1
What's the one class at Swain County Middle School every student should take?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
453
Middle
DISTRICT 312 · STATE 605
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SWAIN COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370444002314
Swain County Middle School
135 Arlington Ave, Bryson City, NC 28713 · (828) 488-3480 · Swain County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE43-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL453 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 38% of North Carolina public middle schools
- C+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B-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 middle schools
Student : Teacher
16.5:1
27 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.6:1 · STATE 15.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
99%
450 students
DISTRICT 80% · STATE 82%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 76 | 17% |
| Grade 6 | 127 | 28% |
| Grade 7 | 119 | 26% |
| Grade 8 | 131 | 29% |
Student demographics
57%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
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Swain County Schools. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
NC EOG / EOC 2024-25 . % Grade Level Proficient (Level 3+)English Language Arts
43.3%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
45.8%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 43 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 46 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
45.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.5%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-2.8pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 46% 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 Middle School
Swain County Middle School's state test result (45.7% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swain County Middle School this school | 453 | 99.3% | 45.7% |
| Polk County Middle School Mill Spring | 454 | 99.3% | 60.9% |
| John Chavis Middle School Cherryville | 412 | 99.3% | 51.6% |
| Brevard Middle Brevard | 472 | 99.4% | 54.5% |
| South Brunswick Middle Southport | 585 | 99.5% | 57.0% |
| Granite Falls Middle Granite Falls | 518 | 99.4% | 60.8% |
Matched among North Carolina middle 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 Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 45.7% | #293 of 463 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 45.8% | #269 of 461 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 43.3% | #296 of 463 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 453 | #347 of 478 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.5:1 | #249 of 456 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 56.8% | #292 of 456 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 99.3% | #163 of 472 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -17.5% | #87 of 300 |
Ranked against other public middle 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
453
-34 (-7%) vs 2020
+10% since 2000-01, when it was 412
Student : Teacher
16.5:1
was 15.7:1
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 | 453 | 27.4 | 16.5:1 | 99% (450) |
| 2023-24 | 467 | 28.4 | 16.5:1 | 99% (464) |
| 2022-23 | 485 | 29.5 | 16.4:1 | 65% (314) |
| 2020-21 | 487 | 31 | 15.7:1 | 44% (214) |
| 2017-18 | 549 | 33.8 | 16.3:1 | 56% (307) |
| 2015-16 | 501 | 36 | 13.9:1 | 57% (288) |
| 2010-11 | 552 | 33 | 16.7:1 | 61% (336) |
| 2000-01 | 412 | 27 | 15.3:1 | 52% (214) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Swain County Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 17% (549 to 453); teachers down 19% (33.8 to 27.4).
About Swain County Middle School
Swain County Middle School is a low-enrollment middle-grades school in North Carolina, with an address in Bryson City. In all, 453 students attend the school in grades 6 through 8. That puts enrollment 25% below the 605-student average for middle schools in North Carolina.
Swain County Schools is made up of 6 schools with 1,872 students in all.
About 61% of the student body at Swain County Middle School is White. Other students are 19% Native American, 11% multiracial, and 7% Hispanic. Swain County residents are about 60% White, a similar share. A diversity index of 57% means there is a 57% chance two randomly chosen students at Swain County Middle School are from different groups.
For every teacher at Swain County Middle School, there are about 16.5 students; the school has 27.4 full-time-equivalent teachers. The average for middle schools in North Carolina is about 15.9:1. There are 450 students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, 99% of enrollment.
Among North Carolina public middle schools, Swain County Middle School outscored 38%, which works out to a C+ on the allk12 Grade.
Swain County Middle School's average proficiency rate across its state test results of 45.7% is 2.8 points below the 48.5% the model predicts from its lunch-eligibility share.
American Community Survey estimates for Swain County show that the median household earns about $52,349 a year, about 21% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 14%. Across Swain County, 9 public schools serve about 3,393 students.
Swain County Middle School's closest public school neighbor is Cherokee Extension School, about 0.2 miles away. Within five miles of Swain County Middle School, there are 6 other public schools. On proficiency, Swain County Middle School is ahead of the 43.1% nearby average, ranking 2nd of 5.
The NCES locale for Swain County Middle School is Rural: Remote, which covers schools in rural territory far from an urban area.
Federal enrollment counts decreased from 487 (2020-21) to 453 (2024-25).
Parents, students, and staff can share information on special education services, counseling, and support programs here. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
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 West ElementaryElementary · 403 students
- Swain County East ElementaryElementary · 338 students
- Cherokee Extension SchoolCombined · 110 students
- Swain AcademyHigh · 32 students
Other schools in Bryson City
- Swain County High SchoolHigh · 536 students
- Swain County West ElementaryElementary · 403 students
- Swain County East ElementaryElementary · 338 students
- Mountain DiscoveryElementary · 221 students
- Cherokee Extension SchoolCombined · 110 students
- Swain AcademyHigh · 32 students
Nearby schools
- Cherokee Extension School0.2 mi · 110
- Mountain Discovery0.6 mi · 221
- Swain Academy1.7 mi · 32
- Swain County High School1.7 mi · 536
- Swain County West Elementary3.3 mi · 403
- Swain County East Elementary4.0 mi · 338
Frequently asked questions
About Swain County Middle SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Swain County Middle School?
Swain County Middle School enrolls approximately 453 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does Swain County Middle School serve?
Swain County Middle School serves grades 06-08.
How many teachers does Swain County Middle School have?
Swain County Middle School employs 27 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 16.5:1.
What is the student diversity at Swain County Middle School?
Student demographics at Swain County Middle School are roughly 61% White, 7% Hispanic, 0% Black, 0% Asian, 11% Two or more.
Is Swain County Middle School public or private?
Swain County Middle School 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.