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What's the biggest difference between The Downtown School and what you expected?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
453
Elementary
DISTRICT 526 · STATE 467
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WINSTON SALEM / FORSYTH COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370150002293
The Downtown School
601 N Cherry Street, Winston Salem, NC 27101 · (336) 703-4125 · Forsyth County
GRADES PK–08ELEMENTARY11-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL453 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 75% of North Carolina public elementary schools
- ATest 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 elementary schools
Student : Teacher
13.0:1
35 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.1:1 · STATE 14.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
25%
113 students
DISTRICT 90% · 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 | 50 | 11% |
| Kindergarten | 45 | 10% |
| Grade 1 | 45 | 10% |
| Grade 2 | 45 | 10% |
| Grade 3 | 45 | 10% |
| Grade 4 | 45 | 10% |
| Grade 5 | 45 | 10% |
| Grade 6 | 44 | 10% |
| Grade 7 | 45 | 10% |
| Grade 8 | 44 | 10% |
This year's kindergarten class (45) is about the same size as its 8th grade class (44).
Student demographics
65%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
Test scores
NC EOG / EOC 2024-25 . % Grade Level Proficient (Level 3+)English Language Arts
72.1%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
76.0%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 72 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
74.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
71.2%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+3.4pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 75% 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 The Downtown School
The Downtown School's state test result (74.6% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Downtown School this school | 453 | 24.9% | 74.6% |
| Highland Mill Montessori Charlotte | 341 | 22.0% | 79.1% |
| Eastover Elementary Charlotte | 385 | 32.2% | 79.3% |
| Underwood Elementary Raleigh | 405 | 29.9% | 72.7% |
| Joyner Elementary Raleigh | 569 | 33.7% | 64.6% |
| Myers Park Traditional Elem Charlotte | 678 | 31.4% | 81.5% |
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 The Downtown School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Forsyth County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 74.6% | #144 of 1,297 | #10 of 42 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 76.0% | #188 of 1,296 | #11 of 42 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 72.1% | #108 of 1,300 | #9 of 42 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 453 | #739 of 1,485 | #34 of 47 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.0:1 | #226 of 1,377 | #15 of 44 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 65.3% | #461 of 1,379 | #18 of 45 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 24.9% | #1,334 of 1,414 | #43 of 44 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +6.3% | #240 of 369 | #7 of 12 |
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
453
+46 (+11%) vs 2020
+41% since 2000-01, when it was 322
Student : Teacher
13.0:1
was 12.0:1
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 | 34.8 | 13.0:1 | 25% (113) |
| 2023-24 | 431 | 34.2 | 12.6:1 | 27% (118) |
| 2022-23 | 409 | 35.1 | 11.7:1 | 26% (107) |
| 2020-21 | 407 | 34 | 12.0:1 | 18% (72) |
| 2017-18 | 426 | 34.6 | 12.3:1 | 16% (67) |
| 2015-16 | 412 | 34 | 12.1:1 | 13% (54) |
| 2010-11 | 364 | 25 | 14.6:1 | 10% (35) |
| 2000-01 | 322 | 28 | 11.5:1 | 7% (24) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for The Downtown School.
Since 2017-18: students up 6% (426 to 453); teachers up 1% (34.6 to 34.8).
About The Downtown School
The Downtown School is the name of a mid-sized elementary school in Winston Salem, North Carolina. Federal data show 453 students enrolled in pre-K through 8 in 2024-25.
The district, Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools, operates 79 schools serving 51,745 students.
White students account for 47% of enrollment at The Downtown School, more than any other group. Other students are 34% Black, 9% Hispanic, and 8% multiracial. By comparison, Forsyth County residents are about 56% White. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 65%.
There are about 13.0 students for every full-time-equivalent teacher at The Downtown School, which has 34.8. The school's 13.0:1 compares with an average of 14.9:1 for elementary schools in North Carolina. Eligibility for free or reduced-price lunch stands at 25%. That rate is below the 88% average among public schools in Forsyth County.
On the allk12 Grade, The Downtown School lands at A-, ahead of 75% of North Carolina public elementary schools.
The school's average proficiency rate across its state test results is 74.6%. For its free or reduced-price lunch share, the predicted value is 71.2%.
The county, Forsyth County, is where the school is located. The median household earns about $67,165 a year, 39% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 10% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Counting The Downtown School, Forsyth County has 88 public schools.
Virtual Academy, less than a tenth of a mile away, is the closest public school. Counting only straight-line distance, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. Among the 5 closest schools with test data, this one included, The Downtown School ranks 1st on average proficiency.
Locale: City: Large. In NCES terms, the school is inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more.
Between 2020-21 and 2024-25, The Downtown School had a net gain of 46 students, or 11%. By 2024-25, the school had 13.0 students per teacher, compared with 12.0 in 2020-21.
On allk12, people connected to The Downtown School can post about pickup and drop-off, after-school programs, and teacher feedback. Members of the school community can share what they know.
Forsyth County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
389,977
Census ACS
Median income
$67,165
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
39%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
88
55,902 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools
- West Forsyth HighHigh · 2,145 students
- Ronald W Reagan High SchoolHigh · 2,122 students
- R J Reynolds HighHigh · 1,759 students
- East Forsyth HighHigh · 1,647 students
- Parkland HighHigh · 1,569 students
- Mount Tabor High SchoolHigh · 1,426 students
Other schools in Winston Salem
- R J Reynolds HighHigh · 1,759 students
- Parkland HighHigh · 1,569 students
- Mount Tabor High SchoolHigh · 1,426 students
- North Forsyth Magnet HighHigh · 1,084 students
- Hanes Magnet SchoolMiddle · 967 students
- Speas ElementaryElementary · 793 students
Nearby schools
- Virtual Academy0.1 mi · 177
- The Arts Based School0.3 mi · 663
- Cook Literacy Model School0.7 mi · 228
- Carter High School0.8 mi · 123
- J F Kennedy High0.8 mi · 332
- R J Reynolds High1.0 mi · 1,759
Frequently asked questions
About The Downtown SchoolHow large is The Downtown School?
The Downtown School enrolls approximately 453 students in grades PK-08.
What grades does The Downtown School serve?
The Downtown School serves grades PK-08.
How many students per teacher at The Downtown School?
Approximately 13.0:1 students per teacher at The Downtown School.
How diverse is The Downtown School?
The Downtown School reports a student body of 47% White, 9% Hispanic, 34% Black, 2% Asian, 8% Two or more.
Who oversees The Downtown School?
The Downtown School is overseen by Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools in Forsyth County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.