Enrollment
263
Middle
DISTRICT 644 · STATE 605
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·JOHNSTON COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 370237003441
The Innovation Academy at South Campus
521 Martin Luther King Dr, Smithfield, NC 27577 · (919) 934-6481 · Johnston County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE31-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL263 STUDENTS
A+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 99% of North Carolina public middle schools
- A+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A+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
14.4:1
18 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.5:1 · STATE 15.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
98%
259 students
DISTRICT 99% · STATE 82%
Community
0
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 97 | 37% |
| Grade 7 | 99 | 38% |
| Grade 8 | 67 | 25% |
Student demographics
64%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 68% · 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
QUIET COMMUNITY
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START A DISCUSSIONTest scores
NC EOG / EOC 2024-25 . % Grade Level Proficient (Level 3+)English Language Arts
84.5%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
80.6%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 85 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 81 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
84.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.8%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+36.0pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 85% 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 36 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 →
Schools most like The Innovation Academy at South Campus
The Innovation Academy at South Campus's state test result (84.8% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Innovation Academy at South Campus this school | 263 | 98.5% | 84.8% |
| Rosewood Middle Goldsboro | 302 | 99.0% | 57.1% |
| Lakewood Montessori Middle Durham | 309 | 99.0% | 84.8% |
| Bladenboro Middle Bladenboro | 254 | 98.8% | 36.1% |
| Meadowview Magnet Middle Mount Airy | 318 | 99.1% | 51.5% |
| Nakina Middle Nakina | 194 | 97.4% | 53.8% |
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 The Innovation Academy at South Campus ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Johnston County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 84.8% | #11 of 463 | #1 of 12 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 80.6% | #17 of 461 | #1 of 12 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 84.5% | #5 of 463 | #1 of 12 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 263 | #432 of 478 | #12 of 12 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.4:1 | #92 of 456 | #3 of 12 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 64.5% | #187 of 456 | #6 of 12 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 98.5% | #280 of 472 | #9 of 12 |
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
263
-29 (-10%) vs 2020
Student : Teacher
14.4:1
was 18.3:1
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 | 263 | 18.2 | 14.4:1 | 98% (259) |
| 2023-24 | 262 | 17 | 15.4:1 | 99% (259) |
| 2022-23 | 232 | 19 | 12.2:1 | 53% (122) |
| 2020-21 | 292 | 16 | 18.3:1 | 30% (88) |
| 2017-18 | 93 | 6 | 15.5:1 | 66% (61) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for The Innovation Academy at South Campus.
Since 2017-18: students up 183% (93 to 263); teachers up 203% (6 to 18.2).
About The Innovation Academy at South Campus
Students in Smithfield, North Carolina, attend The Innovation Academy at South Campus, a small middle school. The school runs grades 6 through 8 and enrolls 263 students. That compares with an average of about 605 students for middle schools in North Carolina.
Across its 48 schools, Johnston County Public Schools enrolls 37,320 students. The Innovation Academy at South Campus is one of those schools.
At The Innovation Academy at South Campus, 51% of students are White. The remaining shares are 26% Hispanic, 16% Black, and 6% multiracial. Census estimates put the White share of Johnston County's population at about 64%. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 64%.
Its ratio of 14.4:1 is based on 18.2 full-time-equivalent teachers. The average for middle schools in North Carolina is 15.9:1, so this school has fewer students per teacher. In all, 98% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Public schools in Johnston County average a similar 95%.
The Innovation Academy at South Campus holds an A+ allk12 Grade, placing it above 99% of North Carolina public middle schools.
After accounting for student poverty, The Innovation Academy at South Campus is in the top 10% of North Carolina schools. Its average proficiency rate across its state test results of 84.8% is 36.0 points above the 48.8% predicted for its lunch-eligibility share.
For the population of Johnston County, the median household earns about $83,384 a year, about 29% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 8%. The Innovation Academy at South Campus shares Johnston County with 51 other public schools.
The Innovation Academy at South Campus's closest public school neighbor is Johnston Co Early College Academy, about 0.4 miles away. The count of other public schools within five miles is at least 8. On proficiency, The Innovation Academy at South Campus is ahead of the 37.3% nearby average, ranking 1st of 4.
The Innovation Academy at South Campus has an NCES locale of Town: Fringe.
The school's enrollment decreased 10% from 2020-21 to 2024-25. From 2020-21 to 2024-25, the ratio dropped from 18.3:1 to 14.4:1.
Use the discussion section to ask about open houses, carpools, and field trips at The Innovation Academy at South Campus. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Johnston County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
234,263
Census ACS
Median income
$83,384
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
29%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
52
41,004 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Johnston County Public Schools
- Corinth Holders HighHigh · 2,187 students
- Clayton HighHigh · 1,929 students
- Cleveland HighHigh · 1,889 students
- West Johnston HighHigh · 1,563 students
- Smithfield-Selma HighHigh · 1,548 students
- South Johnston HighHigh · 1,355 students
Other schools in Smithfield
- Smithfield-Selma HighHigh · 1,548 students
- Neuse Charter SchoolCombined · 925 students
- Smithfield MiddleMiddle · 573 students
- West Smithfield ElementaryElementary · 494 students
- South Smithfield ElementaryElementary · 450 students
- Johnston Co Early College AcademyHigh · 251 students
Nearby schools
- Johnston Co Early College Academy0.4 mi · 251
- Johnston County Schools Career Technical0.5 mi · 241
- Choice Plus Academy0.6 mi · 97
- South Smithfield Elementary1.0 mi · 450
- Smithfield Middle1.9 mi · 573
- JCPS Virtual Academy1.9 mi · 203
Frequently asked questions
About The Innovation Academy at South CampusHow large is The Innovation Academy at South Campus?
The Innovation Academy at South Campus enrolls approximately 263 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does The Innovation Academy at South Campus serve?
The Innovation Academy at South Campus serves grades 06-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at The Innovation Academy at South Campus?
The student-to-teacher ratio at The Innovation Academy at South Campus is approximately 14.4:1 (18 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at The Innovation Academy at South Campus?
At The Innovation Academy at South Campus, the student body is approximately 51% White, 26% Hispanic, 16% Black, 0% Asian, 6% Two or more.
What district is The Innovation Academy at South Campus in?
The Innovation Academy at South Campus is part of Johnston County Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.