The Innovation Academy at South Campus

The Innovation Academy at South Campus is a 6-8 campus of cozy scale in Smithfield, North Carolina, run under Johnston County Public Schools, works with 263 students in grades 6 through 8. Enrollment runs roughly 57% below the state mean of about 605.

Within Johnston County Public Schools, which oversees 48 schools and 37,320 students, The Innovation Academy at South Campus is one campus in the system.

On the student-mix side, The Innovation Academy at South Campus records that the largest single group is White at 51%, but no single group is in the majority. Beyond that, the school reports 26% Hispanic, 16% Black, 6% multiracial. By comparison, Johnston County as a whole is about 64% White, so the school skews considerably less White than its surroundings.

In terms of school funding signals, The Innovation Academy at South Campus records 18 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 14.4:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 15.9:1 average. Around 98% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, The Innovation Academy at South Campus is in the OUTPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations model, which fits a per-state line through proficiency and FRL share. Schools with this campus's poverty mix typically land near 48.8%; this one delivers 84.8%, a residual of +36.0 points.

In the area at large, the surrounding county (Johnston County) logs that median household income runs about $83,384, about 29% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and the poverty rate sits near 8%. In all, Johnston County runs 52 public schools (combined enrollment of about 41,004 students), of which The Innovation Academy at South Campus is one.

Nearest neighbor: Johnston Co Early College Academy, around 0.4 miles off. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 4 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), The Innovation Academy at South Campus ranks 1st on composite proficiency, above the local average of 37.3%.

The school occupies a small-town site.

Looking at the recent track record. The Innovation Academy at South Campus's enrollment has rose 183% since 2018, when it stood at 93 (now 263). Black enrollment moved from 22% to 16% across the same window. The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 15.5:1 in 2018 to 14.4:1 today.

Within the allk12 community for this school, posts here usually surface around classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. The community welcomes input from current and former families.