |
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 Swain County East Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 40.9% | #1,069 of 1,297 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 43.2% | #1,084 of 1,296 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 31.6% | #1,152 of 1,300 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 338 | #1,088 of 1,485 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.5:1 | #1,126 of 1,377 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 67.1% | #357 of 1,379 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 99.1% | #581 of 1,414 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -18.9% | #308 of 937 |
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
338
-5 (-1%) vs 2020
-14% since 2000-01, when it was 395
Student : Teacher
16.5:1
was 12.3:1
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 | 338 | 20.5 | 16.5:1 | 99% (335) |
| 2023-24 | 350 | 26.2 | 13.3:1 | 98% (343) |
| 2022-23 | 339 | 26.3 | 12.9:1 | 70% (237) |
| 2020-21 | 343 | 28 | 12.3:1 | 52% (177) |
| 2017-18 | 417 | 27.3 | 15.3:1 | 65% (270) |
| 2015-16 | 433 | 27 | 16.0:1 | 65% (280) |
| 2010-11 | 407 | 26 | 15.7:1 | 65% (263) |
| 2000-01 | 395 | 36 | 11.0:1 | 74% (292) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Swain County East Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 19% (417 to 338); teachers down 25% (27.3 to 20.5).
About Swain County East Elementary
Among the schools in Bryson City, North Carolina, is Swain County East Elementary, a small elementary school. A federal count lists 338 students at the school, in kindergarten through 5. An average school in this group (elementary schools in North Carolina) has about 467 students.
The Swain County Schools system has 6 schools and 1,872 students.
Enrollment at Swain County East Elementary is mixed, with White students the largest group at 47%. The rest of enrollment is 26% Native American, 17% multiracial, and 9% Hispanic. Census estimates put the White share of Swain County's population at about 60%. The chance that two students picked at random at Swain County East Elementary belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 67%.
With 20.5 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25, the ratio at Swain County East Elementary was 16.5:1. The 14.9:1 average for elementary schools in North Carolina is lower than this school's figure. A measure often used for student poverty, free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, stands at 99%.
Swain County East Elementary is graded C- by allk12, scoring above 18% of North Carolina public elementary schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
Swain County East Elementary posts an average proficiency rate on state tests of 40.9%, compared with a predicted 48.6%. It is not in the top or bottom 10% of North Carolina schools on BeatsExpectations.
Federal survey data for Swain County show that median household income is about $52,349, about 21% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 14%. A total of 9 public schools operate in Swain County, serving about 3,393 students.
The school nearest to Swain County East Elementary is Cherokee Extension School, at a distance of about 3.8 miles. Within five miles of Swain County East Elementary, there are 6 other public schools. Compared with its nearest neighbors, Swain County East Elementary ranks 3rd of 4 on average proficiency.
Federal data place Swain County East Elementary in the Rural: Distant locale, which means it is in rural territory some distance from an urban area.
In 2020-21, Swain County East Elementary enrolled 343; in 2024-25, 338. There were more students per teacher in 2024-25 (16.5:1) than in 2020-21 (12.3:1).
Families, students, and staff can use this page to discuss science fairs, picture day, and bus routes at Swain County East Elementary. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Swain County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
14,013
Census ACS
Median income
$52,349
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
21%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
14%
Below federal line
Schools in county
9
3,393 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Swain County Schools
- Swain County High SchoolHigh · 536 students
- Swain County Middle SchoolMiddle · 453 students
- Swain County West ElementaryElementary · 403 students
- Cherokee Extension SchoolCombined · 110 students
- Swain AcademyHigh · 32 students
Other schools in Bryson City
- Swain County High SchoolHigh · 536 students
- Swain County Middle SchoolMiddle · 453 students
- Swain County West ElementaryElementary · 403 students
- Mountain DiscoveryElementary · 221 students
- Cherokee Extension SchoolCombined · 110 students
- Swain AcademyHigh · 32 students
Nearby schools
- Cherokee Extension School3.8 mi · 110
- Swain Academy3.9 mi · 32
- Swain County High School3.9 mi · 536
- Swain County Middle School4.0 mi · 453
- Smokey Mountain Elementary4.0 mi · 340
- Mountain Discovery4.5 mi · 221
Frequently asked questions
About Swain County East ElementaryWhat is the total enrollment at Swain County East Elementary?
Swain County East Elementary enrolls approximately 338 students in grades KG-05.
What age range does Swain County East Elementary serve?
Swain County East Elementary serves students from grade KG through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Swain County East Elementary?
Approximately 16.5:1 students per teacher at Swain County East Elementary.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Swain County East Elementary?
At Swain County East Elementary, the student body is approximately 47% White, 9% Hispanic, 1% Asian, 17% Two or more.
Is Swain County East Elementary public or private?
Swain County East Elementary is a public K-12 school, overseen by Swain County Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.